As IPv4 addresses continue to dwindle, GlobalSign says its solution offers a way to free up IPv4 resources until IPv6 becomes more widely used
Security provider GlobalSign announced on Friday that it has launched a new solution that enables hosting of multiple SSL certificates on a single IP address.
As IPv4 addresses continue to dwindle, GlobalSign says its solution offers a way to free up IPv4 resources until IPv6 becomes more widely used. The decreasing availability of IPv4 addresses has limited the way hosting companies can resell SSL to customers, as each SSL certificate typically must be hosted on a dedicated IP address.
Server Name Indication extension of the SSL protocol was developed to remedy this, but the lack of adoption across browsers and operation systems means that there are users who can’t view the secured sites, GlobalSign says.
Its solution combines SNI and its CloudSSL technology, and can deploy SSL much faster as no DNS updates are required. GlobalSign launched its CloudSSL product in November 2011 to give service providers the ability to access multi-domain SSL certificates and add and remove dozens of domain names per certificate.
Each website is secured with its own individual SSL certificate, and each domain will also be added to a CloudSSL multi-domain certificate, which will automatically be served to the users that lack SNI compatibility.
“GlobalSign is familiar with the obstacles hosting companies face when it comes to reselling SSL and the impact of the IPv4 shortage on their daily operations,” Paul van Brouwershaven, EMEA business development director, GMO GlobalSign Ltd said in a statement. “We are dedicated to facilitating the mass deployment of SSL security, and removing the requirement for dedicated IP addresses will be crucial in helping the hosting industry achieve this.”
This new solution comes as Hurricane Electric has become the first Internet backbone to connect to over 2,000 IPv6 networks.
Talk back: What do you think of the new solution from GlobalSign? Do you run into the same problems around IPv6 that the solution seeks to remedy? Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
