The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is no longer able to issue IPv4 addresses, activating an 'unmet requests' policy for the first time, reports The Next Web.
ARIN has not yet completely run out of IPv4 addresses and still has small blocks available, but companies looking to buy out large blocks may be disappointed. The Register notes that ARIN had previously warned of this last month, but made the decision this week after approving a request that was larger than the number of addresses available in the regional pool.
ARIN is now offering three options for business making such requests. Either they can issue a smaller block than the company asked for, join a waiting list or withdraw their request completely. Alternatively, companies in desperate need might purchase larger blocks off another company.
"If you take a smaller block, you can't come back for more address space for 90 days," John Curran, CEO of ARIN, told Ars Technica. "We currently have nearly 500 small blocks remaining, but we handle 300 to 400 requests per month, [so] those remaining small blocks are going to last between two and four weeks."
Companies are now under more pressure than ever before to switch to the updated IPv6. Although first introduced back in 1998, Google statistics indicate that just over 7% of its users have made the move.
IPv6 addresses are significantly longer in length – meaning more variation and a total pool of 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses.
Curran concluded: ""It is time for Internet service providers to move to IPv6 to enable the Internet's continued growth. Businesses should be aware that this transition is already well underway for many service providers in the region and make sure that their public-facing websites are reachable via IPv6 for the best performance."
