By: MarkJ - 04 December, 2008 (9:33 AM)
The
Number Resource Organization (NRO), which is made up of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), has revealed that the rate of new entrants into the IPv6 routing system has increased by approximately 300% over the past two years.
The news is important because IPv4 addresses, which are assigned to your computer each time you go online (e.g. 123.23.56.98); not unlike a phone number, are running out. IPv6 (e.g. 2ffe:1800:3525:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf) was invented as a longer and more secure replacement:
"What we are now seeing is an acceleration in IPv6 activity on the Internet, clearly indicating the start of production deployment in many parts if the world," says Paul Wilson, Chair of the NRO. "We are also seeing a rapid increase in allocation of IPv6 addresses, reflecting an increasing readiness for imminent deployment. These developments are due to the work of all global stakeholders in assembling the resources necessary for IPv6 adoption."
Still, with some predictions suggesting that IPv4 addresses could run out entirely by 2011, IPv6 may need to grow even faster if it is to prevent a serious performance problem from occurring.
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