The History of IPv6 @ ARIN
Toward the end of the 1980s, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) started studying the impact of the growth of the Internet on the existing IPv4 address protocol. Notably, one of the main issues was the exhaustion of the available pool of IPv4 addresses. Throughout much of the 1990s, a number of IETF Working Groups discussed and developed guidelines to help extend the life of IPv4 and create a successor. After much work and the investigation of many possible options, the core of IPv6 protocols were included in an IETF Draft Standard in December 1998. In July 1999, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) made the first assignments of IPv6 address blocks to ARIN and the other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), and ARIN started allocating IPv6 address blocks soon after that.
Since that time, ARIN has worked steadily and consistently to facilitate the adoption and foster the use of IPv6. As ARIN, and the other RIRs came closer the depletion of the IPv4 free pool, ARIN greatly increased its efforts of outreach and education. The links below highlight some of the significant milestones and history in the adoption of IPv6 and ARIN’s efforts to help promote that.
IPv6 Allocation and Assignment Statistics
- Historical ARIN IPv6 Address Statistics
- Number Resource Organization: Internet Number Status Reports
Education and Community Outreach
IPv6-related Announcements
Obviously, many of the announcements ARIN has published over the years involve or relate to IPv6, but we’ve highlighted some of the most important below. For more, please see the listing of announcements from the current year or the archive of announcements from previous years.
IPv6-related Press releases
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 24 September 2015 | ARIN IPv4 Free Pool Runs Dry |
| 3 February 2011 | Free Pool of IPv4 Address Space Depleted |
| 22 October 2010 | ARIN Announces Newly Elected Board of Trustees and Advisory Council Members |
| 04 October 2010 | ARIN details key findings from NTIA IPv6 Workshop |
| 24 September 2010 | American Registry for Internet Numbers Announces CEO participation in NTIA Workshop on IPv6 |
| 27 July 2010 | As Internet runs out of IPv4 addresses, web-enabled businesses must act now |
| 14 April 2010 | ARIN to Discuss Key IPv6 Proposals at 25th Public Policy and Members Meeting |
| 04 January 2010 | Looming Internet Address Space Crisis Quickly Becoming One of Key Issues, Panel Sessions at 2010 CES |
| 16 October 2008 | ARIN ARIN and CAIDA Announce Survey Results on IPv6 Penetration and Adoption Plans |
| 21 May 2007 | ARIN Board Advises Internet Community on Migration to IPv6 |