Benifits of IPv6
It depends on what type of user you are.
For the basic user for whom "the internet" extends to Facebook and eMail then really there's little (if any) immediate benefit.
From there, there are several reasons for needing IPv6 :
1) IPv4 addresses are almost all fully used. This means that some sites/services will start to be IPv6 only and will not be accessible to IPv4 only devices (or which are connected over IPv4 only connections). Very few at the moment, but it will start growing - and mostly over in the middle and far east where they started with smaller allocations and have grown fast, and hence (in some cases) actually ran out of IPv4 addresses a while ago.
2) As NAT isn't used, it makes accessing devices on your network easier.
While allowing a simple "open browser and access device" connection still needs the firewall to be configured to allow inbound connections (much as with IPv4 you need to configure port forwarding), it simplifies a lot of things where you want "device to device" connections. Many users are oblivious to the hassle NAT causes simply because so many people put a lot of effort into making software work around the problems - I work in IT and part of my job is "doing networks", I can assure you that NAT is a lot of hassle (sometimes make me feel like
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For other comments, try a quick search.
Top hit at time of writing is http://www.networkcomputing.com/ipv6/six-benefits-of-ipv6/230500009
All "techie stuff" which the average user doesn't need to know about. But just accept that behind the scenes those reasons all equate to "better internet".
Looking down, most results are also a bit techie.
I guess the reason for that is that most people don't really need to know about IP - as long as they can plug in the computer and "it works" then that's all that matters. At it's most basic level, IPv6 offers more addresses - a lot more addresses ! Behind the scenes there is a lot going on, and the current internet is creaking in places for various technical reasons - some of them due to the way IPv4 addresses are allocated.
But I suspect that when it becomes more common, we'll start to see people coming up with new stuff that was "just difficult" under IPv4.
tl;dr ?
Sumary: If you are a basic end user then don't worry, You don't "need" to go IPv6 yet, and if you do then you probably won't see any difference for a while. But if you do, then there is a lot of behind the scenes techie stuff that should make for "a better internet".
For the basic user for whom "the internet" extends to Facebook and eMail then really there's little (if any) immediate benefit.
From there, there are several reasons for needing IPv6 :
1) IPv4 addresses are almost all fully used. This means that some sites/services will start to be IPv6 only and will not be accessible to IPv4 only devices (or which are connected over IPv4 only connections). Very few at the moment, but it will start growing - and mostly over in the middle and far east where they started with smaller allocations and have grown fast, and hence (in some cases) actually ran out of IPv4 addresses a while ago.
2) As NAT isn't used, it makes accessing devices on your network easier.
While allowing a simple "open browser and access device" connection still needs the firewall to be configured to allow inbound connections (much as with IPv4 you need to configure port forwarding), it simplifies a lot of things where you want "device to device" connections. Many users are oblivious to the hassle NAT causes simply because so many people put a lot of effort into making software work around the problems - I work in IT and part of my job is "doing networks", I can assure you that NAT is a lot of hassle (sometimes make me feel like
)For other comments, try a quick search.
Top hit at time of writing is http://www.networkcomputing.com/ipv6/six-benefits-of-ipv6/230500009
All "techie stuff" which the average user doesn't need to know about. But just accept that behind the scenes those reasons all equate to "better internet".
Looking down, most results are also a bit techie.
I guess the reason for that is that most people don't really need to know about IP - as long as they can plug in the computer and "it works" then that's all that matters. At it's most basic level, IPv6 offers more addresses - a lot more addresses ! Behind the scenes there is a lot going on, and the current internet is creaking in places for various technical reasons - some of them due to the way IPv4 addresses are allocated.
But I suspect that when it becomes more common, we'll start to see people coming up with new stuff that was "just difficult" under IPv4.
tl;dr ?
Sumary: If you are a basic end user then don't worry, You don't "need" to go IPv6 yet, and if you do then you probably won't see any difference for a while. But if you do, then there is a lot of behind the scenes techie stuff that should make for "a better internet".
See attachment for an example of the benefits - try it - it's a nice simple little game: http://loopsofzen.co.uk/
There's not many sites like this at present, but as Simon said there will be more over time.
There's not many sites like this at present, but as Simon said there will be more over time.
