Tip #4520 - An IP Address Upgrade
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An
IP Address Upgrade
It's about time
for an IP address upgrade, don't you think?! Well, before I go any
further, if you're not sure, an IP address is a unique address that
is assigned to a network device by the network. Every computer that
connects to a network or the Internet is assigned an IP address. It
basically allows that computer to communicate with the network or
the Internet.
The current IP
address standard, called IPv4, uses 32-bits, which looks something
like this: 192.168.0.1. This IP address standard was created in 1981
when the Internet was just a baby. The early creators of the Internet
did not believe it would become as large as it is today, especially
since it was originally designed only for a few universities and the
United States Government. Over time, many large corporations and even
the U.S. Government have come to realize that there is a large need
to switch over to a new IP standard.
The new version
will be called IPv6 and it will use 128-bits. The
IPv6 IP address looks something like this: 2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334.
On August 2, 2005,
the Federal Government of the United States issued a memorandum, stating
that all Federal Government agencies will transition their network
backbones to IPv6 by June 30, 2008. The IPv4 version only allows for
four billion IP addresses, which greatly limits the number of devices
that can be given a unique, globally routable location on the Internet.
The IPv4 standard
has slowed the growth of the Internet worldwide and it constricts
the amount of computers and other devices that can be connected to
each other via the Internet. On the other hand, the IPv6 standard
allows for an almost unlimited number of IP addresses. In all actuality,
the IPv6 allows for over 300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
different addresses. (And no, I'm not kidding!)
The movement from
IPv4 to the new IPv6 will allow us users to have more technology in
our lives, because we will now be able to assign more IP addresses
to more devices. Soon, mobile phones, televisions and even toasters
will be assigned IP addresses! Imagine this: you're leaving work and
you would like a hot cup of coffee when you arrive home. With the
IPv6, you would be able to go on your computer, connect to your private
home network and tell your coffee machine to make a pot of coffee.
Wow, huh?!
It's just something
new to think about!
~ Jack William
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