Daniel - June 1, 2021
IPv4 Proxies Vs IPv6 Proxies
In this article, we’ll be looking at IPv4 and IPv6 proxies. What makes them different? Are there any similarities? Read on to find out.
Internet Protocol has come a long way since 1983 when the first IP-wide area network was created. IPs existed even before the World Wide Web (WWW) was invented in 1990.
Currently, IPv4 and IPv6 are the most used Internet Protocol versions. After the first, second, and third versions of TCP/IP, both protocols were split and that was the birth of IPv4. From there, we had the experimental real-time streaming protocol that’s indirectly known as IPv5. In 1995, IPv6 was released based on IPv4. To date, it’s the most recent internet protocol version.
What Are IPv4 Proxies?
IPv4 proxies work with IPv4 addresses. IPv4 proxies are the most common IP addresses that you’ll find. As a connectionless protocol IPv4 was adopted by almost every data communication network. All current devices support IPv4. IPv4 addresses are 32-bit IP. Such IP addresses are numerical and the bits are separated by dots. An example of an IPv4 address is 12.233.232.156. Since the IPs are 32 bit, there’s a limited number of addresses you can get from IPv4.
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What Are IPv6 Proxies?
IPv6 proxies work with IPv6 addresses. Such IP addresses are alphanumeric – containing alphabets and letters – and the binary bits are separated with colons. An example of an IPv6 address is 2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:ff00:0042:7879. IPv6 proxies can also translate IPs from IPv4 to IPv6. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit which is 4 times longer than IPv4 addresses. As a result, a lot more possible addresses can be gotten from IPv6 than from IPv4.
This is the main reason why IPv6 addresses were introduced. The internet is expanding with more and more users and more and more devices. Furthermore, most people use multiple devices which all need individual IPs. As a result, IPv4 addresses are becoming scarce as they are limited.
IPv6 proxies are ideal if you want to use exclusive and private IPs. Since there are so many such IPs, it’s easy to get one that’s never been used before. If you’re going to use an IPv6 proxy, it’s important to first check that your device supports IPv6.
IPv4 Vs IPv6 Proxies – Similarities And Differences
The major difference between IPv4 and IPv6 proxies is the IP address version they work with. IPv4 proxies work with IPv4 IPs which are 32-bit and contain only numerical values. IPv6 proxies, on the other hand, work with IPv6 IP addresses which are 128-bit and contain alphanumeric values.
While IPv4 proxies work directly with IPv4 IPs, IPv6 proxies work directly with IPv6 IPs and also translate IPv4 IPs to IPv6 IPs. As a result, IPv6 proxies are considered more versatile and relatively easier to work with than IPv4 proxies. However, that doesn’t make them more reliable.
IPv4 IPs are still the most common IP addresses in use. Therefore, an IPv6 proxy will mainly be translating IPv4 IPs to IPv6 IPs. This transition is slow most of the time which can affect your browsing experience. Also, various bugs are usually encountered when transitioning from IPv4 to IPv6.
When it comes to proxies, it doesn’t really matter if you’re using an IPv4 or an IPv6 proxy. Any will handle whatever tasks you want to accomplish. What is most important is that you make use of a reliable proxy provider. With a reliable proxy provider, you can get fast IPv6 proxies that will transition IPs from IPv4 to IPv6 faster.
Bottom Line
IPv4 proxies are the most used type of proxies as IPv4 IPs are the most commonly available. However, IPv6 proxies are becoming increasingly popular as they have more possible IPs as the addresses are alphanumeric. It doesn’t matter if you use an IPv4 or IPv6 proxy, just ensure you use a reliable proxy provider.
