IPv4 broadcast messages have become bothersome. They clog routers and seem never to reach their legitimate destinations. These IPv6 addressing options offer flexibility and reduce the traffic load. The IPv6 protocol makes it easy for applications to ask for various levels of assured service, enhanced security, and improved reliability. This delay and other delays caused by sorting and routing equipment are referred to as packet latency .
High latency is deadly to audio and video data streams.
When an application asks for special handling, the network responds in several ways. Network devices such as routers and firewalls can establish virtual private circuits and give some packets priorities over others in order to reduce their latency. Fragmentation is a major source of high latency under IPv4. As WANs become more diverse, the impact of fragmentation will increase. An Ethernet adapter typically sets the maximum payload inside an Ethernet packet at an efficient size of 1,024 bytes.