Setra Blog

IP security, or IPsec, is a collection of standards for the security of transmitted sensitive information over unprotected networks. At the network level, IPsec protects and authenticates data packets being sent between IPsec devices. IPsec has several optional security features, the use of which can be dictated by local security policies:

IPv4, the previous and widely used version of the internet protocol, was able to broadcast data to multiple devices. However, with IPv6, the latest internet protocol, broadcast has been replaced with multicast.

Unlike the 32-bit addresses of IPv4, IPv6 addresses are 128-bits. These longer addresses are partitioned into 16-bit bocks; then, each of these smaller blocks is turned into a 4-digit Hexadecimal number. Built into IPv6 addresses is notation identifying the application it will be used for. The first 64-bits of the address are for routing and the last 64-bits represent the interface or node.

IPv6 is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers. First developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force in the 1990s, IPv6 became a full standard in 2017. However, its spread and usage in the world has not been as fast as anticipated. In 2012, IPv6 was permanently enabled by Internet Service Providers, networking equipment manufacturers, and web companies.