Philippines urged to start moving to IPv6
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:41:00 03/23/2008
MANILA, Philippines--The Philippines should start moving to IP version 6 (IPv6), the next-generation Internet protocol after IP version 4 (IPv4), a network expert told INQUIRER.net.
Amante Alvaran, a training officer at the Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) and president of the Philippine Network Operators Group, said the Internet needed to shift to IPv6 to avoid running out of available IP addresses between 2010 and 2011.
Alvaran explained that APNIC is responsible for the allocation and management of Internet address space in the Asia Pacific region. This address space made up of a defined range of unique Internet (IP) addresses. Each computer or device communicating on the Internet must have such an address and these addresses must be carefully managed and used in order to ensure effective and continued operation of the Internet.
"A major issue facing the Internet community is that the current system [IPv4] is running out of addresses. Without a solution, address exhaustion could impact on the continued expansion and development of the Internet. Numerous discussions are being held to look at possible options to resolve this, the most prominent and viable of which is the integration and deployment of a new addressing system, IPv6," he added.
Likening the IPv4 to IPv6 transition to the Y2K problem during the turn of the century, he warned that since the Internet is booming in Asia, this region will be among the hardest hit when IPV4 addresses run out.
In the Philippines, it is only the Advanced Science and Technology Institute, a research and development arm of the Department of Science and Technology, that is operating an IPv6 network, Alvaren said. There are other IPv6 networks owned by service providers but are not operational, the networking expert said.
Alvaran said the he is currently holding awareness campaigns through schools this year, starting with the Mindanao region. He is set to visit other universities in Visayas and Luzon soon.
He said that he is going to schools because network engineers in the next two years should be able to understand IPv6.
On May 21-22, 2008, APNIC is slated to hold the first Philippine IPv6 Summit, which hopes to address concerns about address depletion of IPv4 and the adoption to IPv6, but "with an orientation to the local situation."
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