IPv6

<table><tbody><tr><td>Internet history timeline</td></tr><tr><td>Early research and development:<ul><li>1960–1964: <a href="/facts/RAND/zArfRxf9">RAND</a> networking concepts developed</li><li>1962–1964: <a href="/facts/DARPA/Uf9sarhT">ARPA</a> networking ideas</li><li>1965 (1965): <a href="/facts/NPL_network/JWc0pxUu">NPL network</a> concepts conceived</li><li>1966 (1966): <a href="/facts/Merit_Network/1qL7oxsn">Merit Network</a> founded</li><li>1967 (1967): <a href="/facts/ARPANET/LyMGWurJ">ARPANET</a> planning begins</li><li>1967 (1967): <a href="/facts/Symposium_on_Operating_Systems_Principles/VhguUHDg">Symposium on Operating Systems Principles</a></li><li>1969 (1969): NPL followed by the ARPANET carry their first packets</li><li>1970 (1970): <a href="/facts/InterNIC/s7DoYDR1">Network Information Center</a> (NIC)</li><li>1971 (1971): <a href="/facts/Tymnet/wFM59Gtb">Tymnet</a> switched-circuit network</li><li>1972 (1972): Merit Network's packet-switched network operational</li><li>1972 (1972): <a href="/facts/Internet_Assigned_Numbers_Authority/b6MlP6zQ">Internet Assigned Numbers Authority</a> (IANA) established</li><li>1973 (1973): <a href="/facts/CYCLADES/kJX66P6D">CYCLADES</a> network demonstrated</li><li>1973 (1973): <a href="/facts/PARC_Universal_Packet/ub0fExbh">PARC Universal Packet</a> development begins</li><li>1974 (1974): <a href="/facts/Transmission_Control_Program/Qq6VeEal">Transmission Control Program</a> specification published</li><li>1975 (1975): <a href="/facts/Telenet/VCgNaKux">Telenet</a> commercial packet-switched network</li><li>1976 (1976): <a href="/facts/X.25/yaGPqw2Y">X.25</a> protocol approved and deployed on <a href="/facts/Public_data_network/sMYs1t3f">public data networks</a></li><li>1978 (1978): <a href="/facts/Minitel/bTmoGeyh">Minitel</a> introduced</li><li>1979 (1979): <a href="/facts/Internet_Architecture_Board/JV2M6FNP">Internet Activities Board</a> (IAB)</li><li>1980 (1980): <a href="/facts/Usenet/lYJWFBR6">USENET</a> news using <a href="/facts/UUCP/dQ055F7b">UUCP</a></li><li>1980 (1980): <a href="/facts/Ethernet/nMfhU8tU">Ethernet</a> standard introduced</li><li>1981 (1981): <a href="/facts/BITNET/oVg6qRYp">BITNET</a> established</li></ul>Merging the networks and creating the Internet:<ul><li>1981 (1981): <a href="/facts/CSNET/alJ5aBQq">Computer Science Network</a> (CSNET)</li><li>1982 (1982): <a href="/facts/Internet_protocol_suite/KNkxtSpw">TCP/IP</a> protocol suite formalized</li><li>1982 (1982): <a href="/facts/Simple_Mail_Transfer_Protocol/TeCRKDpJ">Simple Mail Transfer Protocol</a> (SMTP)</li><li>1983 (1983): <a href="/facts/Domain_Name_System/rfxdWFsj">Domain Name System</a> (DNS)</li><li>1983 (1983): <a href="/facts/MILNET/GGE4YIjI">MILNET</a> split off from ARPANET</li><li>1984 (1984): <a href="/facts/OSI_model/oxN9Xhjz">OSI Reference Model</a> released</li><li>1985 (1985): <a href="/facts/Domain_names/FDLD2m5G">First .COM domain name registered</a></li><li>1986 (1986): <a href="/facts/National_Science_Foundation_Network/b95QF5hR">NSFNET</a> with 56 kbit/s links</li><li>1986 (1986): <a href="/facts/Internet_Engineering_Task_Force/tIcCsFhX">Internet Engineering Task Force</a> (IETF)</li><li>1987 (1987): <a href="/facts/UUNET/ExCXPTcE">UUNET</a> founded</li><li>1988 (1988): <a href="/facts/National_Science_Foundation_Network/b95QF5hR">NSFNET</a> upgraded to 1.5 Mbit/s (T1)</li><li>1988 (1988): <a href="/facts/Morris_worm/moqgLa5t">Morris