When examining the details of the IPv4 and IPv6 headers, it's easy to miss some of the important differences between the two protocols. This chapter has provided a lot of information that may be difficult to digest, so this section summarizes some of the differences. As you read this section, refer to Figures 3-1 and 3-2.
These IPv4 field names are the same as those in IPv6:
• Version (IPv4 and IPv6): This is an easy one; the value is 4 in IPv4 and 6 in IPv6.
• Source Address and Destination Address (IPv4 and IPv6): Probably the most noticeable differences are the 32-bit IPv4 source and destination addresses, which have been increased to 128 bits in IPv6.
Some IPv4 field names were changed for IPv6, and in some cases the fields have functional differences:
• Type of Service (IPv4) has been changed to Traffic Class (IPv6): IPv4 can use either the 3-bit IP Precedence field along with another 3 bits for delay, throughput, and reliability, or the 6-bit Differentiated Services technique. IPv6 was designed to use the 6-bit Differentiated Services method.
• Total Length (IPv4) has been changed to Payload Length (IPv6): IPv4's Total Length field includes both the IPv4 header and the data, whereas the IPv6 Payload Length field specifies only the number of bytes of data (payload), including any extension headers, and does not include the main IPv6 header. Using the Jumbo Payload option in the Hop-by-Hop extension header, IPv6 provides jumbograms, which are IPv6 packets up to 4,294,967,295 (232–1) bytes.
• Time to Live (IPv4) has been changed to Hop Limit (IPv6): The IPv4 Time to Live (TTL) and IPv6 Hop Limit fields ensure that packets do not transit between networks for an indefinite period of time. These fields have the same function, with the name being more reflective of the field's actual use in IPv6.
• Protocol (IPv4) has been changed to Next Header (IPv6): In IPv4, this indicates the protocol being carried in the IPv4 data or payload. This same function exists in the Next Header field in IPv6 but can also indicate the existence of an extension header following the main IPv6 header.
The following fields that exist in IPv4 have been removed from IPv6:
• Internet Header Length (IPv4): This field is not needed in IPv6 because the main IPv6 header has a fixed length of 40 bytes. Any additional IPv6 headers are linked as indicated in the Next Header field and known as extension headers.
• Identification (IPv4), Flags (IPv4), and Fragment Offset (IPv4): These fields are used for fragmentation in IPv4. Fragmentation is only performed at the source in IPv6, using the Fragment extension header, and not by routers.
• Header Checksum (IPv4): Layer 2 technologies such as Ethernet perform their own checksum and error control. Upper-layer protocols such as TCP and UDP also have their own checksums, and therefore a checksum at Layer 3 is redundant and unnecessary. A UDP checksum, which is optional in IPv4, is mandatory in IPv6.
• Options (IPv4): Options in IPv4 are handled using extension headers in IPv6. Two IPv6 extension headers, Hop-by-Hop Options and Destination Options, contain their own sets of TLV options.
• Padding (IPv4): Because IPv6 has a fixed length of 40 bytes, it is unnecessary to extend the main IPv6 header to make sure that it falls on a 32-bit boundary. The main header falls on a 64-bit boundary.
The following are new fields in IPv6 that don't exist in IPv4:
• Flow Label (IPv6): This is a new field to IPv6, and the specifications of its use are still being determined by the IETF. RFC 2460 discusses using the Flow Label field to label sequences of packets that need special handling by IPv6 routers for "real-time" service. RFC 6437 contains additional details on the Flow Label field.
The following are new headers in IPv6 that don't exist in IPv4:
• Extension Headers (IPv6): IPv6 extension headers are used to provide flexibility and future enhancements to a fixed IPv6 header.
Other features:
• IPv6 over Ethernet: Ethernet II frames use the EtherType field with the hexadecimal value 86dd (0x86dd) to indicate that the payload is an IPv6 packet.
• Fragmentation: IPv6 routers do not perform fragmentation. When an IPv6 router receives a packet larger than the MTU of the egress interface, the router drops the packet and sends an ICMPv6 Packet Too Big message back to the source, including the MTU size of the egress link in bytes. Fragmentation can be done in IPv6 only by the source device, and it is handled using a Fragment extension header.
About the Author
Rick Graziani has been an instructor of computer networking and computer science courses at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California since 1994. Rick also teaches networking courses in the Computer Engineering department at the University of California, Santa Cruz and is on the Curriculum Engineering team for Cisco Networking Academy.
Organizations are increasingly transitioning to IPv6, the next generation protocol for defining how devices of all kinds communicate over networks. Now fully updated, IPv6 Fundamentals offers a thorough, friendly, and easy-to-understand introduction to the knowledge and skills you need to deploy and operate IPv6 networks.
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Throughout, Graziani presents command syntax for Cisco IOS, Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, as well as many examples, diagrams, configuration tips, and updated links to white papers and official RFCs for even deeper understanding.
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