An IPv6 address is a 128-bit alphanumeric value that identifies an endpoint device in an Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) network. It is represented as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, each group representing 16 bits and separated by colons.
For example, an IPv6 address could be “2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.” IPv6 was designed to overcome the limitations of its predecessor, IPv4, and has a drastically increased address space, allowing for over 340 undecillion unique addresses. This addressing scheme allows the omission of leading zeros and sequences consisting of only zeros.
IPv6 offers several advantages, such as a larger address space, simplified header, and enhanced security, but it is not directly compatible with IPv4, requiring transition mechanisms for communication between the two protocols.