IPv4's Last Day: What Will Happen When There Is Only IPv6?

Enterprise Networking Planet ^ | 23 April 2010 | Sean Michael Kerner

[ShadowAce]

[roaddog727]

IPv6 is a mind-bending concatenation of Hex.

DOD continues to delay it’s full deployment.

Argh

[Haiku Guy]

The machines will become self aware, and decide our fate in a nanosecond...

[hoosier hick]

OH NO!!! IT’S WORSE THAN Y2K!!!!

hh

[ReneeLynn]

Why didn’t they just start out with IPv6?

[Star Traveler]

Basically IPv4 addresses run out when they run out ... LOL ... that’s what they’re saying.

They could have a better strategy, like assigning (i.e., “fixing”) a time when no one would be given IPv4 addresses (make it a “date certain”) — and then keeping whatever number of IPv4 addresses they had, in reserve for “whatever” in the future.

[ShadowAce]

They couldn't foresee the need at the time (60's/70's).

24 bits is a lot of addresses, even though whole blocks are reserved for specific uses.

PCs were not around at the time, and private ownership of computers was also in the future.

[COBOL2Java]

Let me be the first to say that Obama will declare he inherited this predicament...

[TChris]

The Powers That Be need to exercise something like Eminent Domain over IPv4. There are far too many holders of larger address space than their internet presence will ever justify.

My previous employer had legal, routable addresses for every device on our network for years. A lot of network admins must hold them for prestige or sheer cluelessness.

IPv4 + assigning network blocks through ISPs only + NAT and the world is fine. Take all the rest of the unused/misused address space and there is no problem.

[ColdWater]

PCs were not around at the time, and private ownership of computers was also in the future.

I had a personal computer in the 70's.

[ShadowAce]

On the DARPA net?

[Ingtar]

Of course. After all, it’s Bush’s fault.

[ShadowAce]

IPv4 + assigning network blocks through ISPs only + NAT and the world is fine.

Agreed. Think it would happen, though?

[TChris]

Agreed. Think it would happen, though?

It seems to be the way they do it now, but legacy network assignments are the problem. The RF spectrum is the same way: HUGE swaths of bandwidth are owned by the government or the railroads, due to decades-old deals.

They are nearly all unused, but off-limits to everyone else.

I would support a one-time audit of class A licensees for determining their actual internet-facing node count and reassigning address space accordingly. Millions of unused addresses would be freed up.

[lormand]

Here is what a valid IPv6 address looks like in a browser session....

http://[2002:ac1a:143:0:2e0:dbff:dead:5b18]/

Yes, brackets are needed. Pretty nasty eh?

[TexasRepublic]

No, it is Al Gore’s fault - he invented the Internet, you know.

[Star Traveler]

Some Of The Dates For 70'S Computer Innovations

• First RAM chip Intel 1970
• 4004 microprocessor Intel 1971
• 8008 microprocessor Intel 1971
• 8080 Microprocessor Intel 1974
• Altair 8800, the second personal computer 1974
• BASIC by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and formation of Microsoft, developed for Altair 1975
• Apple I single-board computer 1976
• Z80 chip released by Zilog 1976
• Apple II 1977
• Tandy TRS80 1977
• Commodore PET 1978
• Arcade Video game 'Space Invaders' released 1979
• IBM start development work on personal computer 1979

[dfwgator]

http://[2002:ac1a:143:0:2e0:dbff:dead:5b18]/

You're supposed to ping a Freeper before referencing them. ;)

[lormand]

DoD is waiting until they JITC certify all of their stuff first, then everyone else we be able to use it.