It's official, the internet is running out of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. "What happened this week is for the first time, organizations qualified for block sizes (of addresses) we don't have," Richard Jimmerson, chief information officer of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), which registers and doles out IP addresses, told CBS News. "We are weeks away from having zero left." It's estimated that ARIN only has about 130,000 actual IP addresses remaining. That's not very many, considering internet providers such as Comcast buy about a million at a time.
In order to access your company's network, you may need to give someone your IP address. For example, if you decide to work from home or a coffee shop, you may need to give someone in your IT department the IP address of your home or the shop where you're working from in order to gain access to your company's network. A couple of weeks ago, I was working offsite and sent my boss an IP address looking something like:
FE80::0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329
My boss, who has worked in IT for 20 years, responded with: "That isn't an IP address." Little did we both know, the above IP address is the newest version called IPv6.
What is an IP Address?
IP, which stands for Internet Protocol, is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet. Each computer, known as a host, on the Internet has at least one IP address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on the Internet.
IP by itself can be compared to something like the postal system. It allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there's no direct link between you and the recipient.
IP Versions
There are currently two versions of IP addresses. IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6). IPv4 is the fourth revision of IP used to identify devices on a network through an addressing system. IP is designed for use in interconnected systems of packet-switched computer communication networks. IPv4 is the most widely deployed IP used to connect devices to the Internet. IPv4 uses a 32-bit numbering system protocol that is unique to each device or network you are currently using. Below is an example of an IPv4:
69.89.31.226
The newest version, IPv6 or IPng (Internet Protocol new generation), is based on a 128-bit number system which will allow for the creation of a mind boggling 340 undecillion new IP addresses. That's 340 followed by 36 zeros! IPv6 is the successor of IPv4 and is designed to allow the internet to grow steadily, both in terms of the number of hosts connected and the total amount of data traffic transmitted. Let's take a look at the example of an IPv6 again:
FE80::0202:B3FF:FE1E:8329
While it may look like the only difference between the IPv4 and IPv6 are the numbering systems, there are several other important technological changes in IPv6 that will improve the IP protocol.
- No more NAT (Network Address Translation)
- Auto-configuration
- No more private address collisions
- Better multicast routing
- Simpler header format
- Simplified, more efficient routing
- True quality of service (QoS)
- Built-in authentication and privacy support
- Flexible options and extensions
- Easier administration
So, what does this all mean? In reality, it means very little for the everyday user. However; for larger companies, such as Microsoft or Facebook, they are going to have to make the leap from IPv4 to IPv6 which can be extremely costly. The cost of an IP address is roughly $11.25 and is only expected to rise. In 2011, Microsoft Corp. spent $7.5 million on 660,624 addresses. While
