The Declaration of IPv6 Independence
Somewhere in the 2020s, a decade after the last IPv4 address has been used up, computer science students are going to learn about the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 as an example of either the best or the worst system upgrade in the world's history of system upgrades. We know it will be the greatest system upgrade either way: hundreds of millions—if not more than a billion—systems will have had to be updated in some way.
The big question is: do we wait until a crisis erupts, or do we start addressing the problem now? According to the experts, we're rushing headlong into the crunch right this moment; ARIN says we have less than 20 percent of our IP blocks left, which means we could potentially exhaust IPv4 in just a few short years. Perhaps more importantly, IPv4 becomes more difficult to deal with and to manage as we get closer and closer to full capacity.
Admittedly, I'm a big proponent of IPv6. I've written a lengthy introduction to IPv6 here at Ars, and I've published a book on the topic, as well. Thus, my position should not be that surprising: let's start switching to IPv6 now, and let's see corporate IT lead the way.
