IPv6 evangelists and Internet governance institutions have been urgently calling for immediate transition to IPv6 in light of the near global depletion of the IPv4 address free pool. But companies aren’t rushing. Instead, more and more are turning to the IPv4 market to purchase the IPv4 addresses they need to operate and grow their IP-based networks. Why?
An efficient global IPv4 market will provide the Internet community 5 to 7 more years on IPv4 to facilitate a migration to IPv6 that follows normal technology adoption patterns. The depletion of the RIR free pool of IPv4 numbers isn’t the end of the road for IPv4. Two recent articles written in Information Week discuss the meaning of IPv4 exhaustion from different and opposing perspectives.
Removing needs assessment as a pre-condition to recording IPv4 address trasnsfers in ARIN’s registry database will promote an efficient IPv4 market and facilitate IPv6 adoption.