Dell PowerConnect 5548 User Guide - Page 202

IP Addressing This section describes how to configure IP addresses on the switch, and contains the following topics: • IP Addressing Overview • IPv4 Interface Parameters • DHCP IPv4 Interface • IPv4 Static Routing • IPv6 Interfaces • IPv6 Default Gateway • ISATAP Tunnel • IPv6 Neighbors • IPv6 Routes Table • Domain Name System • Default Domain Names • Host Name Mapping • ARP • UDP Relay IP Addressing Overview The device functions as an IPv6-compliant host, as well as an IPv4-host (also known as dual stack). This enables device operation in a pure-IPv6 network, as well as in a combined IPv4/IPv6 network. Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6 Addressing The primary difference between IPv4 to IPv6 is the length of network addresses. IPv6 addresses are 128 bits, whereas IPv4 addresses are 32 bits. Thus, IPv6 addresses enable the use of many more unique addresses. The 128-bit IPv6 address format is divided into eight groups of four hexadecimal digits. Abbreviation of this format by replacing a group of zeros with double colons (::) is acceptable. IPv6 address representation can be further simplified by suppressing the leading zeros. 202 Dell PowerConnect 55xx Systems User Guide