How long is an IPv6 address?

An IPv6 address is 128 bits long. This length allows for a vastly larger address space compared to its predecessor, IPv4, which uses 32-bit addresses. The design of IPv6 was to accommodate the increasing number of devices connected to the internet, providing a virtually limitless supply of unique addresses.

To further understand this, it’s important to note that 128 bits translates to 16 bytes (since 1 byte equals 8 bits), which signifies that an IPv6 address can theoretically support approximately 340 undecillion unique addresses. This helps in successfully addressing the need for a vast number of devices in modern networking environments.

The other length options listed significantly underestimate the size of an IPv6 address or denote incorrect data types for this standard. Specifically, 64 bits and 32 bits are related to other protocols or subnets but do not apply to the IPv6 standard. Similarly, 128 bytes would be excessively large, as it represents 1024 bits, which surpasses the designed capacity of an IPv6 address.