14 DAY TRIAL // The world is getting ready to bid IPv4 goodbye. Well, a part of the world at least, a small part in truth. Major websites and internet companies are flipping the switch on IPv6 permanently in a week's time, on World IPv6 Launch, fittingly on 6/06. But that doesn't mean that they're flipping the switch off on IPv4; the ancient protocol will be with us for many years to come.
But it is a good sign, the first big one, that the world is getting ready for the transition. Large websites such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft's Bing or Yahoo! are enabling IPv6 connectivity alongside IPv4 by default.
Several major CDNs, Limelight XS4ALL, and AKAMAI, as well as large ISPs like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, are also involved and will be part of the event.
IPv6 hardware has been around for many years and most of these companies have had the technical ability to support IPv6 users for at least a year now, more in most cases.
What's more, they can offer IPv6 connectivity while maintaining IPv4 support, so users with ISPs that haven't updated yet can still access the sites.
This begs the question, why hasn't this been done so far? The answer is simple – offering IPv6 and IPv4 connectivity in parallel, a dual-stack causes problems for a small minority of users.
Rather than affecting them, companies have been putting off as much as they could, hoping that people and ISPs upgrade their equipment.
Last year, several companies tested a dual-stack configuration for one day on June 6th. That test worked out rather well, so well that everyone is ready to make the change permanent.
The event will be significant for the internet, but the more successful it is, the less likely you are of even knowing about it. The idea is to have everything working as it should for as many people as possible.