worm</a></li><li>1988 (1988): Complete <a href="/facts/Internet_protocol_suite/KNkxtSpw">Internet protocol suite</a></li><li>1989 (1989): <a href="/facts/Border_Gateway_Protocol/XfYgBzW3">Border Gateway Protocol</a> (BGP)</li><li>1989 (1989): <a href="/facts/PSINet/kp4KMV4Y">PSINet</a> founded, allows commercial traffic</li><li>1989 (1989): <a href="/facts/Federal_Internet_Exchange/yWKJnNXR">Federal Internet Exchanges (FIX East|FIXes)</a></li><li>1990 (1990): <a href="/facts/Government_Open_Systems_Interconnection_Profile/apFGyLp7">GOSIP</a> (without <a href="/facts/Internet_protocol_suite/KNkxtSpw">TCP/IP</a>)</li><li>1990 (1990): ARPANET decommissioned</li><li>1990 (1990): <a href="/facts/Advanced_Network_and_Services/2hyQa3uF">Advanced Network and Services</a> (ANS)</li><li>1990 (1990): <a href="/facts/UUNET/ExCXPTcE">UUNET/Alternet</a> allows commercial traffic</li><li>1990 (1990): <a href="/facts/Archie_(search_engine)/8EjLUsfL">Archie search engine</a></li><li>1991 (1991): <a href="/facts/Wide_area_information_server/eEaUzhJk">Wide area information server</a> (WAIS)</li><li>1991 (1991): <a href="/facts/Gopher_(protocol)/G2bpDRQJ">Gopher</a></li><li>1991 (1991): <a href="/facts/Commercial_Internet_eXchange/q3lVr6B7">Commercial Internet eXchange</a> (CIX)</li><li>1991 (1991): <a href="/facts/Advanced_Network_and_Services/2hyQa3uF">ANS CO+RE</a> allows commercial traffic</li><li>1991 (1991): <a href="/facts/World_Wide_Web/wvnTrWFq">World Wide Web</a> (WWW)</li><li>1992 (1992): <a href="/facts/National_Science_Foundation_Network/b95QF5hR">NSFNET</a> upgraded to 45 Mbit/s (T3)</li><li>1992 (1992): <a href="/facts/Internet_Society/scIaot5x">Internet Society</a> (ISOC) established</li><li>1993 (1993): <a href="/facts/Classless_Inter-Domain_Routing/YU0SEmfp">Classless Inter-Domain Routing</a> (CIDR)</li><li>1993 (1993): <a href="/facts/InterNIC/s7DoYDR1">InterNIC</a> established</li><li>1993 (1993): <a href="/facts/AOL/MAbT38QS">AOL</a> added <a href="/facts/Usenet/lYJWFBR6">USENET</a> access</li><li>1993 (1993): <a href="/facts/NCSA_Mosaic/qrA52r1E">Mosaic web browser</a> released</li><li>1994 (1994): <a href="/facts/Search_engine/SRntsbz2">Full text web search engines</a></li><li>1994 (1994): <a href="/facts/North_American_Network_Operators%27_Group/kMJqx1uf">North American Network Operators' Group</a> (NANOG) established</li></ul>Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet:<ul><li>1995 (1995): New Internet architecture with commercial <a href="/facts/Internet_service_provider/dUacAxef">ISPs</a> connected at <a href="/facts/Network_Access_Point/slyWwUdH">NAPs</a></li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/National_Science_Foundation_Network/b95QF5hR">NSFNET</a> decommissioned</li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/GOSIP/apFGyLp7">GOSIP</a> updated to allow <a href="/facts/Internet_protocol_suite/KNkxtSpw">TCP/IP</a></li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/Very_high-speed_Backbone_Network_Service/t2tXNNJF">very high-speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS)</a></li><li>1995 (1995): IPv6 proposed</li><li>1996 (1996): <a href="/facts/AOL/MAbT38QS">AOL</a> changes pricing model from hourly to monthly</li><li>1998 (1998): <a href="/facts/ICANN/2EHgcUU1">Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)</a></li><li>1999 (1999): <a href="/facts/IEEE_802.11/ryEGu6Vq">IEEE 802.11b</a> wireless networking</li><li>1999 (1999): <a href="/facts/Internet2/APYDGudp">Internet2</a>/<a href="/facts/Abilene_Network/njAvcCxy">Abilene Network</a></li><li>1999 (1999): <a href="/facts/VBNS/t2tXNNJF">vBNS+</a> allows broader access</li><li>2000 (2000): <a href="/facts/Dot-com_bubble/dCFWQt0s">Dot-com bubble</a> bursts</li><li>2001 (2001): <a href="/facts/Top-level_domain/azjpPu2M">New top-level domain names activated</a></li><li>2001 (2001): <a href="/facts/Code_Red_(computer_worm)/FIpF7P8R">Code Red I</a>, <a href="/facts/Code_Red_II/JaIzccPA">Code Red II</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nimda/0JhyJeHK">Nimda</a> worms</li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/World_Summit_on_the_Information_Society/YB1uwGD0">UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) phase I</a></li></ul><ul><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/National_LambdaRail/CEYEVmcT">National LambdaRail</a> founded</li><li>2004 (2004): <a href="/facts/Working_Group_on_Internet_Governance/nSkgQ5Yv">UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG)</a></li><li>2005 (2005): <a href="/facts/World_Summit_on_the_Information_Society/YB1uwGD0">UN WSIS phase II</a></li><li>2006 (2006): <a href="/facts/Internet_Governance_Forum/CV6emQNr">First meeting of the Internet Governance Forum</a></li><li>2010 (2010): <a href="/facts/Top-level_domain/azjpPu2M">First internationalized country code top-level domains</a> registered</li><li>2012 (2012): <a href="/facts/Generic_top-level_domain/X0sNABPE">ICANN begins accepting applications for new generic top-level domain names</a></li><li>2013 (2013): <a href="/facts/Montevideo_Statement_on_the_Future_of_Internet_Cooperation/1AGRS70j">Montevideo Statement on the Future of Internet Cooperation</a></li><li>2014 (2014): <a href="/facts/NetMundial_Initiative/xQdRq2r5">NetMundial international Internet governance proposal</a></li><li>2016 (2016): <a href="/facts/ICANN/2EHgcUU1">ICANN</a> contract with U.S. Dept. of Commerce ends, <a href="/facts/Internet_Assigned_Numbers_Authority/b6MlP6zQ">IANA</a> oversight passes to the global Internet community on October 1st</li></ul>Examples of Internet services:<ul><li>1989 (1989): <a href="/facts/AOL/MAbT38QS">AOL</a> dial-up service provider, email, instant messaging, and web browser</li><li>1990 (1990): <a href="/facts/IMDb/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a> Internet movie database</li><li>1994 (1994): <a href="/facts/Yahoo/nKhTaV3M">Yahoo!</a> web directory</li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/Amazon_(company)/YzUTUVE8">Amazon</a> online retailer</li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/EBay/bDswVAKB">eBay</a> online auction and shopping</li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/Craigslist/sru3Dv3W">Craigslist</a> classified advertisements</li><li>1995 (1995): <a href="/facts/AltaVista/X0C5ts5p">AltaVista</a> search engine</li><li>1996 (1996): <a href="/facts/Outlook.com/I4sund79">Outlook (formerly Hotmail)</a> free web-based e-mail</li><li>1996 (1996): <a href="/facts/Baidu/VgAx7Pfu">RankDex</a> search engine</li><li>1997 (1997): <a href="/facts/Google_Search/LFnCogKt">Google Search</a></li><li>1997 (1997): <a href="/facts/Babel_Fish_(website)/g8d8G0nN">Babel Fish</a> automatic translation</li><li>1998 (1998): <a href="/facts/Yahoo_Groups/Xe4MwHFk">Yahoo Groups (formerly Yahoo! Clubs)</a></li><li>1998 (1998): <a href="/facts/PayPal/tlShukIa">PayPal</a> Internet