Networking

IPv6: Launched and Ready for a New Web

After a successful World IPv6 Launch Day, what’s next for the Internet?

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Ricky publishes and manages the content on BizTech magazine's website. He's a writer, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all-around digital guy.

It’s been a long time in the making, but it finally happened: IPv6 is here. For real.

The Internet Society put its weight behind an ambitious global effort to move the web into the next generation. As we all know, the Internet has run out of IPv4 addresses. So in order to accommodate the explosion of Internet-connected devices, such as smartphones and tablets, the web needed a new way to assign IP addresses.

The World IPv6 Launch site posted some of the data from the 24-hour global event:

Today represents a significant milestone for IPv6 deployment as we put to bed rumors and myths that IPv6 was somehow undeployable or unusable in a production environment, as we see thousands of organizations turning it up in their production services. Let’s review:

Over 60 access networks around the world are offering IPv6 as part of their standard Internet connectivity offering, and they are showing tangible IPv6 traffic. This isn’t just promises, it is reality.

Over 3,000 websites, including the top-referenced ones from around the globe, have turned IPv6 on for their main site, and they are leaving it on. For good.

Hardware manufacturers are enabling IPv6 (set to “on”, by default) in their home router equipment lines.

These are organizations that have thoroughly researched the implications of IPv6 deployment, and thoughtfully worked out their deployment plans — as part of their production services. And, it goes beyond IPv6 for websites: companies are deploying it where it matters for their business.

Several high-profile websites also helped spread the word about IPv6, including Google, which launched an IPv6 landing page explaining the new, bigger Internet in detail.

At Google we believe IPv6 is essential to the continued health and growth of the Internet and that by allowing all devices to talk to each other directly, IPv6 enables new innovative services. Replacing the Internet's plumbing will take some time, but the transition has begun. World IPv6 Launch on June 6, 2012, marks the start of a coordinated rollout by major websites and Internet service and equipment providers.

Did your company participate in the World IPv6 Launch?

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