Yes, IPv6 addresses are written in hexadecimal notation.
Understanding IPv6 and Hexadecimal Representation
IPv6 addresses are 128-bit addresses, a significant increase from IPv4's 32-bit addresses. This expanded address space necessitates a different representation. That's where hexadecimal notation comes in.
-
Hexadecimal Basics: Hexadecimal (base-16) uses 16 symbols to represent numbers: 0-9 and A-F. Each hexadecimal digit represents 4 bits.
-
IPv6 Structure: An IPv6 address consists of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, separated by colons (:). According to the reference provided on 30-Jan-2024, "IPv6 is a 128 bit address that is written in hexadecimal notation. There are four hexadecimal digits that make up every 16 bits of the address, thus resulting in 8 groups of hexadecimal digits, each separated by colons."
Example IPv6 Address
Here's an example of a valid IPv6 address:
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
IPv6 Address Compression
To make IPv6 addresses more manageable, there are two compression rules:
-
Leading Zeroes: Leading zeroes within a group can be omitted. For example,
0042can be written as42. -
Consecutive Zero Groups: One or more consecutive groups of zeroes can be replaced with a double colon (
::). This can only be done once in an address to avoid ambiguity.
Using these rules, the previous example can be compressed to:
2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334
Why Hexadecimal?
- Conciseness: Hexadecimal provides a more compact representation compared to binary (base-2).
- Readability: While not as familiar as decimal, hexadecimal is more readable than binary for representing large bit strings.
- Computer Friendliness: Hexadecimal is easily convertible to and from binary, making it convenient for computers to process.
