The practicality of IPv6

From Computing and Software Wiki

IPv6 is an Internet Layer protocol that was created to succeed the currently-used IPv4 (which will eventually need replacing). The official specification of IPv6 was released in December of 1998 ^{[ 1 ]}, and after a decade it still has not become a fully-adopted Internet Protocol. While recent efforts have increased IPv6's overall internet-wide penetration ^{[ 2 ]}, IPv4 is still the dominant protocol by a vast margin. There are several issues concerning the feasibility of the overall adoption if IPv6, resulting in some doubting the very need for a completely new protocol. There is much more to the protocol than simply adding or replacing a certain piece of hardware or software, and this has lead to the situation where potential future adopters are reluctant to use the protocol, unable to see how IPv6's advantages offset its high costs; this is especially relevant for potential adopters who do not see themselves requiring more IP addresses than they already have.
How to reference: ^{[ 1 ]}

Contents 1 IPv4 Address Exhaustion 2 Adoption Rates 2.1 Worldwide Breakdown 2.2 Struggles with Adoption 3 Usage Statistics 4 Scrutiny and Criticism of the Protocol 5 References 6 External Links 7 See Also

IPv4 Address Exhaustion

The concept of IPv4 address exhaustion is quite simple: eventually, the internet will run out of unallocated IPv4 addresses. While the exact day for IPv4 exhaustion has not been globally established, most reports indicate that it will happen in the year 2011. The Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre believes the date of IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) address exhaustion to be June 16th 2001^{[ 3 ]} while the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) believes this date will land in early 2011 ^{[ 4 ]}

Adoption Rates

Worldwide Breakdown

Struggles with Adoption

Usage Statistics

Scrutiny and Criticism of the Protocol

References

1. Deering, S. and Hinden, R. RFC 2460, Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6). The Internet Society, 1998.
2. Das, Kaushik. IPv6 and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. http://www.ipv6.com/articles/general/IPv6-Olympics-2008.htm
3. Huston, Geoff. IPv4 Address Report. http://www.potaroo.net/tools/ipv4/index.html
4. Harris, Mark. Waiting for the Internet Meltdown. The Sunday Times, July 6, 2008. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4271879.ece

External Links

(External Links)

• IPv4 Exhaustion Counter

See Also

(Internal Links)
The Future of the Internet: IPv6