InternetInternet IPv4 addresses completely exhausted
Last week the final blocks of IPv4 addresses were allocated, officially signaling the end of Web space on IPv4 networks; the moment is significant as all new Internet ready devices must now be deployed using IPv6 networks, the upgrade to IPv4; IPv6 offers greater security, higher performance, and can support nearly an infinite number of devices; China is rapidly pushing ahead with IPv6 in the hopes that it can wield more clout over the new Internet space as the United States currently enjoys with IPv4; China has deployed IPv6 capabilities at more than double the rate of the United States
Last week the final blocks of IPv4 addresses were allocated, officially signaling the end of Web space on IPv4 networks.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international organizations charged with distributing and overseeing IP addresses, signaled the importance of the moment by holding an official ceremony.
Rob Beckstrom, president and CEO of ICANN, called the moment “one of the most important days of the Internet.”
Beckstrom used the ceremony to urge telecommunications and information technology companies to shift their infrastructure to IPv6, the upgrade to IPv4.
“A pool of more than four billion Internet addresses has been emptied … This marks the opportunity to shift to a version of IP that is so large it is difficult to even imagine … and that can carry us into the future,” he said.
IPv4, or Internet Protocol version four, is the main communications protocol that forms the foundation of the Internet. Unique IP addresses are assigned to devices to allow them to communicate directly with Internet servers.
IPv4 uses a 32-bit address to allow 4.3 billion devices to connect to the Internet, whereas IPv6 uses a 128-bit address to support nearly an infinite number of devices.
Existing IPv4 addresses will continue to function, but those running on IPv4 networks will be unable to reap the technological advances of more advanced IPv6 networks.
Lynn St. Amour, president and CEO of the Internet Society, says, “The sooner we all move to adopt IPv6, the better and brighter that future will be as our imaginations will not be stunted by clumsy IPv4 work-arounds.”
IPv6 networks offer greater security, higher performance, and expanded capabilities for wireless devices.
Countries like China and India are working to ensure that their nation’s Internet infrastructure is poised to take advantage of the switch to IPv6.
India’s government has mandated that all telecom and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) be IPv6 compliant by the end of 2011. While China has rapidly pushed ahead to deploy IPv6 networks to gain a significant foothold in the new Internet space, launching a five year plan dubbed China Next Generation Internet.
With its early adoption, China is hoping to wield more clout over the new Internet space as the United States currently enjoys with IPv4 – the United States holds nearly a third of all IPv4 addresses.
According to analysis by BGPmon, a company specializing in Internet data analysis tools, China has deployed IPv6 capabilities at more than double the rate of the United States.
“With an IPv6-based Internet, endless possibilities lie ahead because every human on this planet, and their gadgets and devices, will be able to communicate, play, do business and supply services,” said OlafKolkmann, chairman of the Internet Architecture Board
Kolkmann cautioned that, “This explosive Internet growth can only continue with the larger address space that IPv6 offers.”
IPv4 networks will continue to run smoothly, despite the depletion of all IPv4 addresses.
Kolkmann stated that the two protocols will continue to operate side by side. “As long as there will be people that have legacy equipment with IPv4, there will need to be a reason to communicate with IPv4.”
Studies by Google show that only 0.2 percent of Internet users around the world use IPv6 connections.
