C

O
IPv6 (IPng)
M
P Next Generation IP
U
T
E
R

N
E
T
W
O
R
K
S
 The main reason for migration from IPv4 to IPv6 is the small size of
C
O the address space in IPv4.
M
P An IPv6 address is 128 bits or 16 bytes (octets) long, four times the
U
T address length in IPv4.
E
R A computer normally stores the address in binary, but it is clear that
N
128 bits cannot easily be handled by humans. Several notations have
E been proposed to represent IPv6 addresses when they are handled by
T
W humans.
O
R The following shows two of these notations: binary and colon
K hexadecimal.
S

2
 Although an IPv6 address, even in hexadecimal format, is very long, many of the
digits are zeros. Abbreviation of the address is done by omitting the leading
C
zeros of a section.
O
M For example, 0074 can be written as 74, OOOF as F & 0000 as 0. Note that
P
U
3210 cannot be abbreviated.
T
E Zero Compression can be applied to colon hex notation if there are consecutive
R sections consisting of zeros only. We can remove all the zeros and replace them
N with a double semicolon.
E
T
W
O
R
K
S
This type of abbreviation is allowed only once per address. If there is more than
one run of zero sections, only one of them can be compressed. Double Colon
appears only once in the address.
3
 An alternate notation often used in a mixed environment of IPv4 and IPv6 nodes
is x:x:x:x:x:x:d.d.d.d, called as mixed notation.
C where the 'x's are the hexadecimal values of the six high-order 16-bit pieces
O of address and
M
P the 'd's are the decimal values of the four low-order 8-bit pieces of the
U
T
address (IPv4 representation)
E
R

N
E
T
W IPv6 uses hierarchical addressing. For this reason, IPv6 allows slash or CIDR
O
R notation. The following shows how we can define a prefix of 60 bits using CIDR.
K
S

4
 Show the unabbreviated colon hex notation for the following
C
O
IPv6 addresses:
a. An address with 64 0s followed by 64 1s.
M
P
U b. An address with 128 0s.
T
E c. An address with 128 1s.
R d. An address with 128 alternative 1s and 0s.
N
E
T
Solution
W a. 0000:0000:0000:0000:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF
O
R b. 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000
K c. FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF
d. AAAA:AAAA:AAAA:AAAA:AAAA:AAAA:AAAA:AAAA
S

5
 Show abbreviations for the following addresses:
C
O a. 0000:0000:FFFF:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000
M
P b. 1234:2346:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:1111
U
T c. 0000:0001:0000:0000:0000:0000:1200:1000
E
R d. 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:FFFF:24.123.12.6
N Solutions
E
T
W a) 0:0:FFFF::
O
R b) 1234:2346::1111
K
S
c) 0:1::1200:1000
d) ::FFFF:24.123.12.6 6
 Decompress the following addresses and show the complete
C
unabbreviated IPv6 address:
O
M
P a. 1111::2222
U b. ::
c. 0:1::
T
E
R d. AAAA:A:AA::1234
N
E
T
Solution
W a. 1111:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:2222
b. 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000
O
R
K
S c. 0000:0001:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000
d. AAAA:000A:00AA:0000:0000:0000:0000:1234
7
C The address space of IPv6 contains 2128 addresses. This
O
M address space is 296 times the IPv4 addressdefinitely no
P
U
address depletionas shown, the size of the space is
T
E
R

N
E To give some idea about the number of addresses, let us
assume that the number of people on the planet earth is soon
T
W
O
R
to be 234 (more than 16 billion). Each person can have 288
K addresses to use.
S
.
8
 Unicast Address
A unicast address defines a single interface (computer or router). One-to-one
C
O
delivery to a single interface.
M Anycast Address
P An any cast address defines a group of computers that all share a single address. A
U
T
packet with an anycast address is delivered to only one member of the group, the
E most reachable one.
R Multicast Address
N
A multicast address also defines a group of computers. In anycasting, only one copy
E of the packet is sent to one of the members of the group; in multicasting each
T member of the group receives a copy.
W
O
R
K
S

No Broadcast Address -> Use Multicast

9
C
Like the address space of IPv4, the address space of IPv6 is divided into
O several blocks of varying size and each block is allocated for special
M
P
purpose.
U
T
E The following table shows only the assigned blocks. In this table, the last
R column shows the fraction each block occupies in the whole address
N space..
E
T
W
O
R
K
S

