IPv6 Is Coming - Are You Ready?
For Show 62 of our podcast, we talked about upcoming changes to the way the Internet works, specifically, the phasing in of the new range of IPv6 Internet addresses. Here's our transcript of the show.
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Listen to FrequencyCast Show 62 - IPv6 Is Coming
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How does IPv6 affect you?
Here's the transcript of our feature on IPv6 and World IPv6 Day, from our April 2011 show:
Carl:
So we're focusing in and apparently you're going very serious on me today, and we're having a bit of fun, you've promised me - three-dimensional fun. I wonder what that might be?
Pete:
Five points for guessing.
Carl:
OK, so I have a message here from Alex Thyne. "I'm seeing news stories about the new IPv6 internet addressing system." - is that IPv6?
Pete:
IP version 6 - yes, you got that right. Read on.
Carl:
All right, sorry. "At the moment, TalkTalk are not proposing to go over to it, and the results from Virgin Media confuse me." I'm confused by this email - this is a lot of words here, you know. "... because although I'm seeing IPv6 addresses, the page I'm view says my browser is blocked. TalkTalk also say, in their members' forums, that 90% of routers currently in use can't handle the new addressing system anyway." This all sounds very worrying, but I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're talking about.
Pete:
Well, it does indeed sound fairly worrying, and the reason we're focusing in on it today is because it is serious news as far as internet is concerned. Just carry on with his email for a second there.
Carl:
Right, he goes on to say: "IPv6 date is due on the 8th June." Now it's getting more confusing - that's actually quite worrying, that's quite near.
Pete:
Yep, true - getting nearer.
Carl:
"What does all this stuff mean practically, for a non-geek like me?" (and me). "Can you devote some time in the next show, that's before June please, and please don't tell me that the internet is going to pack up if I can't navigate to a new IPv6 address." So it's happened at long last - technology has lost, it's all going to break in a few months' time - brilliant! This is exactly what I said - let's all go back to analogue.
Pete:
OK, well it's not quite as bad as it sounds, but it is certainly well worth some discussion. So first of all, let's take it back to basics. What is an IP address, Carl?
Carl:
That's the address for your computer, because it has its own residence, you see. I can't tell you much more about that, other than it's an address for your computer? Every computer has its own address that you can actually identify where anything came from.
Pete:
I suppose the best way of looking at it is, it is like a postcode. So everything on the internet - computers, network connections, servers, websites - they all have a series of numbers that identify them. The way of actually checking, those of you in front of a computer - do what I'm going to do. I'm going to go to a web browser, and in the URL box I'm going to type in the URL "whatsmyipaddress.com".
Carl:
Oh right - yeah, and a number's come up. It looks a little bit like the number you get on a bank card, it's a selection of numbers with a gap and numbers and a gap.
Pete:
So what you can see here is basically four blocks of numbers separated by dots. So it'll be 86 dot something dot something dot something. That is the IP address of the internet connection here in the studio that we're using at the moment. With me so far?
Carl:
I'm trying to keep up, and I'm doing all right, I think.
Pete:
So this is where the science will get you, though. An IP address is made up of these blocks of four sets of numbers. Now, these are known as 32-bit numerical addresses, and there can only be four billion unique addresses.
Carl:
Is that all? - oh, so we'll be running out pretty soon, I should think?
Pete:
Well, that's what the big hoo-ha is all about. By 2012, we will be out of IP version 4 addresses, which are these ones with the number dot number dot number dot number format. We're going to run out in about a year.
Carl:
So it's time to go to version 5. Why is it version 6 - what's the desperation?
Pete:
Yeah, funnily enough version 5 didn't happen. We've gone straight into v6. V6 has actually been around for about ten years now, and it uses 128-bit hexadecimal values.
Carl:
Of course - why wouldn't it?
Pete:
So look at that - read out that for me, if you can, and this is a bit of a tricky one. If anyone there has got a pen and a bit of paper, they might want to actually write this down as we're reading it out, because we're going to do this fairly quickly.
Carl:
So it's 36C4:2000:2176:2347:1A4:D6EF:B21E:42BC.
Pete:
There you go. That's what an IPv6 address sounds like, and if you can't really visualise it, go to our website and we will show you what these things look like. If you're actually going to type them into a web browser, you type them in as http://[ (open square brackets) and then you go for this number, 36C4:2000. Then at the end, you close the square brackets, colon 80/index.html. Nice and catchy, hey?
Carl:
Well, that's a cinch, isn't it? - it's like knowing your own home address, really.
