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Understanding IPv4 & IPv6 Addresses
This guide details the compatibility of Infomaniak's web hosting with IPv4 and IPv6.
Prelude
- Infomaniak supports both IPv4 and IPv6, providing optimal connectivity for all users
- only Starter (free) hosting and older hosting plans are not compatible: upgrade a Cloud Server or shared hosting
- compatibility with IPv4 and IPv6 means that Infomaniak's hosting service allows websites to be accessible to users using both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
- this ensures that your site can be visited by all types of devices and networks, providing an optimal experience for your users, regardless of the protocol they use to connect to the internet
IPv4, or Internet Protocol version 4
This is the first version of the Internet protocol widely used since the 1980s. It uses 32-bit IP addresses, which allow devices connected to the internet to be identified and located. However, with the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, it has become necessary to develop a new version (read more below):
- example of an IPv4 address: 192.168.0.1
- in this example, the IPv4 address consists of four groups of numbers separated by dots
- each group can contain a number from 0 to 255
- the address 192.168.0.1 is often used to represent a local IP address in a private network
- find the IP of your website: read this guide
- get the public IP of your current internet connection: https://chk.me/ip
IPv6, or Internet Protocol version 6
This is the latest version of the Internet protocol introduced to address the issue of IPv4 address exhaustion. IPv6 uses 128-bit IP addresses, providing practically unlimited addressing space. It also offers enhanced features such as security, quality of service, and automatic address configuration:
- example of an IPv6 address: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
- in this example, the IPv6 address consists of eight groups of numbers and letters separated by colons
- each group can contain a hexadecimal number from 0 to FFFF
- the IPv6 address is much longer than the IPv4 address, thus providing a much larger addressing space
Link to this FAQ: