BrianGarst.com

The world wide web is huge. It’s certainly far bigger than anyone foresaw when the Internet Protocol system was devised decades ago. And so, as more and more devices become web accessible, requiring their own IP addresses, a funny thing has happened…there aren’t any more. Or, at least, there won’t be any more in about a week.

But this is no surprise. This eventuality has been seen for years, and steps are being taken such that most people will not even realize anything has happened:

IP addressing has been available in a newer version, known as IPv6. IPv6 provides a wider pool of IP addresses, a number that has been cited is 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses—enough to last us well into the future. There are also other benefits to IPv6, more efficient network management, better security and better interoperability for mobile networks.

…Google has been a leader in the push for IPv6. Google Apps users and those with Google Apps domain are all set for IPv6. In fact, Google is taking part in World IPv6 Day and is active in ensuring IPv6 is a forefront technology issue.

…Additionally, major DNS server offerings such as Microsoft DNS server, ISC BIND, Cisco Network Registrar have supported IPv6 for years.

This is how private organizations solve problems.

Now close your eyes and imagine the government ran the entire internet, and it was up to government and government alone to foresee such a situation, prepare for it, and implement a transition, all with minimal disruptions to service. How well do you think that enterprise would compare to what private companies are doing? Yeah, that’s what I thought.