IPv6 – What is IPv6? – Bureau Telecommunicatie & Post

What is IPv6?

The number of devices with internet connections is rapidly increasing. Each of these devices requires its own IP address. One might think here about all the laptops, smart phones and tablets that we connect these days. The current system of assigning addresses is based on IPv4, which provides ‘merely’ 4.3 billion addresses. These addresses have been used up. In order to connect more devices we need to use IPv6, which has more characters than IPv4. This enables an increased number of more unique combinations.

The urgency of the IPv6 upgrade

In our region LACNIC (Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean) is the organisation responsible for issuing IP addresses. On 10 June 2014 this organisation established that the supply of IPv4 addresses has run out. As a result operators can no longer request new IPv4 addresses and depend on their own supply. Consequently, a migration to IPv6 in the next few years is inevitable.

A timely migration from IPv4 to IPv6 is important as it enables organizations to make a controlled transition to IPv6 at a time that suits them. This reduces the risk of last minute hasty transitions resulting in flaws in the implementation leading to additional costs.

Determining a suitable moment for their transition themselves also gives organizations the opportunity to include IPv6 compatibility as a one of the criteria when making purchasing decisions during the regular hard and software replacement cycle. This way unexpected implementation costs can be avoided.

A brief outline of IPv6

View these short films about IPv6 to find out more about the background and the basis of IPv6:

The new larger version of the internet: IPv6 (source: Google)
What is IPv6 (source: Explania)

(BT&P Publication period: 2014)