

Ĭonsequently, the design of IPv6 was an opportunistic way to improve the Internet, with new benefits such as: There may be alternative technical solutions, such as NAT (Network Address Translation), but they won't work so easily to allow this growth. This, combined with new 'always-on' access technologies such as xDSL, cable, ethernet-to-the-home, were increasing the appetite for new devices and new users.

This need arose from fast Internet growth: billions of new devices (cell phones, PDAs, appliances, cars, etc.), and billions of new users (China, India, Latin America). IPv6 was initially designed with a compelling reason in mind: the need for more IP addresses. IPv6 is the "next generation" protocol designed by the IETF to replace the current version of Internet_Protocol, IP Version 4 or IPv4.

IPv6 is short for "Internet Protocol version 6".
