Why Is IPv6 Adoption Slow?

IPv6, the most recent version of the Internet Protocol, was designed to overcome the address-space limitations of IPv4, which has been overwhelmed by the explosion of the digital ecosystem. Although major companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft and YouTube are gradually adopting IPv6, the overall adoption of this technologically superior protocol has been slow. As of September, only 22% of websites have made the switch. What is slowing the adoption of IPv6? Let’s take a walk through the possible causes and potential solutions. Why IPv6? IPv6 has a 128-bit address format that allows for a vastly larger number of unique IP addresses than its predecessor, IPv4. The latter uses a 32-bit address format and has an address catalog sufficient for only340 undecillion (340 trillion³) addresses, more than enough to accommodate the projected surge of devices. In addition to expanding the address space, IPv6 offers these improvements: Streamlined network management: Unlike IPv4, which requires manual configuration or external servers like DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), IPv6 supports stateless Continue reading