It's always an interesting task, to try and explain what you do to family and friends. I have described IPv6 as the "Next Generation Internet" or "Second Internet" but the hollow expressions on my kids faces scream for the instant relief of the latest video game. Never one to give up easily, I have formulated a new example - the Post Office...
Similar to the Post Office the Internet delivers mail and packages based on addresses. As the number of residences, businesses, and delivery locations increased, the 5 digit ZIP Code (Washington, DC 20005) was expanded to ZIP+4 allowing for more precise delivery points (Postmaster General, Washington, DC 20260-3100). Ah, if only computers were as simple.
IPv6 isn't an add-on or expansion of the existing IPv4 Addressing, it is a new addressing model which will allow the internet to grow from a single computer in the basement of a university or your parents kitchen table, to support the multitude of smart phones, smart TV's, tablets, dvr's, and disk players, all clambering to connect for information. Unfortunetly there are only a finite number of IPv4 public addresses left, and those are being consumed at an ever increasing rate. Few people could have predicted the explosive growth of the internet or the shortage of IPv4 addresses we now face - but there is a "Plan B" and that is the vastly larger address space of IPv6.
Many in the industry have labeled this a "business continuity" problem, when in fact most companies will be able to continue conducting business once they run out of existing IPv4 Addresses. The problem is really a Customer Continuity problem, how will businesses communicate with existing customers and reach new customers online who's only option is to adopt IPv6 when IPv4 is depleted?
Perhaps a first step is publishing a blog that is also accessible via IPv6, it's just a few extra bits.
Join us for the Oracle OpenWorld 2012 Session: Navigating IPv6 @ Oracle Thursday, Oct. 4th 2:15PM - 3:15PM Palace Hotel - Concert
Learn more about IPv6 Technologies at Oracle
