In a post earlier today from their official blog, Google announced that they have joined Internet Society to coordinate a world-wide launch of the next-generation Internet protocol later this year, IPv6. The post explains the urgency of this launch:

IPv6 is the replacement for the current version of the Internet Protocol, IPv4, which is quickly running out of addresses. The original IPv6 specification was published more than 15 years ago, but for the entire career of most Internet engineers its deployment has always been in the future. Now it’s finally here. The widespread deployment of IPv6 paves the way for connecting together the billions of devices that permeate our livesーboth fixed and mobile, from the largest cloud computing services to the smallest sensors.

For Google, World IPv6 Launch means that virtually all our services, including Search, Gmail, YouTube and many more, will be available to the world over IPv6 permanently. Previously, only participants in the Google over IPv6 program (several hundred thousand users, including almost all Google employees [PDF]) have been using it every day. Now we’re including everyone.

Google’s been active in preparing World IPv6 since last year, but IPv4 has been “officially depleted” since they started working with Internet Society. Previously, websites only switched over to IPv6 for a 24-hour dry run, but now the plan is that IPv6 will be here to stay come June. By promoting World IPv6 Launch, Google hopes to persuade websites, ISPs, network device manufacturers, and other online entities to make the permanent switch to IPv6 together.

Although Google says that most users can expect a seamless transition and likely won’t notice anything different after IPv6 turns on, they do encourage people to check out their connections using Google’s test page just to be on the safe side.

Drew Meyer, Senior Director of Marketing for Networking product vendor Netgear shared some thoughts on the transition with WebProNews. 

"It’s a big deal for companies of all sizes because it is a fundamental change in the way the Internet works, but it is also a very subtle transition for most users," says Meyer. "Small businesses that keep older networking hardware in service longer may find they need to upgrade – but only once their networks break down. Channel partners play a key role in educating small and midsized customers."

On what kinds of techniques businesses can embrace while they gear up for the switch to IPv6, Meyer says, "The old and the new (IPv4 and IPv6) will coexist in most networks. Modern servers and software have provisions for dual mode support, but older equipment may require replacement since it cannot support the latest software patches and firmware upgrades. We expect this to happen invisibly as network equipment is refreshed driven by other solutions, like virtualization or mobile access."

"We see it as a side benefit of modernizing midmarket networks and have plans for it across our entire product line of managed, smart and unmanaged switches," he adds.

"Developing markets like China and new applications like mobile devices and home automation demand more Internet connectivity than ever before, so first movers are positioned to become the new leaders of the next generation Internet," he says. "Winners offer simple ways for smaller companies to adopt, and losers will be those vendors who do not educate their channels and end users on the availability of the new function. Midmarket customers purchasing reliable, affordable and simple solutions will be automatically prepared for the IPv6 transition."

World IPv6 Day has been set for June 8. On that day, major web properties like Google, Facebook, and Yahoo will join content delivery networks like Akamai and Limelight Networks for a 24-hour global trial of the new protocol.

"IPv4 has approximately four billion IP addresses (the sequence of numbers assigned to each Internet-connected device)," the Internet Society recently explained, indicating that "the explosion in the number of people, devices and web services on the Internet" is the cause of the depletion. "IPv6, the next-generation Internet protocol, which provides over four billion times more space, will connect the billions of people not connected today and will help ensure the Internet can continue its current growth rate." 

"This is truly a major turning point in the on-going development of the Internet," said ICANN President and CEO Rod Beckstrom. "Nobody was caught off guard by this, the Internet technical community has been planning for IPv4 depletion for quite some time. But it means the adoption of IPv6 is now of paramount importance, since it will allow the Internet to continue its amazing growth and foster the global innovation we’ve all come to expect."

World IPv6 day had already been scheduled for June 8. This is a day in which major web properties like Google, Facebook, and Yahoo (the three of which make up a combined billion visits per day) join major content delivery networks like Akamai and Limelight Networks for a 24-hour global trial of IPv6, the next-generation Internet protocol. More on this here. Update: Bing has now announced participation in IPv6 day. 

The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is publishing a daily report of its own IPv4 inventory of available addresses on its home page. It also has a helpful FAQ page set up.  The Number Resource Organization (NRO) has further explanation of the news.

For starters, the Internet runs on version 4 of the Internet Protocol. It was standardized 1981, and serves as the dominant network layer protocol for the Internet. IPv4 has since proved to be inadequate, primarily for its lack of address space.

The good news is IPv4 has a successor, which is IPv6. Version 6 of the Internet Protocol holds more than 16 billion-billion addresses, unlike IPv4 that holds just over 4 billion.

