Howdie do Turnkey Lovers,

Jeremy here again. This past week, one of my co-workers made an interesting comment to me. He said, and I quote, “One day when the internet runs out and we have no more IP’s, what will people do then?”. Now this lead me to an interesting set of questions. Is my co-worker right? Are we going to run out of the “internet”, will it just ‘stop’ workign since IP’s are becoming scarce and how will that affect hosting (SEO/cPanel/Reseller).

 

Well, in order to answer these questions, we must first look at what an IP even is and are their different types? Now, for most of you technies or self-proclaimed geeks, you are probably shaking your heads saying, that’s such a dumb question. Of course there are different type of IP’s and everyone knows what IP’s are. For this article though, let’s assume that you were from a distant planet who knew nothing about the internet. You and you’re family had decided to make your way down to this glorious planet for a vacation.

 

Upon arriving, you notice everyone is talking about social media, smart phones, computers, and tablets. You’re quite the inquisitive alien life-form and begin to wonder, “What do all of these things have in common?”.  Enter Google. You begin to search the internet as one of your new Earth friends, let’s call him Jeremy(no relation), informs you that you need to find a computer and Google Internet. Upon your search, you discover that the internet is essentially a cluster of computers connected together globally using something called a TCP/IP Protocol.

 

This protocol, as they call, it seems to be rather important. So important that I included the definition from Wikipedia below on it:

 

The Internet protocol suite is the set of <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol> communications protocols used for the  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet> Internet and similar networks, and generally the most popular <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_stack> protocol stack for <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_area_network> wide area networks. It is commonly known as TCP/IP, because of its most important protocols: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_Control_Protocol> Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol> Internet Protocol (IP), which were the first networking protocols defined in this standard.

 

Not to be the alien to leave information out, you decide to research further into the Internet Protocol (IP). Definition is below:

 

The Internet Protocol (IP) is the principal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol> communications protocol used for relaying  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datagram> datagrams (also known as  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_packet> network packets) across an  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internetwork> internetwork using the <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol_Suite> Internet Protocol Suite. Responsible for  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routing> routing packets across network boundaries, it is the primary protocol that establishes the  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet> Internet.

 

Or in lamen terms, it’s an individual address that every computer, smart-phone or tablet uses to connect to the Internet. Ok, I think the alien role-playing has gone on long enough. Let’s bring this back to Earth. Now let’s say you read my previous article and learned a bit about cPanel/Reseller hosting. It’s probably safe to assume that you’re aware that when you purchase a reseller or cPanel account from Turnkey Internet at http://www.turnkeyinternet.net/ , you can receive a dedicated IP. Essentially, the address to which you can host your website.

 

That IP is from the IPv4 family or the Internet Protocol Version 4 family. Now if we reference the statement made by my co-worker made earlier in the article, you can safely assume there is a finite number of these type of IPs. 2^32IP address or around 4.29 Billion IP addresses. The 32 is essentially 32 bits or 192.xxx.xxx.xxx. That’s a rather large number, but so is the number of people joining the internet every day. Eventually, those IP’s will run out which will force a new IP family, IPv6. Now, I won’t bore you with the details about the differences between the two families, but there is one key difference, the number of IPs each family can produce. For IPv6, they can make 2^128 available address or 340,282,366,920,938,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. The 128 is essentially 128 bits or 192.xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx(I think you get the point).

 

So to answer my co-workers question, which I’m sure you already know the answer to about running out of IPs, we just switch to a new IP family and the Internet will live on. Now, for the win, how does this affect your Turnkey Internet cPanel/reseller packages?

 

Well to be honest, the effect will be pretty negible on the cPanel/reseller side of things. The biggest noticeable difference will come during the transition period of switching to IPv6 as DNS propagation will take a bit of time to respond to the new IP addresses. This could affect your sites load times during the transition period. Other than that, the main difference will be cost. IPv4 will and already is becoming a premium as these IP’s are being filled by potential new Turnkey Resellers as yourself. Only a few companies are offering the IPv4 IP’s at a low, competitive price such as Turnkey Internet. Which means, you need to get them while you can.  Those who for instance start a web site a year from now when there are no more IPv4 addresses left, will only have a new IPv6 address, making their web pages possibly slower to load because of how the Internet as a whole will be using dns and specialized proxy systems to ‘store/forward’ to connect IPv4 and IPv6 together (think of it as a 4 lane highway that connects 2 big cities together).  IPv4 and IPv6 connections between each other will be congested on that 4 lane highway at times – which is why it’s very important to try to get yourself hooked up with a good web site that includes IPv4 space (and a provider that supports IPv6 too!).  TurnKey of course has that already setup for you and has been a leader in this space offering both for some time.

