how many bits are in an ipv6 address
IPv6 Address Representation: Formats, Compression, and Prefix Notation
An IPv6 address is 128 bits long, written as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons, where each group represents 16 bits. Addresses can be written in lowercase or uppercase. The preferred format is x:x:x:x:x:x:x:x, where each x is a group of four hexadecimal digits. Each such group is called a hextet —...
Introduction to IPv6 Addresses
IPv6 was developed by the IETF specifically to overcome IPv4’s limitations, most notably its exhausted address space, while also cleaning up several architectural inefficiencies IPv4 had accumulated over decades of patches and workarounds. This guide covers IPv6’s address structure, its three address types, and the concrete advantages and tradeoffs that come with adopting it. Just...