By Lee Howard, IPv4.Global
Despite IPv4 address exhaustion over a decade ago, transition to IPv6 has been slow. Businesses have continued to rely on IPv4 addresses, using technologies like carrier grade Network Address Translation (CG-NAT, CGN, or just NAT) to keep operations running.
We tend to resist change and the biggest reason businesses avoid migrating to IPv6 is simply because it’s different. But the eventual migration to IPv6 isn’t a question of if, but when.
Each company will make its own decision at its own pace and for its own reasons. With a structured approach, the transition to IPv6 won’t feel overwhelming. Daunting. The key is having a clear plan in place-ensuring long-term growth and compatibility as the internet landscape continues to evolve.
The Case for IPv6
IPv6 exists because we ran out of IPv4 addresses yet we still need to meet the exponential growth in connected devices. While the global pool of IPv4 has been exhausted for years, IPv6 is practically infinite; you don’t have to worry about running out of addresses.
Even with private IPv4 addressing (like 10.x.x.x), it’s not enough at scale. Mobile carriers, cloud providers, and major hyperscale platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn have already migrated to IPv6 internally because it provides flexibility, better performance, and, in many cases, cost savings over time.
Businesses that want to grow or optimize their networks should consider migrating to IPv6.
When to Explore IPv6
Many believe IPv6 isn’t necessary because IPv4 still works fine. For example, companies using managed service providers (MSPs) may only need a few external IPv4 addresses per location. However, the key factor is their use of cloud resources.
Cloud providers, like Amazon and Azure, have started charging extra for leasing IPv4 addresses – typically half a cent per hour per address. Multiply that over thousands of addresses, and these costs quickly add up.
Mergers and acquisitions are another trigger for migration to IPv6. Often, both companies are using the same private address space, leading to address conflicts when integrating networks. Network expansion is another key reason to consider a migration to IPv6. As networks grow organically, they often become inefficient and difficult to manage. To support future growth effectively, it’s best to design a new, IPv6-based network from the ground up – one that is more streamlined, scalable and capable of accommodating your long-term growth plans.
How to Approach IPv6 Adoption
Transitioning to IPv6 isn’t an overnight process, but it’s also not as painful as some assume. The key to successful adoption is to start with a plan. If you’re evaluating IPv6 adoption, here’s what you need to know.
- Audit Your Network – Before anything else, start by assessing what you have and whether it can support IPv6 – including hardware, software and your partner organizations. This can be a time-consuming task, and one better done before there’s urgency.
- Decide on a Transition Strategy – Plan your transition strategy server by server and don’t forget that your monitoring systems needs to monitor both IPv4 and IPv6 .
- Train Your Teams – IPv6 isn’t dramatically different from IPv4, but there are nuances your network engineers will need to understand. Free training is available from many sources, and several providers will develop custom training.
- Work with Your ISP and Cloud Providers – Getting IPv6 addresses from your provider or regional internet registry is usually a fast and painless process. However, some ISPs still don’t offer IPv6, though that’s becoming less common. Find out what your ISP and cloud providers support before migrating, and encourage them to support IPv6.
- Implement and Monitor Gradually – Start by enabling IPv6 on external-facing services like websites and email. Then, move to internal systems. Monitor performance, fix issues, and expand from there.
The Business Impact
IPv6 adoption can drive business growth and increase performance. IPv6 can be slightly faster than IPv4 because some mobile networks optimize for it. Google implemented a workaround for Android apps that rely on IPv4, which adds milliseconds of delay. That might sound insignificant, but at scale, faster response times mean more ad views, more sales, and a better customer experience.
What’s Next?
Organizations should assess the long-term costs and technical requirements of maintaining an IPv4 network versus migrating to IPv6. The key is making a conscious, informed decision-whether that means transitioning now, preparing for the future, or optimizing an existing IPv4 strategy to meet business needs over time.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lee Howard has over 30 years of experience in networking. A thought leader in Internet Protocols, he has served on the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the Board of Trustees of the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN), and as a working-group co-chair of IPv6 Renumbering and IPv6 Operations working groups at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). His analysis of the costs of network address translation, IPv4, and IPv6, welcomed skeptical network engineers to the IPv4 address market. He has held technical leadership positions in large and small internet service providers, hosting, and enterprise IT.
