---
title: "Size of IPv6"
categories:
- blog
abstract: Just how big is IPV6?
date: 2023-04-27T22:34:53+02:00
year: 2026
draft: false
tags:
- networking
- IPv6
- Absolute-FreeBSD
- Michael-W-Lucas
---
[Absolute FreeBSD by Michael W. Lucas](https://mwl.io/nonfiction/os#af3e):

> IPv6 uses 128-bit [...] A 128-bit address space is unimaginably huge, but let’s try to imagine it. Count every human being that’s ever lived. Now count the number of cells in each of them—not just in their body but also all the bacterial cells in their bodies. IPv6 is roomy enough to assign each of those cells an address space larger than the entirety of IPv4.