Special Edition Using TCP/IP, Second Edition

IPv6: An Overview

You have learned about the IP hourglass model in Chapter 3, “The Internet Layer Protocol.” The IP hourglass model illustrates the fact that irrespective of the Application layer protocol and the Transport layer protocol that is used in data transmission, the only protocol that can be used for routing is the Internet Protocol (IP). Internet Protocol operates from the Network layer of the TCP/IP reference model. The version of IP that is referred to here is called IPv4 and has been in use since the evolution of the Internet. Although IPv4 has been widely accepted and implemented, there a few limitations that need to be addressed. This has led to the creation of a new version of the Internet Protocol called Internet Protocol ...