Media coverage today is stating that the world will run out of IP addresses tomorrow – what does this mean for your website?
What are IP addresses?
Devices connected to the web are given IP addresses that behave like phone numbers. With the number of mobile devices that are now connected to the web, the current system (named IPv4) of 4.1 billion addresses in the 1980s is set to be fully allocated to regional authorities by the end of this week. Once these have been distributed to individual clients there will be no more IPv4 addresses.
What happens next?
IPv4 will be replaced by IPv6 (version 6) which will enable a seemingly inexhaustible number of IP addresses. There are concerns however about translation issues – IPv4 and IPv6 are, in essence, different ‘languages’ which means that there will be challenges connecting IPv6 addresses to websites using IPv4.
Do I need to worry?
It makes sense to ensure that your digital agency is prepared for IPv6 – many have been slow to experiment with it because of a lack of immediate benefits. John Curran, Chief Executive of the American Registry for Internet Numbers states that only about 2% of websites worldwide currently support IPv6.
Apparatus clients have no need to worry – Our datacentres are already compatible with IPv6 and we have already been allocated IPv6 addresses. Testing is well underway to ensure a smooth transition.
