Internet Addresses Running Out Fast
The last addresses in the original pool of internet addresses (IP addresses) have now been allocated to local governing bodies. The cupboard is now bare.
These last blocks consisting of 80 million addresses are expected to be used up by September 2011 and the current system (designed in the 1970′s and called IPv4) will have come to an end many years ahead of schedule, thanks in large part to the massive growth of personal devices all wanting to connect up to the web.
It is important to note however that the internet won’t just stop working. All IPv4 addresses allocated will continue to work, it is just that there will be no more to be allocated to new devices.
A new addressing system has been designed and passed by the governing bodies but takeup has so far been slow. This new system is called IPv6, which has trillions of addresses rather than IPv4′s billions, and also contains efficiency and feature improvements.
But the new system will not run on many old pieces of hardware that were in existence before the new standard was ratified. This includes routers and other infrastructure devices that form the backbone of the web. Some will be compatible with an upgrade to their software but many will have to be replaced, and that replacement is happening very slowly.
In order to highlight the issue a world IPv6 day has been planned for 8th June with governments and companies are being encouraged to test out the new system. Some of the biggest companies have already signed up, Cisco, Facebook, Yahoo and Google to name a few.
More information can be found at http://www.ipv6actnow.org/
Photo: nrkbeta
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