By the end of this fiscal year, ISPs like ClassicTech and WorldLink will be bringing all its customers to IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6). The company has made its plan public with the objective of providing quality internet service to the customers. Every device connected to the Internet needs an IP address to communicate with each other. Why is it important that more ISPs start switching from IPv4 to IPv6 and what does IPv6 mean?
What is IP address?
IP or Internet Protocol specifies the standard format of packets and addressing scheme for devices to communicate over a network. And a device that uses the Internet Protocol is assigned a numerical label, IP address, as an ID to help in its identification over the network. Everything connected to the internet has an IP address, whether it be a device or a website. This address is provided by the Internet Assignment Number Authority (IANA) to all Internet service providers.
Types of IP address.
There are two versions of IP address.
One is IP version 4 (IPv4) and the other is IP version 6 (IPv6). The initial version of IPv4 is a 32-bit addressing scheme. That means there are 2^32 (4.3 billion) public addresses. Due to which its quota ended on April 15, 2011. As a result, most Internet service providers now rely on Network Address Translation (NAT) technology for the use of private addressing to address the problem of lack of public v4.
The latest version of this protocol is IPv6. IPv6 uses a 128-bit addressing scheme. So, theoretically, it has 2^128 (340 undecillion) addresses. Rather than just the numbers, its addresses are represented as hexadecimal (alphanumeric) digits and they are separated by colons. As a result, it has the ability to assign separate routable addresses to each device connected to the Internet in the future. Since it does not require NAT technology, it has better Internet access than the IPv4 in the IPv6.
Currently, content service providers such as Google and Facebook also provide content on IPv6. Which every internet service provider is passing on to its users. Now that both V6 and V4 are enabled in the device's ecosystem, browser applications on the user's device automatically prioritize V6.
WorldLink is the first Internet service provider in Nepal to enable IPV6 in July 2019. Few ISPs in the world have enabled it. By going to V6, we can provide better internet service to the customer and make it easier for the service providers to troubleshoot the customer remotely. Now that Nepal is moving to the Internet of Things (IoT) along with the rest of the world, this kind of preparation to make it bigger can be considered as a sign of great development.
According to WorldLink, out of the company's 4 lakh customers, 1 lakh 55 thousand have already joined the v6 Protocol network. v6 users also use 20 percent of the total Internet traffic delivered by WorldLink, or 165 GB of Internet traffic.
According to the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), Google and Facebook currently have about 26 percent of the world's networks in the v6. Similarly, 11 percent of Nepal's network has gone IPv6. WorldLink has contributed the most. Not only it has made the Internet faster and wider, but it has also helped increase Internet security. It will also make it easier for government and regulatory bodies to track illegal activity, which is so difficult to track activity in the IPv4 due to the Network Address Translation (NAT).
How to know if you are using IPv6?
Well, for this, you can visit websites like testmyipv6.com that allow you to connect to it in different ways. You can click on the links near the top and see if you can connect via IPv6. If not, it is most likely that your ISP has not enabled it. Or it could be that your router does not support it.
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