IPv6 is the latest version of the internet protocol, designed to replace IPv4. It offers a number of advantages over IPv4, including a larger address space and improved security. If you are a cloud or DevOps engineer, it's worth learning about IPv6 and how to use it.

So, where are we with the IPV6 rollout?

IPv6 rollout officially started on 6 June 2012

As of July, global IPV6 adoption stands at 37%.

Few other info you should know.

1. IPv6 addresses are written using hexadecimal instead of a dotted decimal in IPv4.

2. The total number of IPV6 addresses is 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses.

3. IPV6 fc00::/7 block is reserved for the private network. It is known as a Unique local address.

Google has a dedicated web page that keeps track of IPV6 adoption.

IVP6 Status Tracker: https://www.google.com/intl/en/ipv6/statistics.html

The following image shows the difference between IpV4 & IPV6 addressing.

Getting Started With IPV6

You can get started with IPV6 using the following guides.

1. IPv6 - internetsociety offical Guides

2. Understanding IPv4 and IPv6 Protocol Family

3. IPv6: Introduction to the Protocol - Pluralsight

4. IPv6 Subnetting

5. IPV6 Subnet Calcualator