IPv6 addresses have been developed as a replacement for the now-depleted IPv4 address pool. Every IPv6 address is a 128-bit number which is four times longer than its predecessor. This additional length allows the theoretical creation of 340 undecillion unique IP addresses. An undecillion is 1 followed by 66 zeroes.

Each IPv6 address consists of eight groups of 16-bit numbers. Every group, often referred to as a hextet, is separated by a colon. Unlike IPv4 addresses which are represented using decimal numbers, IPv6 addresses use hexadecimal numbers instead. So, an example IPv6 address would be 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

The migration to IPv6 addresses will occur gradually over the coming years. To ensure a smooth transition, all major network applications, devices, and operating systems will support both types of IP addresses for the foreseeable future

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