IPv6 compression rule #2: Replace one sequence of zeroes with a double-colon Leading zeroes can be eliminated from each 16-bit word in an IPv6 address to shorten it (but not trailing zeroes). IPv6 compression rule #1: Eliminate leading zeroes IPv6 addresses are expressed as sets of eight 16-bit words using hexadecimal digits, with each word separated from the ones around it using colons. The dotted-decimal notation that made IPv4 addresses comprehensible to humans is no longer suitable in IPv6 due to the larger address size. IPv6 addresses provide many advantages, but they are hard to work with in their default state due to their size. The following concepts and techniques will be explored in this article. In this article, we’ll look at these rules and explain how they work and how you can use them to your advantage. IPv6 compression rules describe several shorthands that can be used to make common IPv6 addresses more understandable.

One is that while computers have no difficulty handling 128-bit numbers, humans tend to find them awkward and confusing to read and work with.įortunately, the scientists who first defined IPv6 described a couple of notation techniques to make these large addresses easier to handle. That said, there are also some drawbacks to quadrupling the size of IP addresses. These larger addresses also brought with them flexibility that has enabled other important features, such as automatic device autoconfiguration. By increasing IP addresses from 32 to 128 bits, we ensured that we will probably never again run out of IP addresses. Thus, for storage or visual representation, a compressed IPv6 can be a better option.The primary reason why the internet world moved from IPv4 to IPv6 was to deal with the looming exhaustion of the relatively small 32-bit IPv4 address space. Therefore, several rules are developed to compress or shorten the IPv6 address. IPv6 addresses are lengthy, and it's hard to remember. There are eight fields in the IPv6 address, separated by a colon (:) with each field of 16 bits.Īn example of an IPv6 address will be 2001:4860:4860:0000:0000:0000:0000:8888 The IPv6 address is a 128-bit address, represented in hexadecimal notation. In February 2011, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) confirmed the complete IPv4 resource depletion. The need for IPv6 is more significant than ever due to unusual Internet growth and the constant development of smartphones, tablets, computers, and other IoT. This tool is excellent for expanding the short form of IPv6 to its original 128-bit state. It fills the empty octets and full notations to the compressed form of IPv6 Address.

IPv6 Expand tool takes a compressed IPv6 address and expands it to a full 128-bit notation. About this tool: Expand IPv6 Address - Convert to Uncompressed IPv6 Address

What are the rules of ipv6 compression