The fourth version of the Internet Protocol was introduced back in the 80s is the version that we still use quite a lot today. The numbering system design of this version of the Internet Protocol came with 4 billion addresses. Back in the 80s when it was introduced, that amount of addresses seemed like plenty. Regular civilians actually weren’t the ones to get IPv4 addresses first. The world of education and business actually got a lot of IPv4 addresses, more than they actually needed because making them didn’t cost anything and there were a lot of numbers to work with.
What exactly do IP addresses do?
All the data that’s on the internet are separated into what is called ‘packets’. The information of an IP or the destination address is linked to each of these packets so that each of them arrives in the correct location. Thus, practically all locations, such as a device or a domain, that connects to the internet are given an IP address.
Why does IPv4 persevere
You might be wondering why and how we still use IPv4, especially knowing that all of the addresses have officially run out. Well, just because it ran out, doesn’t mean it stopped existing. IPv4 is still the dominant internet protocol we have. Internet protocol version 6 might have already been deployed, but it hasn’t reached the level of IPv4 yet. IPv4 is used everywhere by everyone, so internet developers and network administrators just automatically assume it’s widespread because it is.
The IP market
Back in the early years of the introduction of IPv4, everyone could have gotten it for free, even organizations. All they had to do was ask the Regional Internet Registry for the number of IPv4 addresses they needed and they got it. It was all for free and they were immediately available. Even though slowly but surely, the pool of IPv4 addresses was getting smaller and smaller, they were still free and always available.
Then came the year 2010, and devices that could connect to the internet started growing very rapidly. Not only that but many places around the world that previously didn’t really use or have the internet such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America started developing a lot of internet activity. The IPv4 addresses became scarcer and scarcer, there weren’t enough to go around. This is when IPv6 was created and deployed, though it didn’t stop IPv4 from officially running out in 2019. Those who had a lot of IPv4s that were going unused started selling and leasing them out and the market for the addresses grew bigger.
IP brokers
If you are interested in buying or selling or even leasing IPv4 addresses, you can actually do so by contacting an IP broker. On Prefixbroker.com there are plenty of trusted IP brokers who can help you out. The IP market has been up and running for years now, even before the official depletion of the IPv4 address.
