ARIN and CAIDA Announce Survey Results on IPv6 Penetration and Adoption Plans

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), with the help of the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), surveyed 1100 people across the world to gather data regarding current and future use of IPv6. Results suggest that interest in IPv6 is growing, although activity is more likely to occur in research and education networks or those serving government needs than in the for-profit (and generally low-margin) commercial sector.

IP addresses are the unique numbers computers and other electronic devices use to identify themselves and pass information over the Internet. With only 15% of the prevalent IPv4 address space left available for allocation through Regional Internet Registries such as ARIN, the global Internet community is taking urgent action to ensure continued access to essential network services by implementing a newer version of addressing called IPv6.

Most survey respondents indicated that their reasons for getting IPv6 address space are to be "ahead of the game" or to make sure IPv6 is supported in their products. Other motivations for supporting IPv6 include customer demand, research, and government mandate.

Respondents acknowledge remaining hurdles to deploying and supporting IPv6 technology. According to the survey, hurdles are slightly less likely to be network-level technical issues and more likely to be either lack of application support or user demand. Other obstacles noted included: limited IPv6 expertise; lack of support from transit providers and vendors; and upgrade costs.

Despite these hurdles, around 50% of respondents said they plan to work toward full IPv6 adoption. ARIN President and CEO Raymond A. Plzak said, "We're excited to see discussion and activity surrounding IPv6 adoption throughout the world, at all levels in all sizes of organizations. We will continue working with the Internet community to assist however possible."

Added Dr. Kimberly Claffy, Director and Principal Investigator at CAIDA, "It is great news that we're starting to establish a baseline history of IPv6 penetration across the world. The data collected from this survey will further support ongoing research on IPv6 issues."

About the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)

ARIN is a nonprofit corporation that provides services related to the provision of Internet number resources -- IPv4, IPv6, and Autonomous System numbers -- in its service region, which includes Canada, many Caribbean and North Atlantic islands, and the United States.

About the Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA):

CAIDA is a collaborative undertaking among organizations in the commercial, government, and research sectors aimed at promoting greater cooperation in the engineering and maintenance of a robust, scalable global Internet infrastructure.

SOURCE American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)