After decades of faithful service, the current version of IP, also known as IP version 4 (IPv4), is showing signs of age. The growth of the Internet and the inclusion of a variety of unanticipated technologies are putting a strain on the original design. Before we begin to discuss IPv4’s pitfalls, we must take a moment to reflect on the design of IPv4. This protocol was designed in the late 1970s (roughly the Bronze Age of computing) and has risen above all other networking protocols to become the de facto world standard for data communications. There are not many computer technologies ...

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