The current method of web addresses is running out of numbers.
As we all know the web has exploded in recent years with emerging countries such as China and India increasing vastly the world wide demand for web addresses.
The current addressing scheme, known as version 4 of the Internet Protocol is capable of handling up to about 4.2 Billion addresses and only about 14% of these are still available.
It is estimated that, at the current rate of growth, the Internet could run out of addresses by 2010 or 2011 which would be a serious problem for people seeking an address after this date.
However, some 10 years ago, this problem was recognized and a new protocol format known as IPv6 was devised. This new protocol would see the end of any worry about web addresses for decades to come, since it has the capability of handling something like 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses. (The mind boggles)
On Monday 11th February,2008. the master address books for the Internet are being updated to include records prepared in the new format IPv6.
Today, Monday 4th February, 2008 the master servers for the net will have a small number of records in the new IPv6 added to them. So for the first time in the history of the net computers using the IPv6 will be able to find each other without using the IPv4 technology.
There will be a long period of time there will be no or little effect on consumers but eventually the less modern computers, servers and routers will have to be updated. Internet Providers have not yet implemented the service since no-one is yet asking for it and secondly there will be some expense involved.
Rest assured however, that in years to come, you will still be able to communicate with your refrigerator or microwave as you drive home in your web enabled car!
Happy computing!
Brian McQuirk
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