We have been hearing that the Internet is running out of addresses for what seems like an eternity. The upgrade to the current version of IP (v4) called IPv6 has been in the works for about a decade now.... but mostly sitting idly on the sidelines. Remember that IPv6 expands the address space from 32 bits to 128 bits. The net result of that expansion is not four times as many addresses. We will have enough addresses for every digital device on the planet (think cars, phones, DVR's, fridges, web cameras at home, the furnace, etc.) with lots left over. (Two to the 128th power is a lot of digits!)
Organizations such as Internet Service Providers have not been rallying round the bandwagon begging for change however. Why would they since the upgrade to IPv6 might require them to spend boatloads of cash to
re-address every piece of hardware. Yet, the Government (as reported in Slashdot in June) was supposed to be poised to move there by 2008. After all, the Office of Management and Budget had mandated all agencies move in the direction of IPv6 back in March, right?
Well, according to an article in the Nov 6th issue of Business Week, things may be really truly about to leap forward.
That's where the buying power of the U.S. government
comes in. Federal purchasing officials have already said they plan to
require all civilian and defense agencies to upgrade their key network
equipment -- routers, computer servers, switches, and such -- to IPv6
within 20 months. By next spring, the General Services Administration
(GSA) plans to award two of the largest government contracts ever,
totaling $125 billion, to overhaul the government's phone systems and
IT infrastructure. (emphasis is mine)
The Department of Defense seems interested. And there is the need for more addresses to support China and India's growing interest to be on-line. And Japan's
NTT DoCoMo has been using IPv6 for its mobile phones since they announced it in 2003. Will all this finally come together to make IPv6 more of a reality.
Don't you just love it when technical stuff shows up in every day news?