Overview
IPv6, or Internet Protocol Version 6, is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol, designed to eventually replace IPv4. Developed in 1995 and standardized in 1998, IPv6 uses a 128-bit address scheme, significantly increasing the number of available IP addresses to approximately 340 undecillion (a number with 36 zeros). An IPv6 address is typically expressed in hexadecimal, divided by colons, such as 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. IPv6 addresses the limitations of IPv4, including the shortage of addresses and improves upon aspects of network autoconfiguration and security. IPv6 also simplifies address assignment and network renumbering when changing providers due to its hierarchical structure and large number of addresses available.