The Internet is running out of IPv4 addresses, so it is only a matter of time before there will be a rush to upgrade to the IPv6 protocol. IPv6 activity in the United States grew significantly in 2009, but there is still a long way to go.

Global Crossing, a leading global IP solutions provider, has predicted steady growth for IPv6 services in 2010. It said the number of new orders it received for IPv6 transit services tripled this year with most of the activity coming in the last two quarters of the year.

"I expect the new order activity to rise to about 10 percent throughout 2010," said Matt Sewell, director of product management for Internet access at Global Crossing. "More of our customers are asking if we are ready for IPv6."

Networkworld.com reported that Hurricane Electric, a California ISP, said that its IPv6 network doubled in size in 2009, with connections to more than 600 other IPv6 networks. Hurricane Electric is a leading IPv6 Internet backbone.

The number of Internet content providers supporting IPv6 also grew in 2009. Google added IPv6 to several applications, including Search, Docs, Gmail and News as well as its Chrome browser and Android platform for mobile devices. Google engineers said they plan to deploy IPv6 on YouTube next year. 

Other Internet content providers that adopted IPv6 support this year were Limelight Networks, a video streaming service, and NetFlix, the popular movie distribution site. Closely watched in 2010 will be cable and broadband company Comcast, which plans to run a residential trial of the technology next year.

But even as IPv6 addresses are being depleted and the new technology is gaining ground, there is a long way to go. At the moment, IPv6 still represents less than 1 percent of all Internet traffic, according to industry estimates.

Arbor Networks, a leading provider of secure service control solutions for global networks, says IPv6 traffic accounts for 0.03 percent of all Internet traffic. Google says 0.2 percent of its users have IPv6 access.

For more on IPv6:
- see this NetworkWorld.com article

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