[Network] Will we run out of IP addresses?

So before we answer the question - Will we run out of IP addresses? - I will first explain the two main types of IPs out there; IPv4 and IPv6.

But if you can't wait, the short answer is no; but the long answer is depends on how you define IP.


What are Internet Protocols (IP) addresses?

In short, they are an unique number that gets linked to all online activity you do; like a return address on a letter you'd send out. an IP address to your internet device. Your internet activity goes through them, and they route it back to you; using your IP address. IP addresses are assigned to your computer by Internet Service Provider (ISP; like AT&T, Comcast.etc). It's their role to assign

Note that IP addresses are not permanent. Even if you are at home, simply turning your modem or router on and off, or contacting your ISP will change your IP.


IPv4 and IPv6

The Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is a protocol for use on packet-switched Link Layer networks (e.g. Ethernet). IPv4 provides an addressing capability of approximately 4.3 billion addresses.


  • IPv4 has 32-bit (4 octets). Each octets is 8 bit (so the max number is 2^8 = 256). Therefore, the max number of IPv4 is 2^32 ~= 4 billion.


The Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is more advanced and has better features compared to IPv4. It has the capability to provide an infinite number of addresses. It is replacing IPv4 to accommodate the growing number of networks worldwide and help solve the IP address exhaustion problem.


Appearance

One of the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 is the appearance of the IP addresses. IPv4 uses four 1 byte decimal numbers, separated by a dot (i.e. 192.168.1.1), while IPv6 uses hexadecimal numbers that are separated by colons (i.e. fe80::d4a8:6435:d2d8:d9f3b11).

Below is the summary of the differences between the IPv4 and IPv6:

IPv4IPv6
No. of bits on IP Address32128
Formatdecimalhexadecimal
Capable of Addresses4.3 billioninfinite number (technically, 2^128)
How to ping ping XXX.XXX.XXXping6


Advantages of IPv6 over IPv4:

  • IPv6 simplified the router’s task compared to IPv4.
  • IPv6 is more compatible to mobile networks than IPv4.
  • IPv6 allows for bigger payloads than what is allowed in IPv4.
  • IPv6 is used by less than 1% of the networks, while IPv4 is still in use by the remaining 99%.

Situation

Every router, smart phone or other device on the Internet must have its own Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. They mostly used the 32-bit IPv4 standard; you've probably seen something like 192.168.123.190. They are 32-bit, and thus, there can only be 4.3 billion possible IPv4s. While that may seem sufficient, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced in 2011 that it had handed out its last batch of IPv4 numbers.

A new solution, IPv6 standard of IP, has been put in place a long time ago (since XP SP1) to handle the situation when IPv4 runs out. However, there are several problems with migrating to IPv6.


Problems with migration to IPv6

  • Chicken-or-egg-first probem
    • Right now, users all run IPv4 computers, websites all run IPv4 web servers and ISP all offer IPv4 transit. Who should make the transition first?
    • Users aren't demanding IPv6 because most websites are using IPv4.
    • Websites aren't demanding IPv6 because they want to be reached by users, whom mostly run on IPv4.
  • Costs with learning to setup and about IPv6.
  • When a websites supports both IPv6 and IPv4, some users will mistakenly reach the site by IPv6 because their computers and network cards are misconfigured. 
  • While this doesn't affect many users (estimated just a fraction of a percent), if you're Dell, would you want to turn on IPv6 for no current benefits and loss a fraction of a percent of your users?

What happens when we run out of IPv4?

Nothing serious actually; at least for customers.

Many ISP, such as Verizon Wireless and Comcast, started setting themselves up to use IPv6 years ago. When needed, they can get their customers online to use either protocol. Note that IPv6 will NOT replace IPv4; they will run together.

Companies, on the other hand, might be in for a shock if they didn't prepare ahead of time. They might have to re-configure their networks, set up shared IP addresses in order to bring on new customers (using IPv6). Some may have to buy excess addresses from other companies for big bucks on secondary markets. Some may even be unable to take on new businesses (as new internet devices are configured for IPv6).

Conclusion

  • So no, we will NOT run out of IP addresses.
  • But we will (or already have) run out of IPv4 addresses.
  • But even if we do (or did), we can start to use IPv6 addresses.

Resources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-internet-has-run-out-of-ip-addresses-sort-of-ipv4/
https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/when-the-internet-runs-out-of-ip-addresses
https://www.pcworld.com/article/222548/no_ip_addresses.html
https://whatismyipaddress.com/ip-basics

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