10
 Global Unicast Addresses
The block in the address space that is used for unicast (one-to-one) communication between
two hosts in the Internet is called the global unicast address block. CIDR for the block is
C 2000::/3, which means that the three leftmost bits are the same for all addresses in this
O
M
block (001).
P The size of this block is 2125 bits, which is more than enough for Internet expansion for many
U years to come. An address in this block is divided into three parts: global routing prefix (n
T bits), subnet identifier (m bits), and interface identifier (q bits).
E
R

N
E
T
s ite Defines subnet Defines interface
W e f ines
D
O
R
K
S

11
 The global routing prefix is used to route the packet through the Internet to the
organization site, such as the ISP that owns the block. Since the first three bits in this
C part are fixed (001), the rest of the 45 bits can be defined for up to 245 sites.
O
M The global routers in the Internet route a packet to its destination site based on the
P value of n. The next m bits define a subnet in an organization. This means that an
U
T organization can have up to 216 = 65,536 subnets, which is more than enough.
E
R The last q bits (64 bits) define the interface identifier. The interface identifier is
similar to hostid in IPv4 addressing, but the host identifier actually defines the
N
E interface, not the host.
T
W Unlike IPv4, IPv6 allows a relationship between the hostid (at the IP level) and link-
O layer address (at the data-link layer).
R
K Two common linklayer addressing schemes can be considered for this purpose: the
S
64-bit extended unique identifier (EUI-64) defined by IEEE and the 48-bit link-layer
address defined by Ethernet.
12
 Mapping EUI-64
Extended Unique Identifier (EUI), as per RFC2373, allows a host to assign itself a
C unique 64-Bit IP Version 6 interface identifier (EUI-64).
O
M This feature is a key benefit over IPv4 as it eliminates the need of manual
P configuration or DHCP as in the world of IPv4
U
T To map a 64-bit physical address, the global/local bit of this format needs to be
E
R
changed from 0 to 1 (local to global) to define an interface address.

N
E
T
W
O
R
K
S

13
 Mapping Ethernet MAC Address
The IPv6 EUI-64 format address is obtained through the 48-bit MAC address. The MAC
address is first separated into two 24-bits, with one being OUI (Organizationally Unique
C
O Identifier) and the other being NIC specific. The 16-bit 0xFFFE is then inserted between
M these two 24-bits for the 64-bit EUI address.
P
U The additional 16 bits are defined as 15 ones
T followed by one zero, or FFFE16.
E Next, the seventh bit from the left, or the
R universal/local (U/L) bit, needs to be inverted. This
N
bit identifies whether this interface identifier is
E universally or locally administered. If 0, the address
T is locally administered and if 1, the address is
W globally unique.
O
R
K
S

14
C Q) Using the format we defined for Ethernet addresses, find the interface identifier
O if the Ethernet physical address is (F5-A9-23-14-7A-D2)16
M
P
U A) We only need to change the seventh bit of the first octet from 0 to 1, insert two
T octets FFFE16 and change the format to colon hex notation. The result is
E
R
F7A9:23FF:FEI4:7AD2 in colon hex.
N Q) An organization is assigned the block 2000:1456:2474/48. What is the IPv6
E
T
address of an interface in the third sub net if the IEEE physical address of the
W computer is (F5A923147A.D2)16
O
R
K
A) The interface identifier for this interface is F7A9:23FF:FEI4:7AD2. If we append
S this identifier to the global prefix and the subnet identifier, we get:
2000:1456:2474:0003:F7A9:23FF:FEI4:7 AD2/128
15
 Special Addresses

Addresses that use the prefix (0000::/8) are reserved, but part of this block is used
C to define some special addresses.
O
M
P
U
T
E
R

N
E
T
W
O
R
K
S

16
 The unspecified address is a subblock containing only one address, which is used during
bootstrap when a host does not know its own address and wants to send an inquiry to
find it.
C
O Loopback addresses in IPv4 are represented by 127.0.0.1 to 127.255.255.255 series.
M But in IPv6, only 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1/128 represents the Loopback address. After loopback
P
U
address, it can be represented as ::1/128.
T During the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, hosts can use their IPv4 addresses embedded in
E
R
IPv6 addresses.
A compatible address is an address of 96 bits of zero followed by 32 bits of IPv4 address.
N
They are used dynamically to tunnel IPv6 packets over IPv4 networks. IPv6 nodes that
E
T use this technique are assigned special IPv6 unicast addresses which hold an IPv4
W address in the low-order 32-bits. In IPv6-IPv4 decimal form
O ::129.144.52.38
R
In IPv6-compressed form
K
S ::8190:3426
A mapped address is used when a computer already migrated to version 6 wants to
send an address to a computer still using version 4.
17
 Other Assigned Blocks

