Moving to IPv6 to Avert Internet Crisis

The pool of available IPv4 Internet Addresses will soon run out. This event is being likened to the problem of Y2K, however the problems that can emerge may be quite notable if appropriate action did not or does not take place. IPv4 designed in 1977 has a limit of approximately 4.3 billion addresses. Thankfully IPv6 has been steadily being introduced over the past few years to replace IPv4. With IPv6, the new limit will now be 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses.

The following article provides further details on this important issue:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20029721-264.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

Here are a few excerpts:

"Many expect some disruptions as the IPv6 shift takes place. Web sites could be slow or inaccessible, companies could have a harder time setting up new services, Internet service providers could have a hard time keeping up with subscriber growth, and security will have to adapt to the new technology.

The Net won't collapse, though."

"Perhaps the best news about the IPv6 transition is that, once it's mostly over, the Internet will be a qualitatively different place. With vast tracts of IP addresses available, individual ones can be assigned to phones, computers, cars, stereo components, living-room thermostats, heads-up display glasses, wristwatches, home solar panels--you name it. Where a case can be made for networking, these devices will be able to communicate directly without the network topology shenanigans such as network address translation necessary today."