Internet Protocol - The Next Generation

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Internet Protocol - The Next Generation

Internet Protocol, or IP is the addressing system used on the Internet. Due to the rapid expansion of the Internet, the current version, Ipv4, is in need of updating. Internet Protocol version 4 addresses "are 32-bit numbers often expressed as 4 octets in "dotted decimal" notation (for example, 192.168.45.230)." [IANA website]. This system supplies 4,294,967,296 (or 232) addresses. While this number may seem to be plenty, some say the internet is doubling in size every 9 months. [3com Website]. With this expansion, the Internet Engineering Task Force estimates that the Internet will run out of addresses by 2010. To solve this problem, a new version of IP is being developed. Internet Protocol Next Generation (Ipng), formally called version six, is currently in the development and testing.

The major concern with the current version of IP, is the available addresses. While 4 billion addresses may have seemed like plenty at one time, it is obviously inadequate now. One of the main focuses of IPng is to add to the number of available address...

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