 

Well that was quite a handful or is it mouth full? I’m not sure anymore.  The reality is – the Internet will continue, IPv4 address will run out (or already are out, depending on which provider you are with) – and IPv6 will be a transition behind the scenes that may be a little bumpy and congested for people, but will happen.

 

Until next time Turnkey Lovers  – Jeremy

 

 

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Yes, the countdown has begun. IPV4 address exhaustion and depletion. What is an IPV4 IP address? IPV4 addresses are the (4th) revision in the development of Internet Protocol; however the most widely developed among all of the versions. About 4.3 billion IP addresses spread out, all across the world. Think about that for a second, about 4.3 billion websites.. And there almost gone? Well the Internet started making a name for itself in the early 80’s, and as we all know, BOOM, all of a sudden we had Millionaires coming out of the woodwork. The Internet was the way of the future. Everything and anything could and can be found on the World Wide Web. But we are talking about a billion here.

Well believe it or not, in less than 35 years, more than 3.9 billion IP address have been allocated in one way, shape or form. Why is this so important? Well most of you reading this blog know about SEO Hosting, or Search Engine Optimization, and how it can affect your website(s), its traffic, and in some cases the success of your business. You are able to take an IPV4 (IP) address and in a matter of speaking, attach your website to that specific dedicated IP. Now when your website is the only site on a specific IP, and someone uses a “search engine” to look up your industry, you’re not sharing your IP with any other company, or website. Which in turn allows your website to be viewed first, more so than people sharing an IP. So since the development of IPV4 and the Internet boom, companies have paid top dollar to make sure that they were the only ones on a specific IP, so again, when a consumer was searching specific products, your company shows up first in line, right on top of the page. This leaves such an importance on a single IP…. Now they are running out….

In comes IPV6, to allow more people and traffic on the internet. Now remember I said that there were around 4.3 billion IP addresses in IPV4.  So mathematically IPV4 allows for 32 bits and therefore has 2³² (4 294 967 296) possible addresses, IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, for an address space of 2¹²⁸ (approximately 3.4×10³⁸) addresses.

You are now into the trillions, more IP’s than anyone could even think about.

You can see how the amount of IPV6 IP’s will greatly diminish the importance of a specific IP.  With so many IP’s, well beyond the billion mark, where is the individuality and diversity?  With such a number, how can we make one website more important than the other, especially when web traffic is designed to follow internet protocol, IP’s.

Now don’t get me wrong, in the next few years your company will still be found on the web, no matter what, but at what cost?

Find out in Part 2….

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Back in September of 2010, we posted an article about IPV6, the new IP address protocol that may cause some real problems for online businesses. Here we are in the beginning of 2011, and the last of the IPv4 addresses have been released, and businesses still don’t seem too concerned about updating their properties. This could spell real disaster come September.

“It just isn’t No. 1 on the radar scope — good or bad, it just isn’t,” said Alan Shark, executive director of the Public Technology Institute (PTI), a nonprofit that focuses on using IT to improve government services. Why is this? Well, there have been a few scares over the past few years, times when we thought IPv4 would run out, but then innovative solutions staved off the inevitable for a little longer. This time, it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting a reprieve, and people who are waiting for one should take a second look.

For those who don’t know, IP addresses are the numeric addresses assigned to every single solitary device that connects to the internet. That means personal computers, phones, iPads, routers, networked gaming consoles—everything. IPv4 addresses are compatible with other IPv4 addresses—they can communicate smoothly and without hiccups. However, IPv6 addresses are not necessarily so compatible. In order to make the two compatible, Internet providers need to upgrade their routing infrastructure, set up special software and configure their network to properly direct the new addresses. If your provider is doing this, you’re all set. If your provider isn’t doing this, you need to make sure they do, or find a new provider (just as an aside, TurnKey Internet is completely IPv6 compatible).

