Demand for IPv4 addresses outstrips demand
But don’t worry, it doesn’t mean that the internet will collapse. A new system – known at IPv6 – is being introduced that will offer many billions more addresses.
The theory is news that the computing world will smoothly move from the old system to the new.
But computing giant Microsoft recently spent $7.5 million acquiring a batch of the outdated addresses – a move that perhaps does not bode well for the new system.
Every computer connected to the internet has a unique number associated with it, known as its IP (Internet Protocol) address. When IPv4 was created in 1981, the 4.3 billion individual addresses on offer seemed more than enough, however, this recent exhaustion is due to worldwide usage of smart phones, PDA’s etc that all require a unique address.
Nigel Titley, Executive Board Chairman of RIPE NCC, the regional Internet registry for Europe and Middle East, explains this is not the end of the web.
According to Mr. Titley, the infrastructure of the internet is capable of running both systems in parallel for some time. So while the lack of IPv4 addresses will be an issue, it will not cause the internet to collapse.
Outdated technology
The replacement technology known as IPv6 offers a number of advantages to its predecessor in areas of speed and security. One major advantage of the new technology being the size of the address pool, which has increased from 4.3 billion to 340 billion billion billion.
The new protocol IPv6 is at present only in its infancy with regards to general worldwide deployment. Support is being pushed by governments and other organizations with China planning to implement a nationwide deployment of IPv6 within 5 years, called China Next Generation Internet.
Microsoft bought a total of 666,624 IPv4 addresses for $7.5 million at a cost of $11.25 per IP address. The company purchased the IP address from the bankrupt telecom hardware vendor Nortel Networks as a part of its ongoing asset sale.
The sale indicates that soon a grey market for the old address protocol addresses may emerge.
Collectively known as IPv4, these addresses have been the primary mode of communication used by computers to identify web locations for the greater part of the nets history.
The development signals a paradigm shift for internet users around the world, with every internet user now required to think about compliance with the new standard as they go online.
For those with pre IPv6 compliant hardware, such as computers, cable modems and routers, the change means they will not be able to access the web in coming years.
It is also reported that users of Windows XP might also have to fiddle with some settings to get IPv6-enabled. Users are advised to check their Internet Service Provider has plans for transition to the new protocol before agreeing to any future service contract.