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IPv4 vs IPv6
ipv4:Addresses are32 bits (4 bytes) in
length.
ipv6: are128 bits (16 bytes)
in length
ipv4:Address (A) resource records in
DNS to map host names to IPv4
addresses.
ipv6:Address (AAAA) resource records
in DNS to map host names to IPv6
addresses.
ipv4:Pointer (PTR) resource records in
the IN-ADDR.ARPA DNS domain
to map IPv4 addresses to host
names.
ipv6:Pointer (PTR) resource records in
the IP6.ARPA DNS domain to map
IPv6 addresses to host names.
ipv4:IPSec is optional and should be
supported externally
ipv6:IPSec support is not optional
ipv4:Header does not identify packet
flow for QoS handling by routers
ipv6:Header contains Flow Label field,
which Identifies packet flow for
QoS handling by router.
ipv4:Both routers and the sending host
fragment packets.
ipv6:Routers do not support packet
fragmentation. Sending host
fragments packets
ipv4:Header includes a checksum.
ipv6:Header does not include a
checksum.
ipv4:Header includes options.
ipv6:Optional data is supported as
extension headers.
ipv4:ARP uses broadcast ARP request
to resolve IP to MAC/Hardware
address.
ipv6:Multicast Neighbor Solicitation
messages resolve IP addresses to
MAC addresses.
ipv4:Internet Group Management
Protocol (IGMP) manages
membership in local subnet
groups.
ipv6:Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD)
messages manage membership in
local subnet groups.
ipv4:Broadcast addresses are used to
send traffic to all nodes on a
subnet.
ipv6:IPv6 uses a link-local scope all-nodes multicast address.
ipv4:Configured either manually or
through DHCP.
ipv6:Does not require manual
configuration or DHCP.
ipv4:Must support a576-byte packet
size (possibly fragmented).
ipv6:Must support a1280-byte packet
size (without fragmentation).