IPv6 uses two large blocks for private addressing and one large block for
C multicasting.
O
M
P
U
T
E
R

N
E
T
W
O
R
K
S
 A subblock in a unique local unicast block can be privately created and used by a site.
This type of address has the identifier 1111 110, the next bit can be 0 or 1 to define
C
how the address is selected (locally or by an authority). The next 40 bits are selected
O by the site using a randomly generated number of length 40 bits. This means that the
M total of 48 bits defines a subblock that looks like a global unicast address. The 40-bit
P
U random number makes the probability of duplication of the address extremely small.
T
E
R

N
E The second block, designed for private addresses, is the link local block. A sub block in
T
this block can be used as a private address in a network. This type of address has the
W
O block identifier 1111111010. The next 54 bits are set to zero. The last 64 bits can be
R changed to define the interface for each computer.
K
S

19
C
O
M
P
U IPv6 multicast communication is similar to IPv4 multicast communication. A IPv6 multicast
T address identifies multiple interfaces. IPv6 datagram packets addressed to an IPv6
E
R
multicast address are delivered to all interfaces that are identified by the address.
For IPv6 multicast addresses, the first eight bits are reserved as 1111 1111. Thus, the prefix
N
of an IPv6 multicast address is ff00::/8. Similar to IPv6 Link Local addresses, it is easy to
E
T identify an IPv6 multicast address, because they have left most hexadecimal digits as "FF.
W
The second field is a flag that defines the group address as either permanent or transient.
O
R A permanent group address is defined by the Internet authorities and can be accessed at
K all times. A transient group address, on the other hand, is used only temporarily.
S
The third field defines the scope of the group address. The next 112 bits Group ID is used
to identify the multicast group within the given scope (either permanent or transient).
20
 One of the interesting features of IPv6 addressing is the autoconfiguration of hosts. In IPv6,
DHCP protocol can still be used to allocate an IPv6 address to a host, but a host can also
configure itself.
C
O
When a host in IPv6 joins a network, it can configure itself using the following process:
M
P 1. The host first creates a link local address for itself. This is done by taking the 10-bit link
U local prefix (1111 1110 10), adding 54 zeros, and adding the 64-bit interface identifier,
T
E which any host knows how to generate from its interface card. The result is a 128-bit link
R local address.
N 2. The host then tests to see if this link local address is unique and not used by other hosts.
E Since the 64-bit interface identifier is supposed to be unique, the link local address
T generated is unique with a high probability. to verify the uniqueness of the tentative link-
W
O local address, a Neighbor Solicitation message is sent with the Target Address field that is
R set to the tentative link-local address. A Neighbor Advertisement message is received,
K
this indicates that another node on the local link is using the tentative link-local address
S
and address autoconfiguration stops. At this point, manual configuration must be
performed on the node.
21
 If the uniqueness of the link local address is passed, the host stores this address
as its link local address, but it still needs a global unicast address. The host then
C sends a router solicitation message to a local router. If there is a router running
O on the network, the host receives a router advertisement message that includes
M the global unicast prefix and the subnet prefix that the host needs to add to its
P
U interface identifier to generate its global unicast address. If the router cannot
T help the host with the configuration, it informs the host in the router
E advertisement message (by setting a flag). The host then needs to use other
R
means for configuration.
N
E
T
W
O
R
K
S

22
C To allow sites to change the service provider, renumbering of the address prefix
O
M (n) was built into IPv6 addressing.
P
U Each site is given it prefix by the service provider to which it is connected. If the
T
E site changes the provider, the address prefix needs to be changed.
R
A router to which the site is connected can advertise a new prefix and let the
N
E site use the old prefix for a short time before disabling it.
T
W In other words, during the transition period, a site has two prefixes.
O
R The main problem in using the renumbering mechanism is the support of the
K
S DNS, which needs to propagate the new addressing associated with a domain
name.
23
 The change of the IPv6 address size requires the change in the IPv4 packet
C
O format.
M
P
U
T
E
R

