IPv6 stands for Internet Protocol version 6.
IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol, using 128-bit addresses (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334) compared to IPv4‘s 32-bit addresses. IPv6 was designed to solve the IPv4 address exhaustion problem.
IPv6 and WebRTC
WebRTC fully supports IPv6, and ICE candidates can contain IPv6 addresses. However, IPv6 introduces some specific challenges for WebRTC:
- Dual-stack complexity: Many networks support both IPv4 and IPv6, meaning ICE must gather and test candidates for both protocols, which can increase connection setup time
- DNS64/NAT64: On IPv6-only mobile networks (common with carriers like T-Mobile), connecting to IPv4-only STUN and TURN servers requires special handling
- Privacy addresses: IPv6 temporary/privacy addresses can change, affecting long-running sessions
As more mobile networks move to IPv6-only (with NAT64 for backward compatibility), ensuring proper IPv6 support in WebRTC services becomes increasingly important.
