Vision - September/October 2008 - (Page 18)

In Kaufhold’s vision of the future, an IPv6-equipped TV in the home connects to the Internet through a wireless DSL access point, uploads its serial number to the manufacturer, and stays always connected to receive online content, such as downloadable video or RSS feeds. Or, in a similar scenario, a home appliance with IPv6 sends an “I need service” message to the manufacturer. Mobile Internet devices—including cell phones, portable navigation devices and portable digital audio players—will begin using IPv6 in concert with WiMAX for direct-to-the-Internet connectivity while roaming, Kaufhold predicts. To be sure, any IPv6 scenario requires the Internet service provider (ISP) to support the technology within its own infrastructure, and Kaufhold notes that some cable companies and telephone companies already have installed the necessary equipGerry Kaufhold ment. They will start enabling IPv6 usage late this year or early next year, he says. Nevertheless, Kaufhold, Homren and others say they don’t expect IPv6 to be in widespread use before 2010. Gradual Acceleration The IPv6 technology first was developed in the late 1990s by the Internet Engineering Task Force, which manages the standards and specifications for the Internet. The depletion of Internet addresses was anticipated, and many online-oriented products have incorporated the IPv6 “software stack” for the past several years. Examples of these, according to Homren, include Microsoft’s Windows Vista and Apple’s Leopard operating systems, assorted Web-browsers and cell phones, routers and other networking equipment. Even some sensors in cars are IPv6-ready, Homren says. So, he imagines, it is possible that someday an application will be written that allows the car to form a peerto-peer network with the cell phone and use a text message to send vehicle diagnostics to the owner. Within five years, he predicts, IPv6 will lead to more peer-to-peer applications, incorporating many more devices, con- IPv6 FAQs By Wayne Homren When I first began hearing about IPv6, a number of questions popped into my mind. I’m lucky to have ready access to some of the top experts in the field so I pulled together a list of some of the most frequently asked IPv6 questions. Opening Move—What It Means for IPv6 Applications (www. commandinformation.com/blog/?p=42) and Analysts on Verizon’s Network Opening—Time to Consider Applications. (www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=43). What other consumer devices are IPv6 capable? Apple is one of the leaders. iTunes and the Mac are already IPv6 capable. Canon, Toshiba, Panasonic and other printers are IPv6 capable. We have a number of other off-the-shelf devices running on IPv6 in our lab, including digital video cameras. The association website lists many IPv6-ready products: www.ipv6-to-standard.org. When will the IPv4 address crunch start to hurt? According to one well-regarded model, the expected exhaustion of the IPv4 space, based on current use, is November 19, 2011, just three and a half years away. But long before that event occurs, there will be certain websites that will be reachable only with IPv6. To track IPv4 address exhaustion, see: www.potaroo. net/tools/ipv4/index.html. For more detail, see David Green’s blog posts: IPv6 is a Business Continuity Issue (www.commandinformation.com/ blog/?p=60) and The Analysis Behind “IPv6 Is a Business Continuity Issue.” (www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=64) For fun, watch IPv6 tech geeks sing about The Day the Routers Died… (www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y36fG2Oba0). How much more efficient is IPv6 video multicasting? Each server in a typical IPv4 network can handle between 300 and 500 streams. Each stream connects to only one end device. With an IPv6 server, each stream can handle millions of end-devices. A rack using IPv6 can handle 5,000 channels, with each channel having millions of users, or billions in all. Now that’s efficient, and it foreshadows industry-shaking changes in a number of areas. This may be where the first IPv6 killer application makes its mark on the consumer landscape. IPv6 will bring many changes to the online world. Those changes are rumbling beneath the surface right now, but in time, that rumble will become a tsunami of change. Every organization should be thinking right now about what those changes will mean for them and their customers. Don’t be caught flat-footed — the clock is ticking. Visit Wayne’s blog at: http://commandinformation.com/blog. What mobile phone models are IPv6 capable today? With the exception of the BlackBerry, the majority of cell phones shipped over the last two years have the ability to support IPv6. However, although the phones support IPv6, the majority of service providers (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) do not. Therefore the U.S. consumer has no current ability to use this network technology. As the carriers gradually open their networks to third-party devices and applications, this may start to change. For more information, see Verizon’s Wayne Homren is a principal at Command Information. 18 September/October 2008 www.ce.org http://www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=42 http://www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=42 http://www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=43 http://www.ipv6-to-standard.org http://www.potaroo.net/tools/ipv4/index.html http://www.potaroo.net/tools/ipv4/index.html http://www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=60 http://www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=60 http://www.commandinformation.com/blog/?p=64 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y36fG2Oba0 http://commandinformation.com/blog http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - September/October 2008

Vision - September/October 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In this Issue The Economist Visionary C4 Trends Coming to a Neighborhood Near You IPv6: Connecting People and Things Israelis Spend Big on the Latest CE Devices Tech Speak Tech Policy CEA Newsline Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - September/October 2008

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