MSFN Forum: Google and Facebook warn on new system test

Google and Facebook have warned internet users to expect "teething pains" on Wednesday as leading internet companies test drive a new global numbering system for cyberspace. Websites may be slow or hard to reach as more than 400 of the world largest internet companies, including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Facebook, test the new system.

The switch to a new system – known as internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) – is essential because internet addresses on the current system are about to run out.

The last of the addresses were allocated in February. In order to accommodate the millions of people coming on to the internet in emerging markets and the new mobile phones and tablet devices needing online connections, the number of addresses has to be increased.

Much as telephone numbers have gone from a couple of digits in the early days of telephony to strings of 10 or 11 numbers today, the internet will move from 32 bit addresses to 128 bit addresses. This will allow 4bn times more internet identifiers to be created than exist today.

However, compatibility between the two numbering systems is far from straightforward. A home computer connecting via IPv4 will not be able to connect to a website running on IPv6. Experts warn that if the two systems are not connected, millions of people in fast-growing internet markets such as China and India could struggle to access websites in the US and Europe, and vice-versa.

When Heise Online, one of Germany’s biggest news sites, experimented with putting its pages on IPv6 last year, some users were unable to access the site. People using older versions of internet browsers and the Mac operating system struggled to load up the pages, although Heise concluded that the number of problems was "smaller than previously feared".

More @ FT.com