IPv4 To IPv6 Transition Breakdown

We have reported in the past about the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 IP address system versions.

Geoff Huston predicts that the world will run out of current IP addresses by the year 2010 and most companies have been slowly preparing for the transition to a larger scale IP system version for a while now. Vint Cerf has a similar prediction.

What are IPv4 and IPv6 you are probably asking?

IPv4 is (version 4 of Internet Protocol) uses 32 bit addressing (2^32) and allows for 4,294,967,296 unique addresses. An example of an Ipv4 IP address is 204.133.130.234.

IPv6 is next in the advancement of IP’s. It uses a 128-bit (2^128) system that will hold 340-Undecillion (34, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000) IP addresses. According to Wikipedia, IPv6 can provide 2^52 addresses for each of the 70 sextillion observable stars in the known universe. An example of Ipv6 would be something like the following:
206. 151. 137. 245. 218. 132. 130. 233. 209. 154. 133. 245. 219. 167. 111. 234.

The thing is, as Jack Schofield of The Guardian reports, computers have been ready for IPv6 for a while now, it’s just a matter of making sure everyone goes along.

most of us already have computers that can support IPv6, without even downloading an update. IBM’s Unix started offering IPv6 support in 1997, and most other versions soon had IPv6 available. Microsoft had an experimental stack in 1998, it has been part of Windows XP SP1 and Windows Server since 2002, and it’s the default in Windows Vista. Cisco also started introducing IPv6 support for routers in 2001.

I think in the next 2 years we will see a speedier change to the new standard with most companies probably supporting both IP system versions in parallel.

How can you contribute to help make the transition easier and save yourself from headaches down the track?

Schofield advises you “be sure to ask whether your router (”internet modem”) supports IPv6 before you hand over any cash”.