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Definition: IPv6 addressing


The format of an IP address in the newer 128-bit version of the IP protocol. Unlike IPv4's four sets of numbers separated by dots, IP addresses in IPv6 are represented as eight sets of four hexadecimal characters separated by colons; for example: 2001:fe80:d4e4:d1e6:ca2e:c310:d55b:f0ae. Sets containing all zeros are shortened or eliminated. For example, :0000:0000: can be :0:0: or ::.

Virtually Unlimited
IPv6 supports a little more than 35 trillion networks, each of which can be divided into 65,536 subnetworks. Because of the large number of bits in the address, the IPv6 addressing scheme is able to handle a variety of formats, including one that supports IPv4 addresses within the IPv6 structure. See IPv6 transition.