Long-term benefits to the Irish internet community in areas such as security, network management and quality of service will result from the deployment of a new Internet Protocol version 6 (Ipv6) compatible name server, the company responsible for managing the registration of .ie domain names has claimed.
The IE Domain Registry (IEDR) says Ipv6 is designed to replace the current version (Ipv4) and quadruples the number of network address bits from 32 (in Ipv4) to 128, which provides more than enough globally unique IP addresses for every network device on the planet. The new name server, ns6.iedr.ie, responds to DNS queries for .ie domain names using the Ipv4 and Ipv6 protocols.
Billy Glynn, Network Operations Centre, IEDR, said: “DNS is a critical component of the internet infrastructure and this is a significant enhancement within Ireland. The deployment of an Ipv6 compatible name server ensures that Ireland maintains its competitive position.”
Vint Cerf, chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigning Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently said that two-thirds of the 4.3 billion internet addresses currently available (in Ipv4) were used up, adding that Ipv6 could boost capacity by some “25,000 trillion trillion times.”
The current Ipv4 address space is unable to satisfy the potential huge increase in the number of users or the geographical needs of the internet expansion, let alone the requirements of emerging applications such as internet enabled personal digital assistants, home area networks, internet-connected automobiles, integrated telephony services, and distributed gaming.
The impetus for the development was in March 2004, following the IEDR’s attendance at the first meeting of the newly established IPv6 Task Force, established and chaired by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
David Curtin, CEO, IEDR, said: “It was clear from this meeting that IPv6 was an important issue, so we responded accordingly.”
By Brian Skelly