N
E
T
W
O
R
K
S

24
 IPv4 & IPv6 Header Comparison
IPv4 Header IPv6 Header
C
O Version IHL Type of Service Total Length Version Traffic Class Flow Label
M
P Fragment
U Identification Flags Payload Length Next Header Hop Limit
Offset
T
E Time to Live Protocol Header Checksum
R Source Address
Source Address
N
E Destination Address
T Destination Address
Options Padding
W
O
Legend

- fields name kept from IPv4 to IPv6

R
- fields not kept in IPv6
K
S - Name & position changed in IPv6
- New field in IPv6
 An IPv6 address is 4 times larger than IPv4, but surprisingly, the
header of an IPv6 address is only 2 times larger than that of IPv4.
C
O
M
P IPv6 headers have one Fixed Header and zero or more Optional
U (Extension) Headers. All the necessary information that is essential for
T
E a router is kept in the Fixed Header. The Extension Header contains
R
optional information that helps routers to understand how to handle a
N
E
packet/flow.
T
W
O
R
The IPv6 main header is required for every datagram. It contains
K addressing and control information that are used to manage the
S
processing and routing of the datagram.
26
 IPv6 fixed header is 40 bytes long and contains the following information.
Identifies the version of IP used to generate the datagram like in
C
O IPv4. Here, it carries the value 6 (0110 binary).
M
P This field replaces the Type Of Service (TOS) field in the IPv4
U header. The 8-bit field is used to distinguish different payloads with different
T
E delivery requirements.
R
This label is used to maintain the sequential flow of the
N packets belonging to a communication. The source labels the sequence to help the
E
T router identify that a particular packet belongs to a specific flow of information. It
W is designed for streaming/real-time media.
O
R This field is used to tell the routers how much
K
S
information a particular packet contains in its payload. Payload is composed of
Extension Headers and Upper Layer data. With 16 bits, up to 65535 bytes can be
indicated.
27
 This field is used to indicate either the type of
C
Extension Header, or if the Extension Header is not present then it indicates
O the Upper Layer PDU. The values for the type of Upper Layer PDU are same
M
P as IPv4s.
U
T This field is used to stop packet to loop in the
E
R network infinitely. This is same as TTL in IPv4. The value of Hop Limit field is
N decremented by 1 as it passes a link (router/hop). When the field reaches 0
E
T
the packet is discarded.
W
O This field indicates the address of originator
R
K
of the packet.
S
This field provides the address of
intended recipient of the packet.
28
C
O
M
P
U
T
E
R

N
E
The payload in IPv6 means a combination of zero or more extension headers (options)
T
W followed by the data from other protocols (UDP, TCP, and so on).
O The payload can have as many extension headers as required by the situation. Each
R
extension header has two mandatory fields, next header and the length, followed by
K
S information related to the particular option.
Each next header field value (code) defines the type of the next header (hop-by-hop
option, sourceroutingoption, ... ); the last next header field defines the protocol (UDP,
29
TCP, ... )that is carried by the datagram.
 To a router, a flow is a sequence of packets that share the same characteristics,
such as traveling the same path, using the same resources, having the same kind
C of security, and so on.
O
A router that supports the handling of flow labels has a flow label table. The table
M
P has an entry for each active flow label; each entry defines the services required by
U the corresponding flow label.
T
E When the router receives a packet, it consults its flow label table to find the
R
corresponding entry for the flow label value defined in the packet. It then provides
N the packet with the services mentioned in the entry.
E
T A flow label can be used to speed up the processing of a packet by a router. It can
W be used to support the transmission of real-time audio and video.
O
R IPv6 datagrams can be fragmented only by the source, not by the routers; the
K
S
reassembly takes place at the destination.
The fragmentation of packets at routers is not allowed to speed up the processing
of packets in the router.
30
 The IPv4 header includes all options. Therefore, each intermediate router must
check for their existence and process them when present. This can cause
C
O performance degradation in the forwarding of IPv4 packets.
M
P
With IPv6, delivery and forwarding options are moved to extension headers. The
U only extension header that must be processed at each intermediate router is the
T Hop-by-Hop Options extension header. This increases IPv6 header processing
E
R speed and improves forwarding process performance.

