What is IPv6?
IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol (IP) address standard intended to supplement and eventually replace IPv4, the protocol most Internet services use today. Every computer, mobile phone and any other device connected to the Internet needs a numerical IP address in order to communicate with other devices. The original IP address scheme, called IPv4, is running out of numbers. Please see the Internet Society IPv6 Fact Sheet or our IPv6 Basics page for more information and background on IPv6. Our list of IPv6 statistics sites can also show you the most recent trends in growth of IPv6 usage.
You may want to begin with our “Where Do I Start?” page where we have guides for:
How can I learn the basics of IPv6?
Beyond some of the links on our “IPv6 Basics” page, you may find these ebooks helpful:
- IPv6 Consumers Guide
- IPv6 for IPv4 Experts (Available in English and Russian)
- IPv6 for All (Available in English and Spanish)
How do I make my website and other content available over IPv6?
You can start with our IPv6 recommendations for content providers and specifically these resources:
- Tutorial: Making Content Available Over IPv6
- Video: How To IPv6-Enable ANY Website Using A Content Delivery Network (CDN)
How do I get my network on IPv6?
The short answer is: 1) ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if they can give you IPv6 addresses (you can start by seeing if they are on this list); and 2) check that your equipment supports IPv6. Most operating systems (and even mobile phones) and most network devices do support IPv6, but some equipment, particularly “consumer” devices, and some applications may not. We have several resources relating to transition technologies that you may find helpful, including:
- 4 Videos about IPv6 Transition Technologies
- RFC 6180, “Guidelines for Using IPv6 Transition Mechanisms during IPv6 Deployment“
We encourage you to look at the links in the left side bar and also the lists of resources below to learn more about how you can make the move to IPv6.
Have suggestions for other questions you’d like to see us answer here? Please let us know!
More resources
Browse the links below to find the information you need to deploy IPv6 on your networks today.
Click on the category heading to see ALL resources in that category. Otherwise the most recent 5 resources are displayed.
Case Studies
- How Did Estonia Grow From Near 0% IPv6 To 8% In 7 Months?
- Facebook Launches IPv6-Only Data Cluster
- Case Study: T-Mobile US Goes IPv6-only Using 464XLAT
- Case Study: IPv6 At The U.S. Census Bureau
- Case Study: IPv6 at Xtracta
Sites
- US DoD DREN Provides Excellent IPv6 Knowledge Base
- US DoD/DREN IPv6 Knowledge Base
- BT Launches IPv6 Resource Centre
- IPv6exchange.net Aims To Provide Q&A-Style Forum For IPv6 Discussion
- NIST IPv6 and DNSSEC Statistics
Training
- Taking to the Road with IPv6 in Slovenia
- IPv6 Troubleshooting for Helpdesks Now Published as RIPE-631
- Routing and IPv6 Training Courses at NANOG 62
- IPv6 Training from Boson.com
- DNS Considerations for IPv6
Tutorials
- Taking to the Road with IPv6 in Slovenia
- IPv6 for the End User
- Tutorial: Configuring IPv6 for Windows
- Tutorial: Configuring IPv6 for Mac OS X
- Tutorial: Configuring IPv6 for Linux
Videos
- Video of Apple WWDC Session About IPv6 and iOS 9 Now Available (And Some Screenshots…)
- IPv6, DNSSEC, TLS, IETF Video Archives from ION Sri Lanka Available
- Video – Making Sense Out Of An IPv6 Address
- IPv6 Success Stories – Network Operators Tell All! – Video/Slides from ION Belfast
- 2 Years After World IPv6 Launch: Are We There Yet? – Video/Slides from ION Belfast