It’s only a matter of time, and not much at that.
The current IPv4 system is running out of addresses. Within the next two years, the supply is likely to be exhausted.
So what will it look like when the organizations overseeing global Internet addressing run out of IPv4 addresses, and transition to IPv6? Enterprise Networking Planet takes a look.
TORONTO — How will we know when IPv4 address space is all used up? And what will happen when that day comes?
The modern Internet has been built using IPv4 (DEFINE:IPv4), which provides for 4.3 billion addresses, a supply that could run dry within the next two years. Organizations that allocate IP address space like the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) have attempted to forecast when IPv4 address space will be gone, but it’s not an exact science, and there is no precise date to mark on a calendar.
At the ARIN XXV policy meetings held here this week, ARIN CIO Richard Jimmerson explained how the organization expects to know when the final IPv4 address is gone.