Australian IPv6 Summit
Get Ready to Move to the New Internet Based on IPv6
BOSTON, MA and LUXEMBOURG -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/11/2005 -- The IPv6 Forum releases a new study on the Internet Address space consumption produced by Tony Hain, North American IPv6 Task Force Technology Director and IPv6 Forum Fellow. This study demonstrates unequivocally that the address space is melting like ice under the heat of the sun despite strict conservation and assignment measures. We are running into the brick wall a lot faster than assumed by previous studies. 2008 seems to be the year when the Internet address space becomes very hard to get. This fact prompts the IPv6 Forum to send a serious call to action to its members and to the global Internet community to get ready for IPv6 transition prior to that date to benefit from technology refresh and smooth transition planning.
Here is the full study, A Pragmatic Report on IPv4 Address Space Consumption - including a debate with senior Internet experts, with constructive consensus and recommendations.
"Given the inevitability of a protocol version transition, the greatest impediment to deployment of IPv6 is fear of the unknown. There are differences between the versions but the fundamentals of a packet-based technology are the same. In a controlled environment everyone should just jump in and dissipate that cloud of fear," stated Tony Hain, NAv6TF Technology Director and IPv6 Forum Fellow.
The remaining IPv4 pool is on a course for rapid exhaustion. Planning ahead will allow an orderly deployment of IPv6-based infrastructure and applications, thereby avoiding the chaos that results from haste. Each organization should leverage the array of available tools to sequence their deployment, leaving IPv4 in place until it is no longer used. This approach allows each application to move independently based on local priorities.
The exhaustion of the remaining IPv4 pool will be a significant event that will eventually affect all network managers. The actual date of impact will be different for each organization. For some the impact will clearly occur at the point where they are unable to get additional IPv4 addresses to support an expansion or new application deployment. For others the more indirect event will be the result of switching ISPs or subscribing to a new service. The vast majority are likely to have their deployment date decided by the need to interact with other organizations that have already been forced to move. Each organization needs to internally approach this event as they did for Y2K, though since this will be a staggered deployment based on local need there is no hard date to focus on.
"This fine technical analysis from Mr. Tony Hain is yet more evidence that no matter how one determines the exhaustion of IPv4 address space, it is now time for both the industry and government IT sectors, to begin the transition and evolution to the New Internet model with IPv6 immediately, world wide," stated Jim Bound, IPv6 Forum CTO and NAv6TF.
"Better safe than sorry. Get ready for the 21st Century investment in new end-to-end innovative solutions and business models. The secret of progress is hidden in the future and the future welcomes those that create it," stated Latif Ladid, IPv6 Forum President.
The IPv6 Forum is a world-wide consortium of over 175 leading Internet service vendors, National Research & Education Networks (NRENs) and international ISPs, with a clear mission to promote IPv6 by improving market and user awareness, creating a quality and secure New Generation Internet and allowing world-wide equitable access to knowledge and technology. The key focus of the IPv6 Forum today is to provide technical guidance for the deployment of IPv6. IPv6 Summits are organized by the IPv6 Forum and staged in various locations around the world to provide industry and market with the best available information on this rapidly advancing technology.
www.ipv6forum.com