Gaining the IPv6 Advantage
IPv6 expands the network addressing range considerably, making the Internet more viable for the future. It also adds greater packet capacity, up to 4GB. Finally, it simplifies the messaging protocol while giving more power over multicasting and delivery.
The network is moving toward IPv6, some segments a little slower than others. Still, it is going to happen. Already, you can get several standard networking tools (such as Telnet and FTP) that are IPv6-ready. Being aware now can help you be more productive later.
If you want to learn more about this topic, see Linux Socket Programming (Sams Publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-672-31935-7) or visit http://www.linuxsocket.org. You can get source code for this article from the Linux Socket web site.