What is IPv6?

YOU KNOW THOSE GUYS WITH THE SIGNS THAT SAY ‘THE END IS NEAR?’ WARNING ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD AND THE IMPENDING APOCALYPSE?
IF YOU REPLACED THE END OF THE WORLD WITH THE END OF IPV4, THOSE GUYS WERE RIGHT…
SORT OF...
INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6, OR IPV6, IS THE LATEST VERSION OF THE INTERNET PROTOCOL, THE MAIN COMMUNICATIONS METHOD THAT IDENTIFIES AND LOCATES COMPUTERS AND OTHER DEVICES ON THE INTERNET.
WHEN THE EARLIER VERSION WAS DEVELOPED, IT WAS KNOWN AS IPV4, AND HAD THE ABILITY TO SUPPORT 4.3 BILLION DEVICES. BACK IN THE 1990S, PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH.
BUT THEY WERE WRONG!
THANKS TO THE GROWTH OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS, SMARTPHONES, AND NOW INTERNET OF THINGS DEVICES LIKE SMART SPEAKERS, SECURITY CAMERAS AND SMART WATCHES, PEOPLE QUICKLY REALIZED THAT THERE WEREN’T GOING TO BE ENOUGH ADDRESSES TO GO AROUND.
YES, THE END WAS NEAR, FOR IPV4.
THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE, OR IETF, CREATED IPV6, WHICH USES 128-BIT ADDRESSING TO SUPPORT 340 TRILLION TRILLION TRILLION ADDRESSES. INSTEAD OF FOUR SETS OF 1 TO 3 DIGIT NUMBERS, IPV6 USES EIGHT GROUPS OF FOUR HEXADECIMAL DIGITS, SEPARATED BY COLONS.
IPV6 ALSO PROVIDES MORE EFFICIENT PACKET HANDLING, IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AND SECURITY.
YET DESPITE THIS, THE REST OF THE INTERNET IS TAKING ITS SWEET TIME TO TRANSITION FROM IPV4 TO IPV6.
BASICALLY, THEY’RE WAITING UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT, LIKE TEEN-AGERS IGNORING THEIR PARENTS’ PLEAS TO FINISH THEIR HOMEWORK.
CARRIER NETWORKS AND INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE LEADING THE PACK ON TRANSITIONING TO IPV6, WITH ENTERPRISE LAGGING.
WITH MOST COUNTRIES OFFICIALLY “SOLD OUT” OF IPV4 ADDRESSES, MORE COMPANIES AND GROUPS ARE LIKELY TO SWITCH OVER TO IPV6.
AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT AN OFFICIAL ‘OFF SWITCH’ DATE - THERE’S NOTHING SCHEDULED WHERE IPV4 IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED. AS MORE COMPANIES AND ISPs UPGRADE THEIR EQUIPMENT TO IPV6, THE WORLD WILL SLOWLY MOVE AWAY FROM IPV4.
LIKE A GIANT BALL ROLLING DOWN A HILL, EVENTUALLY THE BALL GETS TO THE BOTTOM.