When the internet was first created, each device required an address to uniquely identify it to the rest of the network and devices. These numbers serve much like the address to your house, only in this system the number must be completely unique to each device. Since the internet launch in 1983, millions more of devices require a number to identify them to the internet. At the rate we are accelerating these connections, the amount of addresses available are running low.
IPv6
IPv6 is a roll-out of a new system that provides plenty more numbers to identify devices with. 128 bits into address space, or 3.4×10^38th, or 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses.
340,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
There are already 5.5 billion mobile phones in the world, exhausting what would be available in IPv4 address space.
June 6, 2012
On June 6, 2012, the internet will roll out the new IPv6 system, and increase the amount of address space available
Major ISPs are that are involved in the roll out include:
- AKAMAI
- AT&T
- CISCO
- COMCAST
- D-LINK
- FREE TELECOM
- INTERNODE
- KDDI
- LIMELIGHT
- MICROSOFT
- BING
- TIME WARNER
- CABLE
- XS4ALL
- YAHOO!
Additional Reading: