You don’t have to be especially tech-savvy to know that the internet is switching to a new standard called IPv6. News that the current protocol, IPv4, is coming to an end has been circulating for some time, even occasionally popping up in the mainstream media.

What is more of a mystery is why exactly this is happening and what it all means.

In a nutshell, the U.S. Department of Defense, some 35 years ago, decided to introduce a standard that would allow a little more than 4 billion network addresses to connect to the internet. The standard, known as IPv4, uses 32-bit addresses and is basically a means to identify each device that connects the internet. Web-enabled machines are given identifiers that are most commonly written in dot-decimal notation (127.0.0.1, for example).

In 1977, when IPv4 was launched, 4 billion addresses seemed like more than enough room to support all the devices that would connect to the internet. Of course, this was in a time before smartphones, tablets, multi-PC households, web-enabled TVs, e-readers and all those other gadgets that get us through the day.

But as the internet became a bigger part of our daily lives, the number of IP addresses began to dwindle. Though 4 billion may seem massive, it doesn’t even account for every one of earth’s 7 billion inhabitants having one device. This trend has become especially evident as the expansion of the internet has hit Asia, rapidly consuming the available IPv4 addresses.

For those that get anxious about such things, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – the organization that allocates IP addresses to the various industries in various regions around the world – announced last February that it had assigned the last of the IPv4 address blocks, meaning the internet protocol is quickly coming to an end.

Now, it’s important to note that this is not another Y2K moment. No one needs to plan for the technology apocalypse. Fortunately, the fact that IPv4 wouldn’t be sustainable was realized years ago, and the transition to IPv6 is already occurring across industries.

Unlike IPv4, the new internet protocol is based on 128-bit addresses, meaning it can support a virtually unlimited number of servers, routers, PCs, websites, gaming consoles and so on.

Many software giants, like Apple and Microsoft, have been planning for IPv6 for years, and most major operating systems are already compatible with the new protocol. Last June, companies across industries participated in World IPv6 Day, when they switched their main websites to support IPv6 for 24 hours.

The telecom industry has been among those leading the charge to IPv6; trying to make sure the transition is as seamless as possible for businesses and consumers. Though the jump to IPv6 is inevitable, telecoms realize that people aren’t going to want to just hand over their older devices. So most telecoms will continue supporting both protocols for some time to ensure service isn’t disrupted even on outdated systems.

Still, switching to IPv6 sooner rather than later can be advantageous for a company. To do so, a business should identify hardware and software that needs to be upgraded to the new protocol. Companies might also test their technology-readiness by running IPv6 periodically throughout the year.

Not all businesses will have the necessary resources or the know-how to handle the transition to IPv6 on their own. For businesses – or individuals – with questions about IPv6, it may be wise to ask your managed services or internet provider about what needs to be done to ensure that the move to IPv6 is simple, seamless and stress-free.

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