(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Non-profit Internet organisation RIPE NCC (www.ripe.net) has launched “IPv6 Act Now,” (www.ipv6actnow.org) a website explaining the new Internet protocol in terms everyone can understand, and urging all organisations to adopt IPv6, which is integral to the future growth of the Internet.
RIPE, one of five Regional Internet Registries that support the world’s Internet infrastructure, launched the website Wednesday with the support of more than 800 Internet community leaders. At 128 bits, IPv6 has a much larger address space than the current standard, IPv4, which is facing the threat of address exhaustion because of its small size.
Only growing from 2.4 to 4 percent in 2008, IPv6′s continued slow growth will result in there being no IPv4 address space left if IPv6 is not fully adopted within three years, according to online performance and monitoring provider Pingdom (www.pingdom.com).
It also provides more flexibility in allocating addresses and routing traffic, eliminating the need for network address translation.
“The IPv6 Act Now website is for everyone with an interest in the long-term growth and success of the Internet; for anyone seeking information to help guide them through the deployment of IPv6 in their network,” RIPE managing director Axel Pawlik said in a statement.
“Multi-stakeholder cooperation is essential for the continued growth and success of the Internet. The support for the RIPE community’s IPv6 position statement demonstrates the willingness of public and private sector organisations to work together to deploy IPv6 sooner rather than later.”
The website is designed to appeal to everyone with an interest in IPv6, from network engineers to company directors, from law enforcement agencies to government representatives, according to RIPE. It will be updated regularly with expert education, advice and opinion, the latest relevant news stories, text and video content from Internet community leaders, current IPv4 exhaustion/IPv6 uptake statistics, European Commission updates, information on IPv6 distribution policies, and useful links to other sources of IPv6 information. It also features a forum in which to share experiences, ask questions and find answers.
