IPv6 Launch Day, June 6, 00:01 GMT

[engine]

IPv6 Launch Day, June 6, 00:01 GMT [bbc.co.uk]

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) - a replacement to the existing IPv4 system - launched at 00:01 GMT on Wednesday.

Networking giant Cisco predicts that by 2016, 18.9 billion internet-enabled devices will be online. Switching to IPv6 means trillions of possible addresses can now be made.

To ensure a smooth transition, and to make sure devices do not stop working, both systems will work side-by-side for the next few years.

"Most users shouldn't notice anything," said Leo Vegoda from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which manages the Internet address system.

Earlier stories

ISPs Start To Take Up IPv6 Services [webmasterworld.com]
World IPv6 Day: Akamai, Facebook, Google and Yahoo, To Test IPv6 June 8 2011 [webmasterworld.com]

[Webwork]

Just in time for ICANN's adoption of the next 7 million new gTLDs, including .ImSoCool, .NoYoureNot, .YesIAm, .SaysWho, .SaysI, .OhYeah, .UhHuh, .UhnUhn, .Ork (reserved for netmeg)

[iordakis]

@Webwork: .youmademyday

Interesting to see if things will blend without issues.

[J_RaD]

ok so can i finally go dust off my 9 year old IPV6 books now?

[BaseballGuy]

Anyone care to explain the weird look to the new addresses?

2001:db8::1234:ace:6006:1e


Why 2 colons? Why not 192.1.1.1?

I understand this has something to do with math....

[jwolthuis]

ok so can i finally go dust off my 9 year old IPV6 books now?

If you didn't feel a compelling urge to dust them off for last years' event, no need to this years' event either. They can keep announcing these June events each year, and everyone can keep ignoring them. Today's Internet is the same as yesterday's Internet, plus a few press releases talking of their "readiness for ipv6". Unless there's money to be made (or lost), there's no reason to take action today.

Why 2 colons?

A "series" of four consecutive zeros (e.g., four zeros, eight zeros, etc) can be replaced by two colons. Easier for humans to read.

[J_RaD]

Anyone care to explain the weird look to the new addresses?

its also all in hex now.

the old addresses had 8 bit octets so in binary your standard 111.111.111.111 address would look like

00000000.00000000.00000000.00000000 (just an example)

so thats a 32 bit address.

V6 is 128 bits... soooo if you broke down a v6 address into binary, its lots of 0's and 1's

so its address is represented by 8 groups of 16-bit hexadecimal values separated by colons


lots of binary math when you have to start subnetting etc.

[lammert]

There is no need for much binary math for subnetting. One of the reasons that IPv6 has so many bits is that it can be much easier split in sub networks than IPv4. As a customer the block they'll assign to you has either the first 48, 56 or 64 bits fixed. The other bits are free for you to define. A common way is to use 16 bits for each subdivision in your network. For example:

prefix:?:?:?:?:? is assigned to your company
prefix:LLLL:?:?:?:? is used to address all your world-wide locations
prefix:LLLL:BBBB:?:?:? is used to address all buildings per location
prefix:LLLL:BBBB:FFFF:?:? is used to address all floors in each building
prefix:LLLL:BBBB:FFFF:RRRR:? is used to address all rooms on a floor
prefix:LLLL:BBBB:FFFF:RRRR:DDDD is used to address all devices in a room

Each level allows for 65536 different addresses. I don't know much companies which have more than that number of locations, buildings per location or devices per room.

It is easy to understand that maintaining routing tables with this kind of addressing is much easier than currently with IPv4.

I have been on IPv6 with all my client computers and all except one of my servers since about two years now. It is working most of the time and Google supports it already a long time, but especially when it comes to data centers in the US, support is very low to non existent. On other continents native IPv6 availability is reasonable to good. The only server I operate which doesn't support IPv6 yet is in a US data center. Hopefully US support will improve after this official "launch".

[lucy24]

But, but, but, splutter, but I've only just got all those binary groups internalized.

If the top of the range is, say, 159, the bottom can be 128 or 144 or 152 or 156 or 158. Falls off the fingers with no tiresome brain involvement. If the range claims to be, say, 126-135, it's Comcast.

:: sob ::

[J_RaD]

sounds good to me, I never liked breaking down IP's to binary and doing all the math to subnet anyway. :-P