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If it all goes right, you won't notice a thing. And that's thepoint. The Internet is running out of addresses, and if nothing were done,you certainly would notice. New devices simply wouldn't be able to connect. To prevent that from happening, the Internet Society, a globalstandards-setting organization with headquarters in Geneva,Switzerland; and Reston, Va., has been working for years to launcha new Internet Protocol (IP) standard called IPv6. IP is a global communications standard used for linking connecteddevices together. Every networked device -- your PC, smartphone,laptop, tablet and other gizmos -- needs a unique IP address. With IPv6, there are now enough IP combinations for everyone in theworld to have a billion billion IP addresses for every second oftheir life. That sounds unimaginably vast, but it's necessary, because thenumber of connected devices is exploding. By 2016, Cisco ( CSCO , Fortune 500 ) predicts there will be three networked devices per person onearth. We're not just talking about your smartphone and tablet;your washing machine, wristwatch and car will be connected too. Each of those connected things needs an IPaddress. Then there's all the items that won't necessarily connect to theInternet themselves, but will be communicating with other wiredgadgets. Developers are putting chips into eyeglasses, clothes andpill bottles. Each one of those items needs an IP address as well. The current IP standard, IPv4, was structured like this:xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, with each "xxx" able to go from 0 to256. IPv6 expands that so each "x" can be a 0 through 9or "a" through "f," and it's structured likethis: xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx. (Yes, there was anIPv5, but it was a streaming multimedia standard developed in thelate 1970s that never really caught on). The changeover is akin to when the U.S. telephone system handledsoaring growth by increasing the digits in each telephone number --except for one crucial difference. While the entire telephonesystem was upgraded in the 1990s, the Internet will be upgradedgradually. IPv4 will continue to exist alongside IPv6 for quite some time,just as digital and analog TV were broadcast side-by-side foryears. Though most of the major Internet players will be IPv6 compliantgoing forward, many routers, devices and operating systems won'tbe. For instance, Microsoft ( MSFT , Fortune 500 ) Windows XP, the world's most-used PC operating system, is notIPv6-compliant. Just 1% of end users are expected to now be reaching websites usingthe IPv6 standard. The Internet Society expects that to graduallygrow as users update their software and hardware. Most of the major websites and networks are already participating.More than 2,000 websites, including Google ( GOOG , Fortune 500 ), Facebook ( FB ), Bing, Yahoo ( YHOO , Fortune 500 ), AOL ( AOL ) and Netflix ( NFLX ), as well as a number of network operators such as AT&T ( T , Fortune 500 ), Verizon ( VZ , Fortune 500 ), Comcast ( CMCSA ) and Time Warner Cable ( TWC , Fortune 500 ), have begun enabling IPv6. But they'll all need to continue to support IPv4 until the entireworld upgrades. That will take years. There have been some grumblings about cyberattackers getting readyto pounce on Wednesday, taking advantage of potential holes in anew technology. But a year ago, on June 8, 2011, all thoseparticipating networks and sites turned on IPv6 for a day-long test run without a hitch. They reverted to IPv4 the next day. This time, the change ispermanent. It'll be a slow transition, but it's a crucial one thatwill support the Internet's current rate of expansion far into thefuture. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Payment POS Terminal Manufacturer , China ATM Keypad, and more. For more , please visit Outdoor Information Kiosk today!
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