It's big, here to stay, and here to grow. We are talking about something that is now an essential part of our lives, from the moment we wake up until we hit the sack after the day is over. Communication technology, namely the internet, has grown into the global center for research, education, entertainment, communication and commerce. And as the web revolutionizes and matures, (HTML is out and XHTML is in), internet's size is beginning to see the brim of the cup as we slowly fill it up.
Today, the internet is designed to serve more than 4 billion, or 4,294,967,296 host addresses. However, most go unused since addresses are assigned in blocks. These addresses, known as IP (internet protocol) addresses, are 32 bits long and recognized in hexadecimal format. For example, the highest possible address, 255.255.255.255 is in hexadecimal notation. In binary notation, that number would be 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111. For those of you who know how to do the math for programming language, 11111111 equals 255 in hex. For basic computer users who are curious to see your IP address, click Start, then click Run, and type CMD in the command line. Once the command prompt box pops up, type 'ipconfig' and press Enter. The command line will display four configurations that give you access to the internet. Those include the Connection-specific DNS suffix, IP address, Subnet mask and Default gateway.
Many companies who own static IP addresses and/or a block of addresses are beginning to run out. As a result, another block is purchased. Since traffic is getting a bit congested, data packets that are transmitted over the network are being broken down into even smaller packets than before for better transfer. Since growth has been so phenominal, developers are working on a new protocol, IPv6 (today, we use IPv4). The IP address structure will be increased from 32 bits to 128 bits, supporting a much larger number of nodes. A lot of emphasis will also be placed on multi-cast protocol. IPv6 will be more common sometime near or after the release of Microsoft Windows Vista. The next generation internet will both open new possibilities for communication over the internet, as well as improve what we have today. Secure broadcating over the internet will also be addressed in this new platform, making it more time-consuming for hackers to find their way in. Are you ready for IPv6?
www.okcpulse.com/tech_talk.htm
10-01-2005, 01:32 AM
IPv6, The Next Internet Revolution
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