Business Daily (Nairobi)
Okuttah Mark
28 May 2008
f you are intending to buy a computer today, make sure it can accommodate the next generation Internet platform - IPv6 - that is expected to come into effect in three years.
The message comes from experts who yesterday announced a campaign to sensitise the public on migrating to the new internet address. The current address structure - Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) - is expected to be exhausted by 2011.
This means it will not be able to serve new equipment and will be replaced by Internet Protocol version 6, which computer users need to ensure is enabled on new equipment to avoid high migration costs. The Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) and a number of ICT organisations announced that they will be holding a workshop to sensitise the public on the change and its impact.
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are used to identify machines connected to the internet. The new IP address will enable users to get new IP numbers in future.
KENIC chairman Anthony Mugambi said the current IP address will remain valid, but there will be huge costs of migration to the new address for those using equipment that will not be IPv6 enabled. "The depletion of IPv4 addresses will mean that more hosts cannot be connected to the internet and this will hinder the growth of the internet, now seen as the economic driving force in the century" said Mr Mugambi.
KENIC, a public/private partnership , is the first Internet registry organisation in Africa to deploy the new IP system. It also manages the country's code Top Level Domain ( ccTLD) unique and global recognition identity, dot Ke, on the internet.
The depletion of the current generation address is as a result of more equipment connected to the internet. The current address was designed in the early 1980s and has a capacity of 6 .6 billion addresses.
Already, 4.2 billion addresses have been taken up. The new one has a life span of 150 years and can handle 340 undecillion possible unique addresses. Other than computers, mobile phones, television sets, refrigerators, cars , robots and cameras are connected and controlled through the internet.
The life of the current IP addresses can be prolonged by individuals within a particular organisation sharing some numbers instead of each equipment being allocated its specific number.
Kenic administration manager Vincent Ngudi said that while most software such as Windows Vista are IPV6 enabled, the national hardware stock is not and will necessitate migration. Mr Ngudi said the next generation address also comes with some added advantages.
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