Dwindling IPv4 Addresses Increases Pressure on IPv6 Adoption

By Mini Swamy

TMCnet Contributor

 

The IPv4 countdown has begun and at the current rate of allocation, it appears that it won't be long before there are just no more addresses left to hand out. The Number Resource Organization announced that less than five percent of the world's IPv4 addresses remain unallocated. With mobile phones, laptops, servers, routers and other devices increasing, and the number of IPV4 addresses shrinking, there seems to be sufficient cause to accelerate the adoption of Ipv6.

 

APNIC, the Regional Internet Registry for the Asia Pacific region, has been assigned two blocks of IPv4 addresses by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. This latest allocation means that the IPv4 free pool dipped below 10 percent in January, just nine months ago. Since then, over 200 million IPv4 addresses have been allocated from IANA to the Regional Internet Registries, RIRs in short.  

 

'This is a major milestone in the life of the Internet, and means that allocation of the last blocks of IPv4 to the RIRs is imminent,' Axel Pawlik, chairman of the Number Resource Organization, the official representative of the five RIRs, said, and added that it was critical that all Internet stakeholders take definitive action to ensure timely adoption of IPv6.

 

With its hugely expanded address space, that will allow the Internet to breathe and grow in the future, there is absolutely no doubt that Ipv6 is the next-generation of the Internet Protocol. Compared to 2009, it is heartening to see that the year 2010 will witness an increase of over 70 percent on the number of Ipv6 allocations. This is because the RIRs are expected to allocate over 2000, Ipv6 address blocks.

 

In contrast, the number of IPv4 allocations is expected to grow by only 8 percent in 2010., clearly indicating that the rush for IPv4 addresses is absent, but there is increasing momentum behind the adoption of IPv6.

 

'The allocation of Internet number resources by the five RIRs enables every region in the world to benefit from fair and equitable distribution of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. We are also actively collaborating with stakeholders at the local, regional, and global level to offer training and advice to public and private sector organizations on IPv6 adoption to ensure that everyone is prepared for IPv4 depletion and IPv6 deployment,' Pawlik added.

 

The IANA assigns IPv4 addresses to the RIRs in blocks that equate to 1/256th of the entire IPv4 address space, and each block includes just over 16 million IP addresses. The most recent assignment means that there are now only 12 of these blocks available, which is less than five percent of the entire IPv4 address pool.

 

The final five blocks of IPv4 addresses will be distributed simultaneously to the five RIRs, leaving only seven blocks to be handed out under the normal distribution method. According to current depletion rates, the last five IPv4 address blocks will be allocated to the RIRs in early 2011. The pressure to adopt IPv6 is indeed mounting.