payment system</li><li>1998 (1998): <a href="/facts/Rotten_Tomatoes/rLs7ktSY">Rotten Tomatoes</a> review aggregator</li><li>1999 (1999): <a href="/facts/2channel/9fKR8y13">2ch</a> Anonymous textboard</li><li>1999 (1999): <a href="/facts/I-mode/pLNzMYkP">i-mode</a> mobile internet service</li><li>1999 (1999): <a href="/facts/Napster/49fjWRT7">Napster</a> peer-to-peer file sharing</li><li>2000 (2000): <a href="/facts/Baidu/VgAx7Pfu">Baidu</a> search engine</li><li>2001 (2001): <a href="/facts/Futaba_Channel/szefe1jK">2chan</a> Anonymous imageboard</li><li>2001 (2001): <a href="/facts/BitTorrent/HP9ChWWW">BitTorrent</a> peer-to-peer file sharing</li><li>2001 (2001): <a href="/facts/Wikipedia/KDRNKWnc">Wikipedia</a>, the free encyclopedia</li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/LinkedIn/Iq2IcNMt">LinkedIn</a> business networking</li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/Myspace/dES860Ro">Myspace</a> social networking site</li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/Skype/qdKbuh23">Skype</a> Internet voice calls</li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/ITunes_Store/c3XFlT3q">iTunes Store</a></li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/4chan/eSLuYvUN">4chan</a> Anonymous imageboard</li><li>2003 (2003): <a href="/facts/The_Pirate_Bay/V8jQU7eP">The Pirate Bay</a>, <a href="/facts/Torrent_file/j0SwIJrW">torrent file</a> host</li><li>2004 (2004): <a href="/facts/Facebook/0IhXFR6u">Facebook</a> social networking site</li><li>2004 (2004): <a href="/facts/Podcast/arkeh0YV">Podcast</a> media file series</li><li>2004 (2004): <a href="/facts/Flickr/BvB6ubLr">Flickr</a> image hosting</li><li>2005 (2005): <a href="/facts/YouTube/db276jst">YouTube</a> video sharing</li><li>2005 (2005): <a href="/facts/Reddit/PAJjm63I">Reddit</a> link voting</li><li>2005 (2005): <a href="/facts/Google_Earth/jjJmIjmb">Google Earth</a> virtual globe</li><li>2006 (2006): <a href="/facts/Twitter/VWwDNGUm">Twitter</a> microblogging</li><li>2007 (2007): <a href="/facts/WikiLeaks/rm4lC2cD">WikiLeaks</a> anonymous news and information leaks</li><li>2007 (2007): <a href="/facts/Google_Street_View/Ruqzal5A">Google Street View</a></li><li>2007 (2007): <a href="/facts/Amazon_Kindle/cmCbmvEs">Kindle</a>, <a href="/facts/E-reader/D7a76tKm">e-reader</a> and virtual bookshop</li><li>2008 (2008): <a href="/facts/Amazon_Elastic_Compute_Cloud/2EMwnvlS">Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud</a> (EC2)</li><li>2008 (2008): <a href="/facts/Dropbox/7D2Rhh32">Dropbox</a> cloud-based file hosting</li><li>2008 (2008): <a href="/facts/Encyclopedia_of_Life/E5Fz0Wrd">Encyclopedia of Life</a>, a collaborative encyclopedia intended to document all living species</li><li>2008 (2008): <a href="/facts/Spotify/wsTSvDD8">Spotify</a>, a <a href="/facts/Digital_rights_management/4AF8JmDt">DRM-based</a> music streaming service</li><li>2009 (2009): <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Bing/r2pIK5HT">Bing</a> search engine</li><li>2009 (2009): <a href="/facts/Google_Docs/y2RYkhAQ">Google Docs</a>, Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, form, and data storage service</li><li>2009 (2009): <a href="/facts/Kickstarter/J1R5A3f6">Kickstarter</a>, a <a href="/facts/Threshold_pledge_system/n2CoQ8ET">threshold pledge system</a></li><li>2009 (2009): <a href="/facts/Bitcoin/UJvqfray">Bitcoin</a>, a <a href="/facts/Digital_currency/ycholMaA">digital