Some companies are beginning to administer IPv6 and are using both IPv4 and IPv6 together. In time, IPv4 will run out of addresses and need to phase out. At that point, the Web will operate solely on IPv6.

Critics argue that IPv6 is incapable of taking over. However, John Curran the Chairman of the Board at the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) says this is an inaccurate assumption.

“In the Internet community, the way we figure out if something works or not is by using it… getting feedback. That usage is really just beginning now.”

The Internet as we know it cannot run on IPv4. While the matter isn’t so urgent that you have to drop everything you’re doing and switch to IPv6 immediately, it is something that companies and organizations should begin to carefully examine.

Get more information on this topic in the WebProNews video.

For starters, the Internet runs on version 4 of the Internet Protocol. It was standardized 1981, and serves as the dominant network layer protocol for the Internet. IPv4 has since proved to be inadequate, primarily for its lack of address space.

The good news is IPv4 has a successor, which is IPv6. Version 6 of the Internet Protocol holds more than 16 billion-billion addresses, unlike IPv4 that holds just over 4 billion.

Some companies are beginning to administer IPv6 and are using both IPv4 and IPv6 together. In time, IPv4 will run out of addresses and need to phase out. At that point, the Web will operate solely on IPv6.

Critics argue that IPv6 is incapable of taking over. However, John Curran the Chairman of the Board at the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) says this is an inaccurate assumption.

“In the Internet community, the way we figure out if something works or not is by using it… getting feedback. That usage is really just beginning now.”

The Internet as we know it cannot run on IPv4. While the matter isn’t so urgent that you have to drop everything you’re doing and switch to IPv6 immediately, it is something that companies and organizations should begin to carefully examine.

Get more information on this topic in the WebProNews video.

For starters, the Internet runs on version 4 of the Internet Protocol. It was standardized 1981, and serves as the dominant network layer protocol for the Internet. IPv4 has since proved to be inadequate, primarily for its lack of address space.

The good news is IPv4 has a successor, which is IPv6. Version 6 of the Internet Protocol holds more than 16 billion-billion addresses, unlike IPv4 that holds just over 4 billion.

Some companies are beginning to administer IPv6 and are using both IPv4 and IPv6 together. In time, IPv4 will run out of addresses and need to phase out. At that point, the Web will operate solely on IPv6.

Critics argue that IPv6 is incapable of taking over. However, John Curran the Chairman of the Board at the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) says this is an inaccurate assumption.

“In the Internet community, the way we figure out if something works or not is by using it… getting feedback. That usage is really just beginning now.”

The Internet as we know it cannot run on IPv4. While the matter isn’t so urgent that you have to drop everything you’re doing and switch to IPv6 immediately, it is something that companies and organizations should begin to carefully examine.

Get more information on this topic in the WebProNews video.

For starters, the Internet runs on version 4 of the Internet Protocol. It was standardized 1981, and serves as the dominant network layer protocol for the Internet. IPv4 has since proved to be inadequate, primarily for its lack of address space.

The good news is IPv4 has a successor, which is IPv6. Version 6 of the Internet Protocol holds more than 16 billion-billion addresses, unlike IPv4 that holds just over 4 billion.

Some companies are beginning to administer IPv6 and are using both IPv4 and IPv6 together. In time, IPv4 will run out of addresses and need to phase out. At that point, the Web will operate solely on IPv6.

Critics argue that IPv6 is incapable of taking over. However, John Curran the Chairman of the Board at the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) says this is an inaccurate assumption.

“In the Internet community, the way we figure out if something works or not is by using it… getting feedback. That usage is really just beginning now.”

The Internet as we know it cannot run on IPv4. While the matter isn’t so urgent that you have to drop everything you’re doing and switch to IPv6 immediately, it is something that companies and organizations should begin to carefully examine.

Get more information on this topic in the WebProNews video.

IPv6 is, as explained by Carrie-Ann Skinner, "a new format which forms part of a major overhaul of the net’s core address system."  Its implementation will create "an effectively inexhaustible pool of addresses," as opposed to the 4,294,967,296 addresses allowed by IPv4 (the current address protocol).

Under IPv4, experts predicted that we’d run out of available domain names by 2011; as a result, the switch to IPv6 is seen as fairly pressing.  Skinner reports, "The new addresses will be introduced to the root servers for the net today."

Meanwhile, the average user has to do absolutely nothing.  Equipment upgrades may eventually become necessary, but every computer owner should pretty much resign himself (or herself) to those, anyway.  As things stand now, we can all just sit back and appreciate companies not adopting nonsense names or mismatching websites.