Some observers are making the comparison between the IPv6 scare and Y2K, the vastly out-of-proportion panic we all experienced before the turn of the millennium. “The computers will all go down at once,” they said. “It’ll be bedlam!” they cried. It wasn’t. Y2K was the technological community’s version of crying wolf, and its set us all up for trouble. It looks like a lot of federal agencies aren’t taking IPv6 seriously for this very reason, and their infrastructures may suffer the consequences.

Come September, you’ll be happy you investigated this back in February, as businesses race to update at the last minute or go down and lose customers, and glitches on government websites bring federal business to its knees. Hopefully there won’t be any real dangers to personal safety. Profits, on the other hand, are another story.

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IPv6 stands for Internet Protocol version 6 and it is the all new version of how computers will communicate on the Internet (some computers already speak the IPv6 protocol, as do some web sites). With the last of the IPv4 address space about to run out in late 2011, any new devices, computers or web sites connecting to the Internet after that date will now connecting via IPv6.  IPv6 has been designed to handle the growth of the internet, for 100’s of more years – and is the standard going forward that websites, and online businesses need to be ready for.

This means that new cell phones, and home computers as well as web sites will soon be be only on the IPv6 address space.  In order for these new devices to communicate and talk to the ‘old internet’ that resides on IPv4 a sort of proxy system will be created by service providers to connect their subscribers to who need to reach the ‘old’ IPv4 internet web sites of online destinations.  The problem with this is that by forcing everyone through a proxy to ‘gateway’ to the old network, will create bottlenecks and lower quality service (as well as security issues for ecommerce enabled web sites).  So to avoid this congestion on the 1-lane exit ramp between IPv6 and IPv4, what you need to do is make sure your web site or dedicated web server has both an IPv4 AND IPv6 ip address assigned to it.

If you ignore IPv6, or are with a web hosting company that doesn’t support IPv6, you are going to jeaporadize client relationships, and lost sales.  If you don’t connect your web site or dedicated web server to the IPv6 network you will force your online visitors coming from the next generation IPv6 network to go through those IPv4 proxy aggregation choke points, and force your potential and current customers into a lower quality (and less secure) experience reaching your online business.

So, is your web site ready for IPv6?  If the answer is “no” or “I don’t know”, you need to get started with IPv6.  Many of you probably still remember the countdown to Year 2000, and the great computer glitch that never came.  Well IPv6 is coming, and it will be in 2011 and 2012 that everyone will be forced into that reality, you better be ready for it.  The good news is it only takes a few minutes, and no disruption to your web site to enable it for IPv6.

To get your web site ready for IPv6 doesn’t take a lot, you need to contact your datacenter and/or web hosting provider and make sure they are IPv6 ready.  If they are not yet IPv6 ready, you have a bigger challenge ahead, as you have to wait until they get ready.   Internet providers have to upgrade their routing infrastrcuture, put in special software, and train their staff, as well as spend a lot of time configuring their network to be ready for IPv6.  If your internet provider hasn’t done this, it’s getting late in the ball game so you should call and ask when they will be ready.  If they answer “we don’t know”, its time to find another web hosting provider before 2011 hits.

If you are with  web  hosting provider that is IPv6 enabled then the next step is pretty easy, contact them and order an IPv6 ip adddress for your web site or server.  Due to the added time/configuration and labor of the new IPv6 network it’s likely the web hosting provider may charge you a small feel for the setup or small monthly fee, but then you can rest asured you are ready for the future.

Once your web site has its IPv6 address (which may looks a little strange, for instance www.turnkeyinternet.net  as the following ‘IPv6’ address:  2064:7c00::1 ) but the good news is you don’t have to remember those strange looking IPv6 addresses.  The wonderfull world of domain names and dns settings has already long since solved this since the early 1990’s when IPv6 was first concieved.  You simply need to add an “AAAA” record in your dns for your web site pointing at your new IPv6 address, and that’s it!  Your traditional web site IPv4 address already has a domin name “A” record – so by simply adding this “AAAA” record for your domain name, you now will be both IPv4 and IPv6 enabled and ready for the future.    This means that if someone types in www.yoursitename.com if they are connected to an IPv6 network, they will get your IPv6 address and route there directly.  If someone is on the old IPv4 and type in www.yoursitename.com they will get the IPv4 address and go straight there. In no way will either party have to go through a proxy or congested IPv6 to IPv4 system – and your online business will perform at it’s best no matter which network your web visitors are traveling from!

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