Longer IP Addresses Coming

Computer Care: Get ready for a longer new IP address POSTED: October 6, 2012 1:00 a.m.

	Computer Care: Get ready for a longer new IP address By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: October 6, 2012 1:00 a.m If you've ever had to call tech support for a networking issue, they most likely asked you at some point to type your router's IP address into your computer. That address would have looked something like 192.168.0.1. Presently that number gives you access to your router so you can change its settings like your network name, allow you to set up encryption for security purposes or to change your password. Each computer and other smart device that connects to each other through the Internet requires a unique identifier or number known as an Internet Protocol Address. Each website you access online is actually a computer with an IP address. Those numbers are currently allocated from a system known as Internet Protocol version 4 or IPv4 -- and it is about to run out of numbers. That system was introduced in the 1970s when nobody really knew who or how many would be using the Internet. The rest as they say, is history. Asia has supposedly already run out of addresses on IPv4. Europe is next and then North America is expected to fall short sometime next year. But there is a new Internet protocol called IPv6. It is the next generation of the Internet. With it, those addresses will change from a 32-bit to a 128-bit format and will look something like 2001:0db8:85a3:0042:0000:8a2e:0370:7334, having eight groups of four letters and numbers separated by colons. Instead of the billions of addresses that we now have (and are about to run out of), we will have addresses in the trillions. There will be more than enough for a long time to come for home and business computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones as well as cars, refrigerators, alarm systems and an abundance of other smart home devices that will soon have Internet access worldwide. The chances of running out of those addresses are slim. For those who understand math (I don’t), the number of possible unique addresses available in IPv6 are 480 billion billion billion billion or 4.8 times 10 to the 38th power. The population of the Earth is approaching 7 billion people and that of the Internet is only approximately 2 billion, but growing rapidly. So what’s the rush you say? Well if you’re like me, I have at least five devices that use IP addressing: laptop, desktop, router, smartphone and Tivo. If you have a smart television, a gaming device or use VoIP phones, a PDA or a tablet, add those to your list. Home appliances that are still in development will need Internet addresses. Not that your living room will rival that of “The Jetsons,” but each new device that is being made is smarter than that of its predecessor. This coming new era of home appliances will be relaying information not just to you but to one another as well, so the need for more addresses was paramount. In the not-so-distant future you‘ll be able to access your freezer from your phone to tell it to make more ice for your party. On your ride home from work, you could ask your oven to preheat itself or access your DVR to record that new episode of “Revolution” that you forgot to set up. Each of these devices would have a unique IP address just as our computers do now. Many Internet Service Providers have jumped on the bandwagon and have converted or are in the process of converting to the new system. June 6 was the unofficial start date in the U.S. Google, Microsoft, You Tube, Facebook, Yahoo and many ISPs, as well as numerous municipalities have already begun implementing IPv6. Although there is no official deadline mandated, many corporations and governments have installed self-imposed deadlines and plan to employ the new address system within a year or so. Currently many are now using both the old and new systems to make for a seamless transition if and when IPv4 is finally retired. You should not experience any interruption of service at all – well, not any more than usual anyway. This will be a long transitional period and “out with the old, in with the new,” no doubt will be a long way off yet. IPv4 will most certainly still be around for years to come. Although they may be working together, they are two wholly independent entities not unlike a pair of old and new cables running underground, side by side. If curious, you can check at http://test-ipv6.com/ to see which system you are currently on. Chances are, you’re still with the old one. It could be years until the change is complete. I can only assume that each new piece of equipment we purchase (computer, router, modem), and each part of the Internet infrastructure that is replaced, eventually will be IPv6-ready. You won’t need to do anything and may not even notice a change, except for the longer address format. But the new system, aside from allowing many more devices to be connected, will be easier for ISPs to manage, faster and a lot more secure. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.