LOUISVILLE, CO – The cable industry is “well positioned” to transition to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) as the addresses available from the current protocol, IPv4, nears exhaustion, according to CableLabs.
Many experts predict that the last IPv4 addresses that can be allocated to ISPs will run out later this year. CableLabs says that the ultimate solution is the ubiquitous implementation of IPv6 protocol technology, and has developed strategies to enable its cable system operator members to continue offering IPv4 service while the transition to IPv6 is completed.
At the request of its members, CableLabs began updating its specifications in 2004 to account for IPv6 usage. DOCSIS 3.0 has supported IPv6 addressing from the start, while also allowing for IPv4 compatibility. Backward compatibility is also written into the preceding DOCSIS 2.0 specification, which accommodates the IPv6 protocol through upgraded (3.0-compliant) cable modem termination systems. Likewise, PacketCable 2.0 includes support for IPv6.
IPv4 has theoretical capability to address about 4.3 billion devices on the Internet. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority provides these blocks to regional Internet registries (RIRs) which in turn hand out the addresses to Internet service providers. The RIRs are expected to hand out all their IPv4 addresses by the fourth quarter of this year or early in 2012.
IPv6 can address 340 undecillion (36 zeroes) but is not backward compatible with IPv4. IPv6 offers enough addresses for every atom on the surface of the earth.
