IPv4 is part of TCP/IP, which can be covered in computer networking courses. The protocol is not typically difficult to understand, as it covers the 32-bit address scheme and newer versions. However, it will likely be a building block for understanding larger topics around network security and protocol that may be more difficult.

IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses and IPv6 uses 128 bits. IPv6 is the newer version, but is less widely adopted so far. IPv4 has the tendency to fragment data while IPv6 does not, but the shorter addresses make them easier to write out and manage.^{Footnote 6} Because the world uses so many internet-connected devices, longer-bit addresses will be necessary to create unique IP addresses. IPv6 will likely become more common in the future.

IPv6 is more complex than IPv4. It uses 128-bit addresses with eight different groups, each with four alphanumeric characters divided by a colon, which can make it harder to learn about. It’s also less adopted by ISPs (internet service providers) and implements its own IP security protocol. IPv4’s security depends on applications which further adds to its complexity.^{Footnote 7}

An IPv4 has four groups of numbers and up to three numbers in each group to serve as a unique internet address. An example is 185.107.80.231. ISPs give you your IPv4 using your router.

There are 32 bits in an IPv4 IP address. Learning how to find an IPv4 address is easy. Use Google to search “my IP address” for your own public IP address. To find a website’s IP address, you can use the ping command via your machine’s terminal. In the command prompt, type “ping <domain name>.”^{Footnote 8}

IPv6 is not faster than IPv4. It does efficiently allow large data transfers, using a minimal amount of bandwidth, but the large transfer size can also slow it down. It also uses more efficient routing by reducing the size of the routing tables.^{Footnote 9}