IP Version 6 (IPv6)
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
IP Version 6
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a networking protocol that allows Windows users to communicate with other users over the Internet. It interacts with Windows naming services such as Domain Name System (DNS) and uses security technologies such as Internet Protocol security (IPSec), because they help facilitate the successful and secure transfer of IP packets between computers.
Ideally, IPv6 is used in a pure environment, that is, an environment where IPv6 is the exclusive Internet protocol used between computers. Currently, however, pure IPv6 transmissions are attainable only with routers that support IPv6 and computers that are running Windows and that support IPv6. As IPv6 supplants IPv4, pure IPv6 across the Internet will become more prevalent and will eventually replace IPv4. Until that occurs, the transition technologies described in this reference can be used to bridge the technological gap between IPv4 and IPv6.
This section contains the following topics: