Raghav Tyagi
Independent Researcher
India
ABSTRACT
This manuscript presents a comprehensive comparative study of IPv4 and IPv6 network performance as of 2015. It examines key performance metrics—latency, throughput, packet loss, and processing overhead—across both protocols in a controlled lab environment and real-world case studies. The study highlights the impact of header size, routing table complexity, and transition mechanisms on overall network behavior. Findings indicate that while IPv6 offers scalability and simplified packet processing, IPv4 may still outperform IPv6 in certain legacy infrastructure scenarios due to optimized hardware and mature implementation. Recommendations for network engineers are provided to guide protocol deployment decisions in enterprise and service-provider contexts.
KEYWORDS IPv4, IPv6, network performance, latency, throughput, packet loss, transition mechanisms
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