IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
IPv6 is the new, massive address format for the internet. Instead of four small numbers, it's eight groups of letters and numbers separated by colons. There are so many IPv6 addresses (340 undecillion) that every grain of sand on Earth could have billions of them.
Real Talk
IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses expressed in hexadecimal notation (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334). It supports 3.4 x 10^38 unique addresses, includes built-in IPsec support, and eliminates the need for NAT.
Show Me The Code
# IPv6 address examples
::1 # Localhost
2001:db8::1 # Documentation example
fe80::1%eth0 # Link-local address
# Check IPv6 connectivity
ping6 google.com
When You'll Hear This
"Does your server support IPv6?" / "Modern cloud deployments assign both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses."
Related Terms
DNS (Domain Name System)
DNS is the internet's phonebook. You type 'google.
IP Address
An IP address is your device's home address on the internet.
IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4)
IPv4 is the original address format for the internet — four numbers separated by dots, like 192.168.1.1. The problem?
Subnet
A subnet is a smaller chunk of a larger network, like dividing a city into neighborhoods. All devices in a subnet can talk to each other directly.