N
RFC 2460 defines the following IPv6 extension headers that must be supported by
E all IPv6 nodes:
T
W
O
R
K
S

31
32
 Hop-by-Hop Option
The hop-by-hop option is used when the source needs to pass information to all
routers visited by the datagram.
C
O Only three hop-by-hop options have been defined: Pad 1 , PadN, and jumbo payload.
M The Pad1 option (Option Type 0) is used to insert a single byte of padding.
P
The PadN option (Option Type 1) is used to insert 2 or more bytes of padding.
U
T The Jumbo Payload option (Option Type 194) is used to indicate a payload size that
E is greater than 65,535 bytes. An IPv6 packet with a payload size greater than 65,535
R
bytes is named a jumbogram.
N
E Destination Option
T
W The destination option is used when the source needs to pass information to the
O destination only. Intermediate routers are not permitted access to this information.
R
K This header is identified by the value of 60 in the previous headers Next Header
S field. The format of the destination option is the same as the hop-by-hop option. So
far, only the Pad 1 and PadN options have been defined.
33
 Source Routing
Similar to the loose source routing supported by IPv4, IPv6 source nodes can use the
Routing extension header to specify a loose source route, a list of intermediate
C
O destinations for the packet to travel to on its path to the final destination. The Routing
M header is identified by the value of 43 in the previous headers Next Header field.
P
U Fragmentation
T The Fragment header is used for IPv6 fragmentation and reassembly services. This
E
R header is identified by the value of 44 in the previous headers Next Header field.
The Fragment header includes a Next Header field, a 13-bit Fragment Offset field, a
N
E More Fragments flag, and a 32-bit Identification field which work the same way as IPv4.
T This header cannot be used for jumbograms.
W
O In IPv6, only source nodes can fragment payloads. If the payload submitted by the upper
R layer protocol is larger than the link or path MTU, then IPv6 fragments the payload at the
K
S source and uses the Fragment extension header to provide reassembly information.
A source uses Path MTU Discovery technique to find the smallest MTU supported by
any network and if not, it fragments the datagram to a size of 1280 bytes or smaller.
34
35
 Authentication
The Authentication header provides data authentication (verification of the node that sent
the packet), data integrity (verification that the data was not modified in transit), and anti-
replay protection (assurance that captured packets cannot be retransmitted and accepted as
valid data) for the IPv6 packet.
The Authentication header is identified by the value of 51 in the previous headers Next
Header field.
The Authentication extension header does not provide data confidentiality services by
encrypting the data.
The Authentication header contains a Next Header field, a Payload Length field, a Security Parameters Index (SPI) field that
identifies a specific IP Security (IPsec) security association (SA), a Sequence Number field that provides anti-replay protection,
and an Authentication Data field that contains an integrity check value (ICV). The ICV provides data authentication and
integrity.

Encrypted Security Payload

The Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) header and trailer provide data confidentiality,
data authentication, and data integrity services to the encapsulated payload.
The ESP header and trailer are identified by the value of 50 in the previous headers Next
Header field 36
Internet Control Message Protocol version 6 (ICMPv6) is the
implementation of the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) for
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).

Next
IPv6 Main Header
ICMPv6
Data
Header 58 Header

37
The ICMPv6 packet consists of a header and the protocol payload. The header contains
only three fields: type (8 bits), code (8 bits), and checksum (16 bits)

The messages in ICMPv6 are divided into four groups: error-reporting

messages, informational messages, neighbor-discovery messages, and
group-membership messages.

38
 Error-Reporting Messages
Type Meaning Code Meaning Description
0 Destination 0 no route to destination A Destination Unreachable message (Type 1) is
Unreachable 1 communication with destination generated in response to a packet that can not be
administratively prohibited delivered to its destination address for reasons other
2 beyond scope of source address than congestion.
3 address unreachable
4 port unreachable
5 source address failed ingress/egress policy
6 reject route to destination
7 Error in Source Routing Header
2 Packet Too Big 0 A Packet Too Big message is sent in response to a
packet that it cannot forward because the packet is
larger than the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
of the outgoing link.
3 Time Exceeded 0 hop limit exceeded in transit If a router receives a packet with a hop limit of zero,
1 fragment reassembly time exceeded or a router decrements a packet's hop limit to zero, it
must discard the packet and send an ICMPv6 Time
Exceeded message with Code 0 to the source of the
packet.
4 Parameter Problem 0 erroneous header field encountered A Parameter Problem message is generated in
Message 1 unrecognized Next Header type response to an IPv6 packet with problem in its IPv6
encountered header, or extension headers, such the node cannot
2 unrecognized IPv6 option encountered process the packet and must discard it. 39
 Informational Messages
The echo-request and echo-reply messages are designed to check whether two
devices in the Internet can communicate with each other.
A host or router can send an echo-request message to another host; the
receiving computer or router can reply using the echo-reply message.

