[[{"fid":"1297","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"style":"height: 301px; width: 200px; float: left; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]It is a real fact not a virtual one: the IP addresses – necessary identification to every computer or device to connect to the internet – are coming to an end. The scenery is similar to the one that happened with the zip codes in Brazil some years ago, when we changed from five to eight digits and recently, the same happened with the mobile numbers that had a digit added to them, first in São Paulo and then in other cities.

It is a predictable and solvable technological change. The IP that is coming to an end is an address of 32 bits, from version 4 of the Internet Protocol, the IPv4. Controlled by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (Iana), the central “stock” of addresses IPv4 has been exhausted already. In Brazil, since June 2014, the addresses IPv4 entered in “gradual termination”. It was defined by the Information and Coordination Core of the BR Point (NIC.br) which distributes the IP addresses in this country. It is the “end” of the resources from the version 4, what means the beginning of a severe rationing.

Still, according to NIC.br, the organizations in Brazil from now on, shall receive the maximum of 1.024 IP addresses every six months, even if the need for bigger blocks is justified. Two million IPv4 addresses were reserved. When its stock comes to an end, there are still two million IPv4 addresses that will be distributed only for new orderers, limited to a unique allocation of a maximum of 1.024 addresses.

Having predicted this scenery, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) published in 1998, the RFC (Request for Comments) 2460 of IPv6, the version 6 of the IP protocol, that uses 128 bits for addressing. This represents around 79 octillions times more addresses that the ones currently available in IPv4. With this enormity of new “virtual zip codes”, the prediction is that all kinds of things, such as electric appliances, fittings, clothes and human beings can connect to the internet, taking us to a new world of the Internet of Things, with everything connected an interacting between themselves.

During a period of transition, the IPv6 will live with the IPv4, initially interconnecting islands of IPv6 addresses in an internet with the huge majority of IPv4. Hopefully there will be the contrary in future, islands of IPv4 in an internet with a huge majority of IPv6. There are techniques for this transition that allow the interoperability of computers, including IPv6 and Ipv4 devices. The cost for its implementation is not so high, because it does not demand the change of every equipment.

It is necessary to undertake a net engineering effort, once the transition technique is selected to implement it and put it operating in a sub-net. Then, form islands of IPv6 and gradually, expand the computed elements of net and devices to look after of the whole internet.

According to that data of NIC.br, 68% of the organizations in Brazil that are part of the internet as autonomous systems are aware already and allocated IPv6 blocks. However, the utilization of IPv6 is low in the entire world. Google sees 4,5% of its users utilizing IPv6 in the world. In Brazil the percentage is of less than 1%.

RPN has supported NIC.br actions regarding fostering the adoption of the IPv6. Our support for training, The Networks School (ESR), maintains a course to net administrators of LAN and WAN nets in the implementation of support to the protocol IPv6 in their organization nets. Besides, we attempt to sensitize the user institutions about the importance of adopting the IPv6, preparing for this transition from IPv4 to IPv6.

*Eduardo Grizendi is RNP's Engineering and Operations director and professor at the National Institute of Telecommunications (Inatel).