currency</a></li><li>2010 (2010): <a href="/facts/Instagram/33s91jnV">Instagram</a>, <a href="/facts/Photo_sharing/pyJS36yM">photo sharing</a> and <a href="/facts/Social_networking/qFIh6VT1">social networking</a></li><li>2011 (2011): <a href="/facts/Google%2B/YpruHrEK">Google+</a>, <a href="/facts/Social_networking/qFIh6VT1">social networking</a></li><li>2011 (2011): <a href="/facts/Snapchat/oIQ9tBh8">Snapchat</a>, <a href="/facts/Photo_sharing/pyJS36yM">photo sharing</a></li><li>2012 (2012): <a href="/facts/Coursera/5Kp5AIuX">Coursera</a>, massive open online courses</li><li>2016 (2016): <a href="/facts/TikTok/LC3FaCbX">TikTok</a>, <a href="/facts/Video_sharing/tNBgCRKy">video sharing</a> and <a href="/facts/Social_networking/qFIh6VT1">social networking</a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the <a href="/facts/Internet_Protocol/Qq6VeEal">Internet Protocol</a> (IP), the <a href="/facts/Communication_protocol/5uady7cB">communications protocol</a> that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a>. IPv6 was developed by the <a href="/facts/Internet_Engineering_Task_Force/tIcCsFhX">Internet Engineering Task Force</a> (IETF) to deal with the long-anticipated problem of <a href="/facts/IPv4_address_exhaustion/8cxJwQ1Q">IPv4 address exhaustion</a>, and was intended to replace <a href="/facts/IPv4/bnQ5MEqm">IPv4</a>. In December 1998, IPv6 became a Draft Standard for the IETF, which subsequently ratified it as an <a href="/facts/Internet_Standard/LT6VEfhg">Internet Standard</a> on 14 July 2017.
Devices on the Internet are assigned a unique <a href="/facts/IP_address/z9V22Sw9">IP address</a> for identification and location definition. With the rapid growth of the Internet after commercialization in the 1990s, it became evident that far more addresses would be needed to connect devices than the 4,294,967,296 (232) IPv4 address space had available. By 1998, the IETF had formalized the successor protocol, IPv6 which uses 128-<a href="/facts/Bit/S972NSaD">bit</a> addresses, theoretically allowing 2128, or 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 total addresses. The actual number is slightly smaller, as multiple ranges are reserved for special usage or completely excluded from general use. The two protocols are not designed to be <a href="/facts/Interoperable/7WgqUbXU">interoperable</a>, and thus direct communication between them is impossible, complicating the move to IPv6. However, several <a href="/facts/IPv6_transition_mechanism/bIsav5rv">transition mechanisms</a> have been devised to rectify this.
IPv6 provides other technical benefits in addition to a larger addressing space. In particular, it permits hierarchical address allocation methods that facilitate <a href="/facts/Route_aggregation/aC9L28rq">route aggregation</a> across the Internet, and thus limit the expansion of <a href="/facts/Routing_table/tufajWvV">routing tables</a>. The use of multicast addressing is expanded and simplified, and provides additional optimization for the delivery of services. Device mobility, security, and configuration aspects have been considered in the design of the protocol.
IPv6 addresses are represented as eight groups of four <a href="/facts/Hexadecimal/02ohQW22">hexadecimal</a> digits each, separated by colons. The full representation may be shortened; for example, 2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334 becomes 2001:db8::8a2e:370:7334.

IPv6 open-in-new

IPv6