The application process for Internet Protocol (IP)addresses just got stricter, as verysoon, new IPv4 addresses will be fully depleted around the globe.
As of May 21, the Caribbeanentered a new phase ofIPv4exhaustion planning, as the pool of addresses reached8,388,606, according to a release fromthe Latin American and Caribbean Network Information Centre (LACNIC), which is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for South America and much of Central America and the Caribbean.
One way to understand the significance ofIPv4 resource depletion is tothink of the Internet as a whole lot of data moving between networks. In order to communicate, eachdevice connected to the Internet must be identified by a unique IP address. Thesystem by which unique IP addresses are currently distributed,called IPv4, has only4.3 billion IP addresses. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) handed out its last blocksof IPv4 addresses to the five RIRsin February 2011. This means thatIPv6 is critical to the Internet's continued growth as a platform for innovation and economicdevelopment.
What is IPv6? Find out more about how the global protocolsthat maketheInternet work for everyone.
"The Internet continues to grow in leaps and bounds, and an increasing number of business opportunities continue to emerge. It is estimated that next year our region will have tens of millions of new Internet users. To meet the demand for the years to come, it is essential that every access network and content service in our region deploys IPv6," the release said.
While thenumber 8,388,606may appear perfectly random to many, the changes that it triggered have been predetermined with careful forethought. In fact,Phase 1 of LACNIC'sIPv4 exhaustion planwill end as soon as another predeterminedbenchmark is hit. Whenonly 4,194,302 IPv4 addresses remain, the Caribbean will enter Phase 2 of depletion planning.
What happens next?Find out more about the changes to LACNIC's IPv4 administration.
"As of this moment, there are only about fourmillion addresses available before reaching Phase 2, whenthe rules and procedures for the assignment of the remaining addresses will be extremely restrictive in terms of assignment size and frequency," the release said.
According to ISOC's IPv6 Deploy 360 Programme website, "We have been growing the commercial Internet for decades using the IPv4 address space. At the time of its creation, IPv4 was not intended to satisfy the needs of a global commercial Internet. It was intended to support the needs of experimental research and government networks. We have known all along IPv4 was a limited resource and that one day it would fully deplete. That day has come."