The New York Times has an article on Vint Cerf, who played a major role in the beginnings of what we now know as the Internet and currently serves as Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist, and IPv6. For those who don’t know, all web URLs (likewww.test.mttlr.com, www.mttlr.org, or www.law.umich.edu) are merely shortcuts for Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Those addresses, like telephone numbers, aren’t infinite – and we’re close to running out. Earlier this month, the last block of IP addresses was distributed amongst the five registries that, in turn, give them to Internet Service Providers for use.
The article posits that the proposed to switch to IPv6, the new system that will avoid the problem of depleting the number supply, resembles the Y2K switch; however, there are some key differences, especially given that the problems may last longer than the switchover from 1999 to 2000 did. However, the planning has been more centralized, and a test run on June 8 of this year may bring to light any unforeseen problems.
It is possible that the IPv6 challenge may rekindle the debate on how IP addresses and systems are currently maintained. ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit corporation based in California, at present plays an important role in determining how issues like IPv6 will be resolved. Some have criticized the U.S.-centric stance of ICANN; thus, it’s possible that an unsuccessful resolution to the IPv6 situation will prompt re-evaluation of how IP addresses are assigned and governed.