The First Phase of IPv4 Exhaustion Has Been Triggered

30/05/2014

Latin America and the Caribbean have entered the process of Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) address exhaustion, which triggers a substantial change in how these resources are assigned and accelerates the transition to Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6).

Since its creation in October 2002, the Internet Address Registry for Latin American and Caribbean (LACNIC) has allocated more than 180 million addresses throughout the region. Now, the stock of available IPv4 addresses has come to an end. “We have already entered the exhaustion process; now only approximately 6 million available addresses remain,” said LACNIC’s CEO. According to LACNIC’s portal, it is estimated that IPv4 will finally run out on 10 June.

LACNIC’s situation has triggered a new global policy under which the IANA, the organization that oversees the allocation of IP addresses, must make the first round of allocations from the IPv4 address space that has been returned. This space must be distributed equally among the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs).

Throughout the process, LACNIC has been working to ensure the availability of Internet addresses after IPv4 exhaustion and has taken the necessary precautions to make sure the migration to the new system, IPv6, does not cause the  system to collapse, said Carlos Martinez, LACNIC’s CEO.