Starting in Windows Vista and Server 2008, Microsoft includes native support for IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) and is enabled by default. IPv6 is the new computer address protocol that will eventually replace IPv4 which is currently the most popular standard. Unless you network has a specific requirement for IPv6, very few do, you can safely disable IPv6. Unlike other protocols, you cannot disable IPv6 by disabling the protocol on each of your network interfaces. While that will disable the protocol for the interfaces the loopback and tunnel interfaces will still have it enabled that can cause problems with applications. The proper way to disable IPv6 is to disable via the registry.
First, click on the Start Button and type in regedit and hit Enter.
Then, navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, CurrentControlSet, services, TCPIP6 and Parameters. Right click on Parameters and select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value DisabledComponents and hit Enter. Now right click on the new DisabledComponents value you just created and select Modify. Set the value of DisabledComponents to FFFFFFFF and click OK.
After a reboot IPv6 will be disabled on all interfaces.
netsh interface ipv6 uninstall
TCP/IP has to do with how data is transmitted between computers. TCP/IPv4 (version 4) is what is most common today. The problem with IPv4 is that it only can support so many computers on a network at once. This is because it has to give an address to each computer and only has so many addresses that it can give out. IPv6 fixes this by expanding the number of address that can be assigned.
In most parts of the world there are plenty of addresses that can be assigned with IPv4 so we are not yet at a point where IPv6 is absolutely necessary. Asia is one part of the world where they are starting to run out of IPv4 addresses so they are the largest group of IPv6 users right now. (The reason Asia is running out of IPv4 addresses is because in the early days of the internet each country/geographic area was given a range of addresses they could use. Some areas grew more than expected causing the localized shortage.)
If you want to learn more check out the Wikipedia IPv6 page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6
-Steve
The allocation of pulic IP addresses is also not the only factor because most private networks use private IP addresses that are not internet routable but perfect for local area networks. For example a large company with 50,000 desktop computers does not use public IP addresses for each computer. Instead they use private addresses such as the 192 prefix or 10 prefix that you may be familiar with combined with a network router to connect their private network to the Internet. The problems start when they run out of private network addresses or certain services typically need a public address such as a web server.
Additionally, when countries change over to IPv6 the majority of consumer hardware will be rendered useless and will have to be replaced. The linksys router I have at home only supports IPv4 and will likely need to be replaced to support IPv6. At the end of the day I would guess that we are several years from mass IPv6 deployments in NA.
IPv6 is the future folks. Rather than hiding from the inevitable, start using it and get a leg up on the folks you are competing with in the workforce. A few years from now it will be everywhere and most folks that stuck with IPv4 knowledge will be seeing their jobs go to those who paid attention. If you don't believe me, go chat with all the IPX, SPX, NetBEUI, Token Ring, and ArcNet experts.
I tried this Reg.Tweak on it,... and it works!
Thnx!