IPv4, which stands for Internet Protocol version 4, is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol (IP) that was originally designed in the early and has been widely used since the early days of the . IPv4 is the underlying technology that allows devices to communicate with each other over the internet and other IP-based networks. IPv4 addresses are 32 bits in length, which allows for a total of approximately unique addresses. Each IPv4 address is typically represented as decimal numbers separated by periods. In order to address the issue of IP address exhaustion (where there are more internet connected devices than available addresses), networks need to use a combination of public, private IP addresses, and in order for the internet to continue to function.
IPv6, short for Internet Protocol version 6, is the successor to and is designed to overcome the limitations of IPv4, primarily the exhaustion of available IP . The key new features of IPv6 include expanded address space and hexadecimal notation. IPv6 has a significantly larger address space compared to IPv4, using 128-bit addresses which means there are (about 340 undecillion) possible unique IPv6 addresses. IPv6 addresses are typically represented in hexadecimal notation, separated by . To simplify addresses, IPv6 allows for certain abbreviations, such as omitting leading zeros and using double colons (::) to represent consecutive groups of .
Media Access Control addresses play a crucial role in the functioning of local area and other networked devices. These addresses are used to uniquely identify network , such as network interface cards (NICs) in computers and other devices that connect to a network. A MAC address is typically a 48-bit or 64-bit binary number, represented in a format and is commonly written as six pairs of two hexadecimal digits. MAC addresses are assigned by the of the network interface card, where the first half of the MAC address is known as the OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier). MAC address spoofing is a technique used to change or falsify the Media Access Control (MAC) address of a network . This process can be used for both legitimate and purposes.
