He said that when the internet protocol (IP) addresses do run out, the connectivity of the internet will be damaged and some computers will not be able to go online.The IPv6 protocol offers trillions and trillions of addresses.
"This is like the internet running out of telephone numbers and with no new numbers, you can't have more subscribers," he said Preparations had to be made now, he said, to switch addresses to a new system.
When the internet was founded in 1977 there were 4.2 billion addresses available under the internet protocol version four (IPv4) system.
Each of the IPv4 addresses has a series of 32 binary numbers, but with the rapid expansion of broadband across the world, it is estimated that these addresses will run out by 2010.
Vint Cerf: IPv4 addresses run out by 2010
Posted on Saturday, September 27 2008 @ 0:25 CEST by Thomas De MaesschalckVint Cerf, the father of the Internet, calls for action to transition the Internet to the IPv6 system as IPv4 is expected to run out off addresses in the near future. The IPv4 naming system offers up to 4.2 billion addresses and Cerf expects we'll reach this limit by 2010.
