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Vint Cert Warns IPv4 Users: 'Time To Get With the Program' (zdnet.com)
An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet:
Vint Cerf notes that the world ran out of IPv4 address space around 2011, some 13 years after internet engineers started sketching out IPv6, under the belief back then that IPv4 addresses would run out imminently. Since 'World IPv6 Launch' on June 6, 2012, significant progress has been made. Back then just one percent of users accessed Google services over IPv6. Now roughly a quarter of users access Google over IPv6. But Cerf noted that "it's certainly been a long time since the standards were put in place, and it's time to get with the program"...
The Internet Society's snapshot of IPv6 in 2018 notes that Google reports that 49 countries deliver more than five percent of traffic over IPv6. There are also 24 countries where IPv6 traffic is greater than 15 percent, including the US, Canada, Brazil, Finland, India, and Belgium. Additionally, 17 percent of the top million Alexa sites work with IPv6, while 28 percent of the top 1,000 Alexa sites do. Enterprise operations are IPv6's "elephant in the room", according to the Internet Society. Around 25 percent of all internet-connected networks advertise IPv6 connectivity, and the Internet Society suspects that most of the networks that don't are enterprise networks.
The Internet Society's snapshot of IPv6 in 2018 notes that Google reports that 49 countries deliver more than five percent of traffic over IPv6. There are also 24 countries where IPv6 traffic is greater than 15 percent, including the US, Canada, Brazil, Finland, India, and Belgium. Additionally, 17 percent of the top million Alexa sites work with IPv6, while 28 percent of the top 1,000 Alexa sites do. Enterprise operations are IPv6's "elephant in the room", according to the Internet Society. Around 25 percent of all internet-connected networks advertise IPv6 connectivity, and the Internet Society suspects that most of the networks that don't are enterprise networks.
We haven't "run out" of IPV4 addresses. Not even remotely so.
A good comparison would be land. There was a time, even within the last 50 years -- where one could (for example) 'stake out' land in Canada. You'd head to unclaimed land, put up your fences, work it and use it -- and in 5 (or 10? it's been a long time since I read up on this), the land would officially be yours.
This is closer to IPV4 realities, than not.
Why?
Because, IPV4 used to be *free*. You needed netblocks, you got netblocks. You request, and they were delivered.
Then they became non-free. Much like land in Canada, you can't just take it and use it, nope -- you have to buy it from someone.
A lot of that goes around, too. One corp selling to another. CorpA leasing to subscribers. ISPs selling additional IP addresses / month, for a fee.
If we had really "run out", I would have to WAIT to connect to the internet. Or, I'd be stuck behind a NAT device (I'm not), because my ISP had to aggregate clients because they had no free IPs.
Truth is, there's loads and loads of IPV4 laying around.
Otherwise, why would people be saying WE'RE GOING TO RUN OUT! for TWENTY FUCKING YEARS, and there's still a shit-tonne of IPs left.
Hmm?
Eh?
Hum?
Bah!
(And yes, SNI alone helped a lot... but that's not the point. Or maybe it is -- because, it's an example of "look -- there's gold all over the ground" and now "we have to dig for it, maybe we'd better use gold more wisely")
I bet in 2050, we'll still primarily be IPV4.