3 ms·

I don't believe it. It's just like those "peak oil" people. We just need to drill more; we can find more IP addresses.

hhw 12y ago
Only for a while. Right now, ARIN IPv4 addresses are easier to get than ever before, as providers are handing out IPv4 addresses out like candy so that they have as much IPv4 space under their control as possible when ARIN runs out. The next phase, as has already begun in the RIPE region, is where IPv4 addresses are bought and sold on the private market. Right now, they go for published rates of between $7-$15 per IP, depending on the size of the block they're sold as. This will probably go up dramatically once all the regional registries (and in particular ARIN) run out. We'll probably then see the price of IPv4 addresses go up higher and higher, as utilization efficiency increases. It remains to be seen how high the costs will go, but it will probably get to a point where the costs of acquiring IPv4 will generally be higher than the costs of implementing IPv6. It will likely only be then that we see wholesale adoption of IPv6. Large portions of the Internet may begin using it before then, but the problem is that IPv4 will continue to be necessary until the whole of the Internet is on IPv6.
- eli 12y ago
  But IP addresses aren't really fungible, are they? What's the smallest block you could actually transfer to someone in another part of the world?
  - tacticus 12y ago
    a /24 at the moment and let's enjoy watching routing tables explode if that becomes the norm.
  - hhw 12y ago
    Generally, a /24 is the smallest block for which most networks will accept BGP advertisements. You'd generally purchase a /22-/20 or larger though. Note that in most cases, these are (part of) blocks that were assigned before the current regional registries existed, as blocks allocated through the registries aren't actually owned.
scrollaway 12y ago
Funny you make that comparison and take away the completely wrong conclusion from it. You do know IPv4 addresses are a mathematically limited set of numbers right? Once you're out of it, there's no "let's make up more numbers" or "Maybe we'll look in other dimensions" (funnily enough that's what NAT does). Not for oil, not for ipv4, and not for green parallel lines that form a red circle.
- marcosdumay 12y ago
  I don't believe thrillscience thinks we can find IPv4 addresses buried underground. I think you are overreacting to a joke.

hhw 12y ago

Only for a while. Right now, ARIN IPv4 addresses are easier to get than ever before, as providers are handing out IPv4 addresses out like candy so that they have as much IPv4 space under their control as possible when ARIN runs out. The next phase, as has already begun in the RIPE region, is where IPv4 addresses are bought and sold on the private market. Right now, they go for published rates of between $7-$15 per IP, depending on the size of the block they're sold as. This will probably go up dramatically once all the regional registries (and in particular ARIN) run out. We'll probably then see the price of IPv4 addresses go up higher and higher, as utilization efficiency increases. It remains to be seen how high the costs will go, but it will probably get to a point where the costs of acquiring IPv4 will generally be higher than the costs of implementing IPv6. It will likely only be then that we see wholesale adoption of IPv6. Large portions of the Internet may begin using it before then, but the problem is that IPv4 will continue to be necessary until the whole of the Internet is on IPv6.

eli 12y ago
But IP addresses aren't really fungible, are they? What's the smallest block you could actually transfer to someone in another part of the world?
- tacticus 12y ago
  a /24 at the moment and let's enjoy watching routing tables explode if that becomes the norm.
- hhw 12y ago
  Generally, a /24 is the smallest block for which most networks will accept BGP advertisements. You'd generally purchase a /22-/20 or larger though. Note that in most cases, these are (part of) blocks that were assigned before the current regional registries existed, as blocks allocated through the registries aren't actually owned.

scrollaway 12y ago

Funny you make that comparison and take away the completely wrong conclusion from it. You do know IPv4 addresses are a mathematically limited set of numbers right? Once you're out of it, there's no "let's make up more numbers" or "Maybe we'll look in other dimensions" (funnily enough that's what NAT does). Not for oil, not for ipv4, and not for green parallel lines that form a red circle.

marcosdumay 12y ago
I don't believe thrillscience thinks we can find IPv4 addresses buried underground. I think you are overreacting to a joke.