Less than 10 percent of IPv4 addresses left

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Jos

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We've been hearing about an upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol for years and yet IPv6 is still in its infancy when it comes to deployment. However, with fewer than 10 percent of IPv4 addresses remaining available for allocation it seems as though time has finally come to ramp up adoption.

In a recent statement the Number Resource Organization (NRO) warned that it is vital for the future network operations of all businesses and organizations to step up their migration to IPv6. The replacement addressing system uses a 128-bit address space and can handle trillions of connected devices, whereas -- surprising as it may seem -- IPv4's roughly 4 billion addresses are starting to dry out.

However, where previous estimates had IPv4 addresses running out in 2011, it now appears they are more likely to be depleted in 2012. Many businesses have been putting off the switch because of time and cost constraints, while others maintain that NAT routing reduces the pressure to move to IPv6 and will continue to do so.

Only a handful of companies and government entities have already started supporting the new addressing system. Google went live with IPv6 addresses for some of its properties in March 2009, while the EU began its migration in October. Others on the list include Netflix, Limelight and Comcast.

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Very large blocks of addresses are being held but not used by class A and B users. Fix the problem by taking the unused addresses from the universities. Everybody is behind a NAT router anyway.

No body needs a network IP address that is being promoted as the reason for IPV6.
 
Yes lets keep prolonging an archaic protocol that was never designed to be used at this level. Keep patching it up and we will never have problems with it. Are you freaking nuts? Patching old programs and protocols always gives you more problems than just doing it right the first time. Yes IPv4 can be extended with NAT, but eventually you will have to do double NAT or maybe triple NAT. Any network engineer will tell you that that cruising for trouble. The ISPs need to bite the bullet and upgrade because the longer they put off the transition, the more costly it will be for them.
 
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