Type Meaning Code Meaning Description

128 Echo Request Message 0 Used to check and

troubleshoot connectivity
using the IPv6 ping
command.
129 Echo Reply Message 0 This message is generated in
response to an echo request
message.

40
 Neighbor Discovery Messages
In IPv6, two new protocols are defined: the Neighbor-Discovery (ND) protocol and the Inverse-
Neighbor-Discovery (IND) protocol. These two protocols are used by nodes (hosts or routers) on the
same link (network) for three main purposes:
1. Hosts use the ND protocol to find routers in the neighborhood that will forward packets for them.
2. Nodes use the ND protocol to find the link-layer addresses of neighbors (nodes attached to the
same network).
3. Nodes use the IND protocol to find the IPv6 addresses of neighbors.
Type Meaning Code Meaning Description
133 Router Solicitation Message 0 Hosts send router solicitations messages in order to
prompt routers to generate router advertisements
messages quickly.
134 Router Advertisement Message 0 Routers send out router advertisement message
periodically, or in response to a router solicitation.
135 Neighbor Solicitation Message 0 Nodes send neighbor solicitations to request the link-
layer address of a target node while also providing
their own link-layer address to the target.
136 Neighbor Advertisement Message 0 A node sends neighbor advertisements in response to
neighbor solicitations and sends unsolicited neighbor
advertisements in order to propagate new information
quickly (which is unreliable)
137 Redirect Message 0 Routers send redirect packets to inform a host of a
better first-hop node on the path to a destination
41
 Group Membership Messages
In IPv6, the responsibility of multicast delivery is given to the Multicast Listener Delivery
protocol.
MLD1 is the counterpart to IGMPv2; MLDv2 is the counterpart to IGMPv3.
Like IGMPv3, MLDv2 has two types of messages: membership-query message and
membership-report message.
The first type can be divided into three subtypes: general, group-specific, and group-and-
source specific.

Membership-Query Message: A membership-query message is sent by a router to

find active group members in the network.
Membership-Report Message: The format of the membership report in MLDv2 is
exactly the same as the one in IGMPv3 except that the sizes of the fields are
changed because of the address size
42
 TRANSITION FROM IPv4 TO IPv6
Although we have a new version of the IP protocol, how can we make the
transition to stop using IPv4 and start using IPv6?
It will take a considerable amount of time before every system in the
Internet can move from IPv4 to IPv6.
The transition must be smooth to prevent any problems between IPv4
and IPv6 systems.

Three strategies have been devised for transition: dual stack,

tunneling, and header translation. One or all of these three strategies
can be implemented during the transition period..

43
 Dual Stack
All hosts before migrating completely to version 6 are recommended have a dual
stack of protocols during the transition. In other words, a station must run IPv4 and
IPv6 simultaneously until all the Internet uses IPv6.
To determine which version to use when sending a packet to a destination, the
source host queries the DNS. If the DNS returns an IPv4 address, the source host
sends an IPv4 packet or an IPv6 packet.

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 Tunneling strategy
Tunneling is a strategy used when two computers using IPv6 want to communicate with
each other and the packet must pass through a region that uses IPv4.
To pass through this region, the packet must have an IPv4 address. So the IPv6 packet is
encapsulated in an IPv4 packet when it enters the region, and it leaves its capsule when
it exits the region. It seems as if the IPv6 packet enters a tunnel at one end and
emerges at the other end.
To make it clear that the IPv4 packet is carrying an IPv6 packet as data, the protocol
value is set to 41.

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 Header translation strategy

Header translation is necessary when the majority of the Internet has moved
to IPv6 but some systems still use IPv4. The sender wants to use IPv6, but the
receiver does not understand IPv6.
Tunneling does not work in this situation because the packet must be in the
IPv4 format to be understood by the receiver. In this case, the header format
must be totally changed through header translation. The header of the IPv6
packet is converted to an IPv4 header.

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