The address format, known as IPv4, was standardized in 1977 as a 32-digit binary number, making a then-seemingly unlimited 4.3 billion addresses (2^32) available. They're all used up. In February, the authority gave each registry one final block of 16 million addresses. The regions are burning through them now, and one region—Asia–Pacific—has already hit zero. Since 1999 the authority has offered blocks of newer IPv6 addresses that are 128 digits long, resulting in an unimaginable 340 undecillion possible addresses (that's 340 followed by 36 zeroes).
undecillion... Reference http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=global-ipv6-day-internet-test Chris... -- "As we open our newspapers or watch our television screens, we seem to be continually assaulted by the fruits of Mankind's stupidity." -Roger Penrose _______________________________________________ LinuxUsers mailing list LinuxUsers@socallinux.org http://socallinux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxusers
