The internet will run out of IPv4 addresses within 500 days it is claimed, stressing the urgency for businesses to migrate to IPv6 addresses.
The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the official representative of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that oversee the allocation of all Internet number resources, has announced that the existing pool of IPv4 addresses will run out within 500 days.
Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of technical rules that defines how devices communicate to each other over a network (like the internet). There are currently two versions of IP, IPv4 and IPv6. An IPv4 address will look something like 203.123.123.123 and is where your internet browser will visit after it looks up an web page through a Domain Name Server (DNS) (Translating backend.dynamicbusiness.com into 122.201.71.17 which is our IPv4 address for example).
IPv6 includes a modern numbering system that provides for much more addresses than the 4 billion (approx) permitted with IPv4. With so few IPv4 addresses remaining, the NRO is urging all businesses to take immediate action to plan for the IPv6 transition.
“This is a key milestone in the growth and development of the global Internet,” noted Axel Pawlik, Chairman of the NRO.
“With less than 10 percent of the entire IPv4 address range still available for allocation to RIRs, it is vital that the Internet community take considered and determined action to ensure the global adoption of IPv6. The deployment of IPv6 is a key infrastructure development that will enable the network to support the billions of people and devices that will connect in the coming years,” added Pawlik.
Decisions made early on in the internet’s life did not anticipate just how much the internet would grow, as a result the IPv4 framework was not designed to handle the demand we place on it.
“Many decision makers don’t realize how many devices require IP addresses – mobile phones, laptops, servers, routers, the list goes on,” said Raul Echeberria, Secretary of the NRO.
“The number of available IPv4 addresses is shrinking rapidly, and if the global Internet community fails to recognize this, it will face grave consequences in the very near future. As such, the NRO is working to educate everyone, from network operators to top executives and government representatives, about the importance of IPv6 adoption,” added Echeberria.
