When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses
Experts predict that in two or three years we will run out of Web addresses, so-called IP addresses, that can be assigned to new Internet-based sites and services.
Each site is assigned a unique number based on the IPv4 standard. IPv4 is the basis of addresses using combinations of four integers, about 4 billion possible combinations.
The problem: Internet growth is so dramatic that potential IPv4 addresses are running short on supply. A new standard called IPv6 will solve the problem with trillions of possible combinations, but technical and practical roadblocks are delaying its widespread implementation, probably for many years.
In this respect, the Internet is a victim of its own success. The IP address system was never designed for the large, complicated, widely used Internet we enjoy today. We're fortunate in that we've gotten this far without having to upgrade the Internet's addressing fundamentals. But the time is coming when such upgrades will be unavoidable.
Not such a big deal.
IPv6 is already being implemented and if you have Windows XP and above you already have the IPv6 capability.
Cisco and others are using Dual Stack system in the meantime so this is really an engineering issue and not a crisis.
Sorry to be a KillJoy.