Internet Infrastructure | Cyberspace Running Out Of Addresses

Because of the profusion of devices that need an IP address, IPv4 will run out of addresses in 2012, according to the article at the url.

The IPv4 Internet has room for 4.3 billion addresses. About one-third are already in use, and more than another third are spoken for. IPv6 provides 2^128 possible addresses. Compared with IPv4's 32bits, IPv6's address reads 128 bits long. Imagine the number looking something like this – 360,382,386,120,984,643,363,377,707,131,268,210,929.[snip]
Keep in mind, IPv6 offers features designed to make configuration easier. If one machine on the network is configured as a router, all other IPv6 hosts can configure themselves automatically. IPv6 also builds in IP Security, known as IPSEC, as part of the protocol. This means authentication and privacy live in the protocol, not on at the application layer. This eases IP spoofing and makes spying on someone else's data more difficult.

They also ponder the cost to businesses and the technical options, interesting article, and something I think our readers would like to know.

--MissM
Internet Infrastructure | Cyberspace Running Out Of Addresses