Web Running out of IP Addresses?

Does this mean the Net cannot further develop?

Wow. Is it really happening? Are we really going to run out of IP addresses? The answer is yes, but the outlook isn’t as bleak as it appears.

For starters, the Internet runs on version 4 of the Internet Protocol. It was standardized 1981, and serves as the dominant network layer protocol for the Internet. IPv4 has since proved to be inadequate, primarily for its lack of address space.

The good news is IPv4 has a successor, which is IPv6. Version 6 of the Internet Protocol holds more than 16 billion-billion addresses, unlike IPv4 that holds just over 4 billion.

Some companies are beginning to administer IPv6 and are using both IPv4 and IPv6 together. In time, IPv4 will run out of addresses and need to phase out. At that point, the Web will operate solely on IPv6.

Critics argue that IPv6 is incapable of taking over. However, John Curran the Chairman of the Board at the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) says this is an inaccurate assumption.

“…the way we figure out if something works or not is by using it… getting feedback. That usage is really just beginning now.”

The Internet as we know it cannot run on IPv4. While the matter isn’t so urgent that you have to drop everything you’re doing and switch to IPv6 immediately, it is something that companies and organizations should begin to carefully examine.

Get more information on this topic in the WebProNews video.

About the author:
Abby Prince is a reporter/anchor for WebProNews.