The time is nearing where IPv4 addresses are drying up and the well will run dry. The people who created the Internet and IPv4 thought they had created enough to go around for a long time to come, 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses to be exact. Back then it sounded like a sufficient amount to go around for all, no one thought that we would be carrying around cell phones, laptops, tablets not to mention home desktops and streaming devices. This large influx of web connected devices took the Internet by surprise and now there are only around 3.4 million left in the US.
Does that mean the end of the Internet for everyone? No, not exactly. You see, there is a new protocol in town called IPv6 and it carries a vastly greater number of addresses than IPv4 – around 340 undecillion. So why not just switch everything over to IPv6 and stop worrying? Well, large companies and even consumers are going to hesitate to do so due to the fact it means replacing hardware. Large companies who’s infrastructure is built on IPv4 are going to have to invest a ton of cash into replacing hardware that is not IPv6 compatible. While they can hold out for a bit longer, time is not on their side. What do you think of IPv4 addresses fizzling out? Are you ready for IPv6? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
[button link=”http://gizmodo.com/were-running-out-of-internet-1704241036″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Gizmodo[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
