The story of IPv5 dates all the way back to 1979, when a group of engineers created the Internet Stream Protocal (ST). It was created to transmit video, audio, and simulations over the Internet. IPv5 gained some following at places like IBM, Apple, and Sun, but never really saw the light of day. Regardless of its popularity, the protocol was given the designation IPv5 and as a result, the next generation Internet protocol couldn’t take the name and is thus called IPv6.

So now you know. The next time someone brings up IPv6, you can talk about its predecessor and explain why IPv6 is IPv6.

Photo | gusmolina

John Curran, president and CEO of ARIN, has said requests for IPs will be granted as usual, but is pushing ISPs to adopt the new technology. ARIN has also had success getting unused IPs back. Many of these addresses were given in enormous blocks to universities and companies a long time ago and never fully utilized.

Presently, Curran is at CES attempting to inform manufacturers about the need to move to IPv6. But with two years of addresses left and a slew of new products to develop, tech companies seem largely uninterested in making the switch. Oh well, maybe next year?

Photo | Flickr

To spur IPv6 adoption, ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom proposed a “cash for clunkers” program through which old IPv4 hardware could be turned in for credit towards new IPv6-compatible equipment. Such a program would be especially beneficial to poor and undeveloped countries.

Finally, a number of delegates expressed concern that the United States still has too much control over the Internet. Though ICANN is now technically independent from government control with the new Affirmation of Commitments, this apparently isn’t enough for the rest of world. Technology leaders cited issues with the organization’s accountability and called for more participation from the developing world.

Photo | SilviaSS

Adding further gloom and doom to the situation is the fact that only 8% of ISPs have started using IPv6. Most IPs are used for Internet access, so this is not good at all.

Internet providers and other companies are hesitant to upgrade to IPv6 because the transition is costly and would cut into profits. Most will likely wait until hardware is too old to use until upgrading to IPv6 compatible equipment.

In my opinion, the government needs to do more to step up IPv6 adoption. Why not offer tax incentives for ditching IPv4 or provide grants for purchasing new network hardware? At the rate things are moving now, IPs will run out long before the world is ready to use IPv6.

Photo | Rotorhead

So far this year, the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) has received some 300 requests for IPv6 address blocks– greater than the number of requests made in 2007 and 2008 combined.

John Curran, President of ARIN, said:

We’re seeing an uptick in IPv6 address space requests; it’s a very significant growth rate.We’ve seen a slight slowdown in IPv4 address space requests…It’s probably dropped off 10% or 20% year over year.

ISPs are asking for IPv6 addresses so they can make their networks IPv6-enabled so they are ready [for the future].
We give each ISP enough IPv6 addresses to support 4 billion networks, and each network can contain trillions and trillions of hosts.

The question is, will ISPs adopt IPv6 fast enough before IPv4 runs out? Providers will have to move much more rapidly if they want to avoid an IP shortage.

Source | Network World

Photo | Flickr

The fact of the matter is, few have made the switch to IPv6 and we are slated to run out of IPv4 addresses in less than two years. Until the situation is resolved, hosts will have to be much more conservative with their IPs or risk running out.

Expect free add-on addresses to become a thing of the past. Additional IPs will probably always be available, but at a cost. The days of indulgent IP allocation are near their end.

Photo | steved_np3

According to Wu Hequan from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the land of the Great Wall is set to run out of IP addresses in two or three years. Compared to the rest of the world, it is in decent shape.

The problem is, this calculation assumes that computer deployment will continue to increase at the same rate. As tech devices like computers, cell phones, and PDAs become less expensive, adoption rises at a disproportionate rate.

IPv6 adoption so far only extends to Chinese universities. It is my guess that the number of addresses needed by this economic powerhouse will increase much more quickly than Hequan predicts. China has the disadvantage of being a relatively late Internet adopter, so when IPs were first allocated, it didn’t receive nearly as many as Western nations.

Source | People’s Daily Online

What does that mean for you? Online news site bMighty.com posted an insightful article on that topic yesterday.

The consensus is that since large blocks of addresses are owned by registries around the world, some places will run out before others. A good many server users need dedicated IPs to run, and as addresses become harder and harder to come by, those providers with IPs still left to distribute could jack up prices. The operating costs for hosts will go up, too, and no doubt they will pass this expense onto their customers. Meanwhile, those of us requiring dedicated IPs for our web server software to function will end up in price wars trying to snag the few addresses left.

According to the article, even if we began switching to IPv6 in earnest now, IPv4 addresses will run out before a complete transition can be made. An “IP crunch” is inevitable. Right now hosts hand out IPs like they grow on trees. When I rented a dedicated server a few years ago, my provider didn’t hesitate to give me nearly a dozen IP addresses without question when I asked. I think these hosts will be the first to feel the bite, while those companies that have been more conservative in their address allocation will be better off.

What can you do? If you already have a server with the number of IPs you need, keep it. How easily does your host give out IPs? If it’s like my old host, you may be in trouble. Try to find a provider that is always hesitant to hand out addresses, as it will probably have more saved up than others.

Photo | Flickr

With IPv4 addresses still slated to run out some time in 2011, this finding is alarming. While it would be wise for these TLD operators to invest in the new technology before it’s too late, ICANN can do very little to make them do so. No doubt the problem will be exasperated even further when new gTLDs are introduced next year.

ICANN should not allow new TLDs to be created unless the owners invest in IPv6. While the organization itself cannot be held responsible for every Internet mishap, as a regulatory agency it has a duty to make sure a pragmatic policy is followed within the domain industry.

Source | CircleID

Photo | clix

IPs are far from evenly distributed. According to the report, the United States holds more IPv4 addresses than any other country– 37.14%. Trailing far behind with the second-greatest number of IPs is the UK with 11.37%. Third is China and fourth is Japan with 7.08% and 6.95% respectively.

Pacific islands and undeveloped or sparsely populated nations had the lowest number of IP addresses. North Korea, Pitcairn, Central African Republic, the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Liberia were among the lowest. Two countries famous for their free domains, Tokelau and Niue, also ranked extremely low.

Unless developing countries adopt IPv6 or find a way to share IPv4 addresses, they may find themselves out of luck when they wish to bring more of their citizens online. It’s no surprise that those countries that were first to connect to the Internet hold the greatest percentage of addresses. As the old saying goes, the early bird gets the worm.