IPv6 addresses are structured as eight hexadecimal groups separated by colons.

Example:

2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

• Discard leading zeros in each hextet
• Replace one or more consecutive all-zero groups with a double colon (::)

Example:

2001:0000:3238:DFE1:0063:0000:0000:FEFB

becomes:

2001:0:3238:DFE1:63::FEFB

• IPv6 addresses are much larger than IPv4 addresses.
• The format is hierarchical and designed for efficient routing.
• Compression improves readability without changing the address value.