What is IPv4 and IPv6?
A primary motivation for the introduction of IPv6 was the need for more IP addresses. An increase in address size from 32-bit to 128-bit means that it supports more levels of addressing hierarchy and ultimately more unique addresses. There are further differences between IPv4 and IPv6, in particular the format of the headers, but in general, applications do not need to be concerned about the IP version. However, if an address is to be stored, displayed or manipulated, then you will need to check whether it is an IPv4 or IPv6 address, as the size and format of the addresses differ.