A massive explosion in internet usage means that the world has used up all but about 200 million of the 4.3 billion available addresses. What will happen next? Simon Wilson reports.
How can the internet run out of space?
Ten years ago the Big Number marketing campaign was launched when several large British cities changed their dialling codes in order to accommodate more phone numbers. In essence, that was because the telephone network had grown to be much bigger than the people who devised it had anticipated. When phone numbers were invented, hardly anyone needed one; now everyone does. The same thing is now happening with internet addresses. The ‘domain names’ such as https://moneyweek.com are not the problem. Rather, it’s the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, which sit underneath and enable computers to talk to each other.
What does an IP address look like?
It’s a string of numbers. Specifically, an IP address is the unique identifier that network technology requires in order to dispatch a packet of data from one computer to another: in effect the internet equivalent of a phone number. In the current standardised numbering system, known as Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), these addresses take the form of four sets of numbers (between 0 and 255) separated by dots/periods. So, for example, 74.125.227.19 is the address of a Google server.
So what is the problem?
This particular numbering protocol only allows for about 4.3 billion different addresses. Back in the early 1980s, when IPv4 was agreed by the community of government and academic computer scientists, 4.3 billion seemed like a big number. But then when the iconic ZX Spectrum first hit the shops in 1982, there were just 235 internet hosts, so there wasn’t exactly a big strain on the 4.3 billion possible combinations. This was before computers were commonly used in the workplace, let alone in the home. And it was long before the world wide web moved out of the computer scientists’ offices and became part of everyday life for more than a billion people.
What’s the solution?
A new Internet Protocol, snappily entitled Internet Protocol version 6. IPv6 addresses are up to four times as long as IPv4 ones (they come in 128-bit rather than 32-bit), and are made up of eight sets of up to four numbers and letters. What this means is that there are a mind-boggling 3.4 x 1036 combinations, or to be precise, 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456. That should be more than enough to keep even the most dedicated Facebookers and Skypers happy, with plenty of room left over for the so-called ‘internet of things’.
What is the ‘internet of things’?
The prediction that in the next few years everything from central heating, cars, lighting, power distribution, temperature and other sensors, and even some clothes and consumer goods packaging will all require their own IP addresses for hooking up to the internet. Intel estimates that by as early as 2015, the demand from ‘things’ will be 15 billion addresses. Happily, even if this proves accurate, the IPv6 will be able to meet that demand 20 billion billion billion times over.
Isn’t this really just another Y2K-type scare?
Not if you believe Vint Cerf, the vice-president of Google. He came to Britain earlier this month to help launch 6UK, a campaign group whose purpose is to warn UK business of the urgency of the issue. According to Cerf – a 67-year-old who is credited with helping to build the internet while working as a computer science researcher at Stanford University in California – Britain and Europe are set to run out of capacity for new addresses early next year. They need to shift to IPv6 as soon as possible. “We’re going to be out of address space by spring,” he warns. And “if Europe doesn’t implement IPv6 it won’t be able to talk to the rest of the world that does implement IPv6”.
What should businesses do?
First, don’t panic. The internet is not going to stop working; the Number Resource Organisation (the body representing the five regional internet registries around the world) reports that the uptake of IPv6 is progressing well. You might even already be using IPv6. Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft began installing and enabling IPv6 by default on its operating systems. And because the Windows implementation of IPv6 is self-configuring, your computers could be broadcasting IPv6 traffic without your even knowing it.
However, none of that means that the issue can be safely ignored. IPv4 and IPv6 are not interoperable. The UK government-backed 6UK strongly recommends that any business with a serious web presence or hardware spend ensures it has a thorough grasp of the technical issues to make sure it is accessible to customers. And also to protect itself.
Where can I find out more?
The first port of call should be www.6UK.org.uk. There you can find an excellent overview of the practical issues, as well as an IPv6 project planning guide to help more technical staff consider what steps might be necessary for individual businesses. Meanwhile, the RIPE NCC, the regional internet registry responsible for allocating IP addresses across Europe, maintains a news page with practical advice.