IPv6: next-generation Internet Protocol
Designed to support the demands of future high-performance computing that IPv4 was not equipped for.
IPv6
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a network layer Internet protocol standard used by electronic devices to exchange data across a packet-switched internet. It is to be formally adopted as a replacement for the current Internet Protocol (IPv4).
IPv6 factsheet - ICANN website
Amongst other advantages, IPv6 allows for nearly unlimited IP addresses. IPv4 supports 4x109 (4 billion) addresses which can not provide every living person with an address, not to mention supporting the growing market of connectivity devices, where as IPv6 supports the essentially unlimited 3 x1038.
Broadly speaking, IPv6 is a conservative extension of IPv4. Most IPv4 transport and application layer protocols need little or no change to work over IPv6.
Example of an IPv6 address:
FF04:F9:84:AE5:1C7:36:75D:2B8
