You must have already heard of IPv6. This protocol is not yet very common, both websites and ISPs rarely support it. Why bother then? Using it has several fantastic advantages! The greater pool of IP addresses allows everyone to have his own, unique, publicly visible IP (it is hoped that by these means it will cure the structure of the Internet).
Personally, I like it for following reasons:
- This allows all machines to be accessible from everywhere else. Forget about ISP’s NAT, your computer can become a public server too!
- You can play multi-player games with your friends easily. Everybody has his own IP, even if they are behind a router.
- It is possible to SSH to your home PC from anywhere. I use it to access & use my computer from my mobile when I’m out!
- Some websites promote the IPv6 by presenting it’s users with some gadgets and cool stuff.
(To be clear: these are not advantages of ipv6 protocol itself, it’s just making use of having an unique public IP address. There are many articles on the web which explain how ipv6 is better than ipv4, it’s beyond the scope of this post.)
Does that sound interesting? It is probable, that your ISP does not support IPv6, or it requires additional fee. It is hoped that this will change on the upcomming World IPv6 Launch Day (6 June 2012), when major companies will permanently enable IPv6 for their services. However, you can get one today, for free! This article will help you getting it, and configuring it on Ubuntu. It even works behind a router, NAT!
