IPV6

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are used to route traffic on the Internet and can be seen as the backbone of the Internet. IP addresses are used to uniquely identify hosts that are connected to the Internet. Currently, we have two versions of IP addresses, IPv4 and the more recent IPv6.

IPv4 addresses, on which the Internet has been running for more than twenty (20) years now, are 32-bit addresses and are limited in number - we are talking of about 4 billion addresses shared worldwide (the current world population is about 6.2 billion). Further, the demand for IP addresses has increased exponentially mainly due to the increased usage of the Internet. We now have mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators, cars, robots, cameras connected and controlled through the Internet. Soon, human beings may also be connected to the Internet and all this depends on the availability of IP addresses.

The depletion of IPv4 addresses, essentially due to this rapid growth of the Internet during the past few years, will mean that more hosts cannot be connected to the Internet and this will hinder the growth of the Internet, now seen as the economic driving force of the 21st century. A solution to this is the deployment of IPv6, which is the new IP protocol and which provides for a much larger number of addresses. Note that the depletion of IPv4 addresses is envisaged to happen within the next 3-4 years (by 2011).

IPv6, the new version of IP addresses, was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF, http://www.ietf.org/) in the 90's to cater for mainly the depletion of IPv4 addresses. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit - we have 340 undecillion (340 * 10^36) possible unique addresses. This provides for the possibility of assigning an IP address to "every grain of sand on earth".

Way Forward

The way forward is to deploy IPv6 on our networks in order to mitigate the effect of this imminent depletion of IPv4 addresses. The time is NOW! In line with KENIC's mandate of promoting ICT's and building local ICT capacity, KENIC in partnership with Africa Network Information Centre (AfriNIC), the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the Kenya ICT Board (KICTB) and the Telecommunication Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK), has organised an IPv6 workshop to be held in June 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of the workshop is to train at least 200 local ICT professionals on among other things; • The allocation, assignment and management of Internet Protocol (IP) Number resources • IPv4 to IPv6 transition mechanisms and • The deployment and management of IPv6 networks.

About Internet Resources Management

Internet Number Resources, mainly IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASN), in Africa are managed and assigned by AfriNIC . Each continent has a similar organisation, generally referred to as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR). For more information, please visit:

AfriNIC

IETF

IPv6 Portal