IPv6 will become the cornerstone of the Internet in the next few years. This text dissects IPv6 into its various structural components to give you a clear picture of exactly what makes version 6 and how it will meet the needs of a growing Internet community.

We start by looking at the components of IPv6, specifically dealing with the header format and looking at the ways in which this new version handles both addressing and routing issues along your network. While looking at these factors we examine the transition from the current version 4 to version 6. This migration does take into account the issues of security, which is paramount to any secure network implementation. Our next step is to take a typical implementation that deals explicitly with your host operating systems and implicitly with your router implementations involving your networked systems.

Knowing the basics of implementation provides a good background into what exactly IPv6 does for you, next this text takes a look into the actual specifications of IPv6 itself. We see the actual format of IPv6 and the new features that it offers the Internet community. Those features are primarily based upon its new method of addressing. Its addressing and address allocation methods are key to the way in which IPv6 works. We look into various addressing formats, point out specifics in what they involve, and then provide sound methods whereby these allocations can be tested. Then we look into specific address types in an effort to determine...