This book is a Masters thesis paper that uses the scientific method to discover what Internet Protocol is superior, IP version four or version six.
Internet Protocol or IP is perhaps singly the most important protocol that drives the Internet as we know it. Princeton (2010) defines a protocol as a set of rules determining the format and transmission of data (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu). On the Internet today there are two versions of this protocol in operation, versions 4 and 6 or IPv4 and IPv6 respectfully. Every device connected to the Internet requires a unique identifier or IP address. Currently IPv4 is suffering from a serious lack of IP addresses driven by an unprecedented and unpredicted number of new electronic devices connecting to the Internet and requesting an IP address. IPv4 is capable of delivering a technical maximum of 4,294,967,296 IP addresses and currently there are approximately 0.5% of these IP addresses remaining ("Driving IPv6 Deployment," 2010). In 1996 the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) published the specification of IPv6; this new protocol was designed to deliver 3.4x1038 IP addresses, an almost limitless supply for generations of Internet users to come. Interestingly organisations have been slow to adopt this new IPv6 for many reasons including but not limited to the following; IT strategy, technical experience, education, financial restraints, immature technology, lack of consumer demand and lack of vendor support. There is a lot of anxiety surrounding the adoption of this technology when you consider that organisations IT and network infrastructure is built on a system (IPv4) that works perfectly well for now, so why should they try to fix it if it doesn’t appear to be broken? This thesis aims to find out what organisations should do now, stay with IPv4 or bite the bullet and adopt IPv6.
Internet Protocol or IP is perhaps singly the most important protocol that drives the Internet as we know it. Princeton (2010) defines a protocol as a set of rules determining the format and transmission of data (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu). On the Internet today there are two versions of this protocol in operation, versions 4 and 6 or IPv4 and IPv6 respectfully. Every device connected to the Internet requires a unique identifier or IP address. Currently IPv4 is suffering from a serious lack of IP addresses driven by an unprecedented and unpredicted number of new electronic devices connecting to the Internet and requesting an IP address. IPv4 is capable of delivering a technical maximum of 4,294,967,296 IP addresses and currently there are approximately 0.5% of these IP addresses remaining ("Driving IPv6 Deployment," 2010). In 1996 the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) published the specification of IPv6; this new protocol was designed to deliver 3.4x1038 IP addresses, an almost limitless supply for generations of Internet users to come. Interestingly organisations have been slow to adopt this new IPv6 for many reasons including but not limited to the following; IT strategy, technical experience, education, financial restraints, immature technology, lack of consumer demand and lack of vendor support. There is a lot of anxiety surrounding the adoption of this technology when you consider that organisations IT and network infrastructure is built on a system (IPv4) that works perfectly well for now, so why should they try to fix it if it doesn’t appear to be broken? This thesis aims to find out what organisations should do now, stay with IPv4 or bite the bullet and adopt IPv6.
