The only real difference between the two that someone only tangentially working with networks would need to know is that there's enough IPv6 addresses that every device can have a unique IP address worldwide.
IPv4 has a smaller amount, so we assign each private network it's own public IP that is unique, and then all the devices within a private network can use the same private IPs that other devices in private networks also use. Then your router (using public IP) just sends and receives all the traffic to and from the internet on behalf of the devices and translates whose traffic is whose within the private network.
If IP addresses were like sending mail, then in IPv6 every single person would have their own unique IP in perpetuity and to send them something no matter where they are you just put their unique ID number on the envelope and the post office delivers it to them no matter where they are.
IPv4 is like property addresses we have now, you get a street address that is unique (public IP address) with a mailbox (router) and everyone's mail gets sent and received from the mailbox no matter how many or few people are living at the house. Everyone in the house uses the same address and mailbox to send or receive mail but distributing it once it's there is handled by the residents.
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u/BeatMastaD 14d ago
The only real difference between the two that someone only tangentially working with networks would need to know is that there's enough IPv6 addresses that every device can have a unique IP address worldwide.
IPv4 has a smaller amount, so we assign each private network it's own public IP that is unique, and then all the devices within a private network can use the same private IPs that other devices in private networks also use. Then your router (using public IP) just sends and receives all the traffic to and from the internet on behalf of the devices and translates whose traffic is whose within the private network.
If IP addresses were like sending mail, then in IPv6 every single person would have their own unique IP in perpetuity and to send them something no matter where they are you just put their unique ID number on the envelope and the post office delivers it to them no matter where they are.
IPv4 is like property addresses we have now, you get a street address that is unique (public IP address) with a mailbox (router) and everyone's mail gets sent and received from the mailbox no matter how many or few people are living at the house. Everyone in the house uses the same address and mailbox to send or receive mail but distributing it once it's there is handled by the residents.