IPv6 is coming ....

Forums: ipv6, Internet, Computers, Networking, Internet Protocol Addresses
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If you have ever been asked to get your IP address for any reason, you might have had occasion to hit ipconfig or something of the sort, and come up with something like 1.2.3.4 -- or even 1.02.123.4.

And this has been written in what's called IPv4. But apparently the global set of IP addresses is about to run out. Soon.

How soon?

Either this year, or next.

It's going to be replaced by IPv6. IPv6 will have a 128-bit address versus a 32-bit address (This means longer addresses, more like 1234.5678.9012.3456 or the like). Address reassignment will be faster when you change Internet providers. There should be more and better network security. Router processing will be simplified (which I suspect will mean faster data transfer -- e. g. quicker downloads and uploads).

The current system has about 4 billion addresses. The new one will have available about 340 undecillion (yes, that's a real number; it's 10 to the 38th power), or 5 x 10 to the 28th (e. g. an octillion) for all of the 6.8 billion people alive today.

Oh and backward compatibility is not great. So there is going to be some scrambling in the next few months, to get the translation programs up to snuff. It will be quite an opportunity for anyone who wants to learn IPv6 programming -- I suspect those people will be able to write their own tickets.

For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6 and
http://ipv6.com/

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@jespah,

jespah wrote:

I suspect those people will be able to write their own tickets.

nice, cause theres a big lottery coming up soon, and i love to write my own ticket for that

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@jespah,

Jes, for folks who don't understand about this sort of thing, what does it mean for users? Do we need to do anything?

2 Replies

@jespah,

Actually... there is no backward compatibility.

You will have to run dual stacks, much like we did before Novell switched to TCP/IP.

And I have yet to encounter an ISP offering IPv6. I have yet to encounter a web server servicing IPv6 requests.

I suspect that we will continue to limp along on IPv4 for some time, using more and more network address translation in order to shoehorn more people onto the existing addresses.

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@Reyn,

Reyn wrote:

Jes, for folks who don't understand about this sort of thing, what does it mean for users? Do we need to do anything?

Not currently.

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

Thank you!

But does this imply that we will need to do something in the future? If so, what is involved?

1 Reply

oh noes! They're gonna break my DNS!

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@Reyn,

Thanks. I was too embarassed to ask.

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@Reyn,

Dunno what (if anything) needs to be done in the future. It's back-end stuff, but it's not as well put-together as it would be nice if it was.

1 Reply

A brief tutorial

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@jespah,

jespah wrote:

Dunno what (if anything) needs to be done in the future.

I think what Drewdad said... machines will have to run dual stacks for a while until ipv4 works its way out of the system. I don't think end users are going to notice much of this, otherwise there would be a greater sense of urgency out there.

1 Reply

@rosborne979,

So, you're saying this is something that site owners and internet providers would be dealing with?

Sorry, I'm just trying to pin down if there needs to be modification in any equipment that I have in my home.

Will I still keep my same modem, for example?

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The effect on the end-user should be minimal. You will see that you still connect and the transition will be pretty gradual. The people on the technical end are now and will be working on this transition. You won't see the panic you did with Y2K fiasco as this was anticipated back as far as the late '90s. Apparently, 0.2% of the 'Net is already converted over.

More info and support for the IPv6 coming soon:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20029721-264.html

"... Worth it in the end:
Perhaps the best news about the IPv6 transition is that, once it's mostly over, the Internet will be a qualitatively different place. With vast tracts of IP addresses available, individual ones can be assigned to phones, computers, cars, stereo components, living-room thermostats, heads-up display glasses, wristwatches, home solar panels--you name it. Where a case can be made for networking, these devices will be able to communicate directly without the network topology shenanigans such as network address translation necessary today.

One consequence of that more direct connection is the elevation of peer-to-peer communications in the network. Central servers will remain important, but no longer necessarily a gateway. "

...

"The big problem, though: IPv6 isn't compatible with IPv4, so making the transition is painful for a wide spectrum of the computing industry. "

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20029721-264.html#ixzz1CFD2FG2z

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20029721-264.html#ixzz1CFBtPdC4

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@Ragman,

Thanks for that! We just bought 2 new computers a month ago.

This is what I wanted to read:

Quote:

All modern personal computer operating systems can handle IPv6 with no trouble, but the connection to the Internet is another question entirely.

So, it sounds like connecting to some sites who are slow in upgrading could be a problem.

Would this mean that all of a user's bookmarks will have to be changed, too?

2 Replies

@Reyn,

I'd be out of my depth to comment. Perhaps Robert Gentel might provide an answer or someone who does networking/webby stuff for a living.

My guess is worthless but I think you may find the change will not have much impact to you from all I've read so far. Have you gone to the links and read over the info?

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@Ragman,

It will be a pain in the ass for companies, particularly those that offer services over the internet. I don't think it will impact the average consumer much, except people may have to buy new modems.

1 Reply

@Reyn,

Quote:

So, it sounds like connecting to some sites who are slow in upgrading could be a problem.

The upgrading of sites won't be the issue as much as upgrading by service providers will be.

Quote:

Would this mean that all of a user's bookmarks will have to be changed, too?

No. As long as the service provider has upgraded the DNS lookup and you haven't bookmarked sites that just use their assigned number you will have no problem.

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A lot of the changeover could well be just software changes. (All that costs is money and aggravation.)

BUT....

The issue here is every one that connects to the internet has a unique number. Everyone has to get a new number and the records that direct people to that new number all have to be updated.

EXAMPLE

Imagine if it was announced tomorrow that everyone has to get a new drivers license with a new number. Changing the number is simple. Changing the number for 100 million people is a little more complicated. Getting all those people new numbers, knowing who already has their new number and making sure old numbers don't get used by the person or others that might have the old number becomes a complicated issue until the change is complete and all the old numbers are out of the system completely.

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@Ragman,

Yes, that's where the bit I quoted was from.

0 Replies

@parados,

parados wrote:

Quote:
Would this mean that all of a user's bookmarks will have to be changed, too?
No. As long as the service provider has upgraded the DNS lookup and you haven't bookmarked sites that just use their assigned number you will have no problem.

Thank you.

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