Unless we act now, the web might run out of IP addresses within one year. What does that mean to you and me?
The internet provider is where all the addresses of every website are stored. The fourth version (IPv4) was first built in 1980 and is still being used today, and like most things built in 1980, IPv4 coming to the end of its line. This version uses 32 bit addresses which allows for a possible 4 billion web addresses. Thirty years ago, this seemed like more than enough, but with the recent explosion of information across the web, this number is sounding a lot smaller. In fact, experts say that almost 90% of all IP addresses have already been used, and the remaining 10% will be used up within a year.
Some people are referring to this crisis as the Y2K II, but before the hysteria breaks out, it's nice to know that there is a solution. A simple upgrade, it seems, would suffice. The newest version, IPv6, uses 128 bit addresses which would allow for enough addresses to give everyone on the planet 4 billion websites. The transition between versions is tricky, but several large companies like Google and Facebook have already made the switch. But the question is whether or not smaller companies can afford, or will make the effort to switch. So although the internet is not going to stop, website creators may experience a large traffic jam around mid-2011.
The internet provider is where all the addresses of every website are stored. The fourth version (IPv4) was first built in 1980 and is still being used today, and like most things built in 1980, IPv4 coming to the end of its line. This version uses 32 bit addresses which allows for a possible 4 billion web addresses. Thirty years ago, this seemed like more than enough, but with the recent explosion of information across the web, this number is sounding a lot smaller. In fact, experts say that almost 90% of all IP addresses have already been used, and the remaining 10% will be used up within a year.Some people are referring to this crisis as the Y2K II, but before the hysteria breaks out, it's nice to know that there is a solution. A simple upgrade, it seems, would suffice. The newest version, IPv6, uses 128 bit addresses which would allow for enough addresses to give everyone on the planet 4 billion websites. The transition between versions is tricky, but several large companies like Google and Facebook have already made the switch. But the question is whether or not smaller companies can afford, or will make the effort to switch. So although the internet is not going to stop, website creators may experience a large traffic jam around mid-2011.
