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The IPV6 Challenge: RIPE NCC Warns of Arrested Development of the Internet

10 Apr 2008 — , , ,

The RIPE NCC (Network Coordination Centre) - an independent organisation that supports the infrastructure of the Internet for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, has stated the pressing need for IPv6 deployment in order to protect and ensure the healthy, fast development of the Internet economy and the future of IP networks.

One of five global Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), RIPE NCC warns that Internet growth and innovation depends on continued availability of IP address space and that remaining IPv4 space is likely to be fully allocated within two to four years. Currently, 180 of 256 blocks of "/8"[1] have already been allocated. Of the remaining 76, 35 are already reserved for the Internet Engineering Taskforce (IETF) and the remaining 41 blocks are held in the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) pool for future allocation to the RIRs.

As IPv6 provides the necessary address space for future growth, RIPE NCC is urging business and government leaders to ease the path for wider deployment of IPv6 addresses. Failure to adopt these new resources could mean a slowing in the pace of Internet innovation.

Now is the time to recognize that sustain growth of the IPv4-based Internet is coming to an end, and that it is time to move on, with IPv6 ready as the successor.

"In order to sustain the impressive speed of Internet innovation and ensure a healthy Internet economy for the future, we recommend that content providers make their services available over IPv6," comments Axel Pawlik, Managing Director at RIPE NCC. "We view governments as key players in Internet growth and urge them to play their part in the deployment of IPv6 and in particular to lead by example in making content available in IPV6. Ultimately, we urge that the widespread deployment of IPv6 be made a high priority by all stakeholders."

When CIOs make firm decisions to deploy IPv6, the process is fairly straightforward. Staff will have to be trained, management tools will need to be enhanced, routers and operating systems will need t