Pete:
Now, IPv6 is already being used by a number of systems, and as I say, it's been around for about ten years or so, but it's got to be rolled out worldwide across the entire internet, and ideally by the time we run out of IPv4 addresses. So quite a few things need to happen.
Carl:
Such as what? - people need longer memories?
Pete:
Clearly, absolutely. So web services such as things like YouTube and Facebook, all the different services that you use on the net, need to be able to support IPv6. Then, the internet service providers and the hosting companies also need to upgrade to IPv6, and the entire internet itself, all those routers and exchanges and switchboxes all across the internet, they need to be updated as well.
Carl:
This is a nightmare! - it sounds like the Millennium Bug going off again.
Pete:
Yeah, you're not the first person to make that assumption. The sort of good news, though, is that if you're not ready for IPv6, it doesn't mean everything breaks. IPv4 is going to carry on working, so it's only new services that start getting added from 2012 onwards, where IPv6 isn't supported somewhere in the chain, there could be a problem.
Carl:
So it's going to be kind of like the digital switchover? - analogue and digital working together?
Pete:
That'll be the theory. IPv4 certainly will be absolutely fine going forward, but it is when we run out, we do need to start phasing in IPv6, so that systems can work with both of them together.
Carl:
I thought you said all of this was happening by June 8th? - I mean, this isn't going to be happening that quickly, is it?
Pete:
What you mean by 8th June is actually something called World IPv6 Day, and that is scheduled, as you say, for 8th June 2011. Really, it's nothing that you should be overly worried about. It's the first time that a number of big players will be enabling IPv6 for the first time. They're going to switch it on for 24 hours and see what happens and what breaks.
Carl:
Now, as this is affecting so many people, do we all get the day off work? - is it like another bank holiday?
Pete:
That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Well allegedly, there are no risks to this. This is all going to be invisible to the average user, so it is going to be infrastructure tests. The estimate is something like less than 0.1% of people will actually notice anything going on on the 8th of June, that's what's being alleged. So is there nothing too serious to worry about. Existing sites and services will be able to work, but it is just an experiment to see what sort of things need to be thought through ahead of the big switchover, which will probably be in about 2012.
Carl:
I must confess, I don't think I'm going to notice anything's going on.
Pete:
If you're interested, we've got a link up on our show notes to World IPv6 Day, where there's lots of information and some details of what's going to be tested.
Carl:
That's fantastic - thanks for all that, Pete. Now, just one little question - are people actually getting worried about this, or not?
Pete:
I would say this is probably the most hot topic as far as we're concerned. This is coming into us via Twitter, this is coming in by email. We've had a fair number of people expressing a concern about IPv6, and asking for us to take a look. We did a quick tweet before we started recording, and we had Barry White, Mark Webb, Gary H, John Clegg and Nick Beckett, to name a few, that came in and said yes, quite worried about IPv6 - please discuss.
Carl:
So how exactly do people find out whether or not they're ready, or they're going to be ready?
Pete:
OK, there's a lovely website I can recommend. This was actually recommended by one of my amateur radio friends, of course.
Carl:
"Friends" ... !
Pete:
So a big hello to Peter G4UJG for recommending test-ipv6.com. So let me just call this up on my little tablet here, and I'll show you what the current situation is. Now this actually a bit of client side Java script that's running here, and it says "Test your IPv6 connectivity. Your IPv4 address on the public internet appears to be (and there's our IP4 address). No IPv6 address has been detected. IPv6 date is June 8th. No problems are anticipated for you on this browser at this location. You appear only to be able to browse IPv4 internet. You will not reach IPv6 sites. Your DNS server appears to have no access to IPv6 internet. Your readiness: 0/10."
Carl:
Yep - that sounds like you, and you're not ready, and you're cutting edge, so just think how far behind you I am.
Pete:
So IPv6 in a nutshell there, it is something to be aware of, and certainly this IPv6 day. If you want more information, what we'd suggest you do is go to:
http://[36C4:2000:2176:2347:1A4:D6EF:B21E:42BC]:80/index.html.
Carl:
And if you didn't get that - tough!
Pete:
To make it a little bit easier for you, if you want links to all of the IPv6 stuff we've discussed, go to frequencycast.co.uk/ip.
Carl:
Oh, look at that - you made it easy for them again. OK, so anything else?
Next: Transcript of Nintendo 3DS Games Console Review
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You might also be interested to hear our interview with Richard Fletcher, boss of Plusnet, for more on IPv6 in the UK:
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