the Internet has run out of
Internet addresses ¡ sort of.
Perhaps you¡¯ve heard the news:
the last blocks of IPv4 Internet
addresses have been allocated.
The fundamental underlying
technology that has powered
Internet Protocol addresses
(ever seen a number like
99.48.227.227 on the web? That ¡¯s
an IP address) since the
Internet ¡¯s inception will soon be
exhausted.
A new technology will take its place,
though. IPv4 ¡äs successor is IPv6, a
system that will not only offer far
more numerical addresses, but will
simplify address assignments and
additional network security
features.
The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is
likely to be rough, though. Most
people are unfamiliar with IPv4 and
IPv6, much less the potential impact
the switch to IPv6 may have on their
lives.
That¡¯s why we¡¯ve compiled this short
guide to IPv4 and the eventual
transition to IPv6. We explain the
two versions of IP and why they
matter. We also go into detail on what
you can expect in the next few years
as billions of websites, businesses and
individuals make the switch to the
new era of the Internet.
IPv4 & IPv6 Q&A
Q: What is IPv4?
A: IPv4 stands for Internet Protocol
version 4. It is the underlying
technology that makes it possible for
us to connect our devices to the web.
Whenever a device access the Internet
(whether it ¡¯s a PC, Mac, smartphone
or other device), it is assigned a
unique, numerical IP address such as
99.48.227.227. To send data from one
computer to another through the web, a
data packet must be transferred
across the network containing the IP
addresses of both devices.
Without IP addresses, computers
would not be able to communicate and
send data to each other. It ¡¯s essential
to the infrastructure of the web.
Q: What is IPv6?
A: IPv6 is the sixth revision to the
Internet Protocol and the successor to
IPv4. It functions similarly to IPv4
in that it provides the unique,
numerical IP addresses necessary for
Internet-enabled devices to
communicate. However, it does sport
one major difference: it utilizes 128-
bit addresses. I ¡¯ll explain why this is
important in a moment.
Q: Why are we running out of IPv4
addresses?
A: IPv4 uses 32 bits for its Internet
addresses. That means it can support
2^32 IP addresses in total ¡ª around
4.29 billion. That may seem like a lot,
but all 4.29 billion IP addresses have
now been assigned to various
institutions, leading to the crisis we
face today.
Let¡¯s be clear, though: we haven¡¯t run
out of addresses quite yet. Many of
them are unused and in the hands of
institutions like MIT and companies
like Ford and IBM. More IPv4
addresses are available to be assigned
and more will be traded or sold
(since IPv4 addresses are now a scarce
resource), but they will become a
scarcer commodity over the next two
years until it creates problem for the
web.
Q: How does IPv6 solve this problem?
A: As previously stated, IPv6 utilizes
128-bit Internet addresses. Therefore,
it can support 2^128 Internet
addresses ¡ª
340,282,366,920,938,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
of them to be exact. That ¡¯s a lot of
addresses, so many that it requires a
hexadecimal system to display the
addresses. In other words, there are
more than enough IPv6 addresses to
keep the Internet operational for a
very, very long time.
Q: So why don¡¯t we just switch?
A: The depletion of IPv4 addresses
was predicted years ago, so the switch
has been in progress for the last
decade. However, progress has been
slow ¡ª only a small fraction of the
web has switched over to the new
protocol. In addition, IPv4 and IPv6
essentially run as parallel networks
¡ª exchanging data between these
protocols requires special gateways.
To make the switch, software and
routers will have to be changed to
support the more advanced network.
This will take time and money. The
first real test of the IPv6 network
will come on June 8, 2011, World
IPv6 Day. Google, Facebook and other
prominent web companies will test
drive the IPv6 network to see what it
can handle and what still needs to be
done to get the world switched over to
the new network.
Q: How will this affect me?
A: Initially, it won¡¯t have a major
impact on your life. Most operating
systems actually support IPv6,
including Mac OS X 10.2 and
Windows XP SP 1. However, many
routers and servers don ¡¯t support it,
making a connection between a device
with an IPv6 address to a router or
server that only supports IPv4
impossible. IPv6 is also still in its
infancy; it has a lot of bugs and
security issues that still need to be
fixed, which could result in one
giant mess.
Nobody¡¯s sure how much the
transition will cost or how long it
will take, but it has to be done in
order for the web to function as it
does today
