On June 8 of this year, The Internet Society will hold World IPv6 Day. A day in which Google, Facebook and Yahoo will join content delivery networks Akamai, Limelight Networks and more for a 24-hour trial of the next evolution Internet protocol.
IPv6 is the replacement protocol for the current IPv4. IPv4 has room for approximately 4 billion IP addresses, based on the sequence of numbers assigned to the Internet-connected device. And yes, even with 4 billion, we’re running out. The explosion of new people and devices attached to the Internet each day means we’re going to run out of space. And IPv6, this next-gen protocol will provide over 4 billion times more space than the current system. You read that right. And while that seems like an eternal fix, some people probably said that about IPv4. But, it will certainly make do for now.
On June 6, .05% of Internet traffic will be unknowingly utilizing the new new IPv6. And from those experiences, these Internet titans will be able to test the new protocol, troubleshoot problems and prepare for a global transition.