Would it not have been better to extend IPv4 with 2 bytes than make IPv6 128 bits? [closed]

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Closed 11 years ago.

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128 bits is much less user readable than a six-byte dotted format.

Retaining a dotted format could have led to less drastic changes to both low level and application software.

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IPv4 to IPv6 is a backwards-incompatible change no matter how you slice it, so there's no reason to do a half-assed job of it. Having a REALLY wide address has all sorts of interesting benefits anyway, like simplifying routing and address autoconfiguration.

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Future-proofing. The v6 transition is a big enough headache that no one wants to ever have to switch to IPv7. The dotted format is mainly for the benefit of humans anyway, not the machines.

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We wouldn't have had enough time to fight off the nanobots that way.