Transition to IPv6 (PROVISIONAL) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Transition to IPv6 (PROVISIONAL) - Essay Example The IP address which is issued permanently is referred to as a static IP address while that issued every time the device boots is referred to as a dynamic IP address. The static IP addresses are manually issued by the administrator and the procedure used usually varies across different platforms. (Wu, et al., 2012) Dynamic IP addresses on the other hand can be assigned by the computer interface, the host software or even by the server using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). Although IP addresses assigned through DCHP will stay the same for long periods of time, it is possible for them to generally change. An administrator may for instance implement static IP addresses dynamically. A DCHP server is used in this case but it is configured to always assign the same IP address to a given computer. This is advantageous in that it allows central configuration of static IP addresses without specifically configuring each computer on the network manually (Amoss & Minoli, 2007). In the case of the absence of static or DCHP address configurations or failure of the same, the operating system hence assigns an IP address to the network. This is done using stateless auto configuration methods. Frequently, IP addresses are assigned on broadband networks and LAN’s dynamically by the DCHP. This protocol is used because it does not require a specific assignment of each device on the network hence relieving the administrator of that burden. The protocol also allows sharing of IP addresses when they are limited, and this is done if some of the devices will be online at a given period of time (Carpenter, et al., 2013). Most recent operating systems have dynamic IP configuration enabled by default. This lessens the work for the user since they don’t have to set up the network settings manually whenever they are connecting to a network having a DCHP server. Apart from DCHP, there are other technologies used to assign IP addresses like