IPv4 vs IPv6 Issues - Essay Example

The protocol accounts for most of today’s internet traffic and operates by describing a network in which there is no quality of service guarantee. IPV4 use 32-bit addressing and allows 4,294,967,296 unique addresses. IPV4 was widely used in modern transmission control protocols. The version provides basic datagram delivery characteristics and it has been highly rated by users for more than 10 years. IPv6 succeeded IPV4 and is currently used in directing 90% of internet traffic (Amer AbuAli,2001).

The internet functions by transferring data between different hosts across different networks as specified by routing protocols. To transfer the data the protocols require a Communication mechanism and this is achieved by using IPv4 and IPv6. Migration from IPv4 to IPv6 is a cumbersome task because of the large number of IPv4 users. In today’s world, more people and organizations are using computers in their daily work. This will be hard to switch the IP protocol.

The migration from ipv4 to ipv6 is implemented step by step by utilizing an autoconfiguration mechanism to eliminate manual configuration. Auto configuration mechanism allows users to mutually benefit from the upgraded IPv4 without affecting their connectivity. This method of migration is called the dual stack technique. Both the IPv4 and IPv6 are run at the same time. Data from the IPv6 application on one end is interpreted by the IPV6 protocol on the other end (Amer AbuAli, 2001).

Sets of simple internet procedures have been implemented for smooth migration from IPv4 to IPv6 which include progressive and simple transition. Administrators update IPv4 routers one at a time without the need of upgrading other routers concurrently.

Administrators use the simple transition method simplifies in communication between IPv4 and IPv6. Networking devices which cannot be upgraded to IPv6 like the terminal servers can still operate on the IPv4 protocol using the transition model. To migrate from IPv4s, administrators first survey the networking provider to establish and analyze the IPv6 workforce. For the IPv6 to be of high quality the network providers provide node-to-node IPv6 tunnels and then vary various traffic-based classes using various techniques.

Networkers are also using dual stack with domain name system (DNS), this is done by coding an application to rely on the DNS. When a user wants to establish a connection to a certain server, the server will forward a DNS query to the DNS server.

Internet providers also use tunnelling techniques, which use existing infrastructure to transmit a network protocol. IPv6 signals are transported over IPv4 by encapsulating IPv6 packets with the IPv4 header. Some networking providers do this by switching the signal by using the tunnel broker approach.

In most cases, administrators use a mechanism of configuring different endpoints that are dual-stocked. This is done by placing an IPv4 facing the IPv6. The IPv6 packet then encapsulates with the IPv4 header. This technique requires both the IPv4 and the IPv6  to lie on the same subnet. The technique is not ideally used by technicians due to capability issues.

Networking Service providers also use the IPv6 protocol over the use of Multiprotocol label switching to perform packet forwarding based on the header labels.  The Multiprotocol label switching is downgraded to provide IPv6 signals between different users.

Migrating from IPv4 to IPv6 may seem to be impossible moreover, different organizations are extremely dependent on the Internet. The organizations will have to switch from IPv4 to IPv6 to have sufficient IP addresses for allocating enough addresses to every client as well as improving total connectivity flexibility and reliability.