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As a self-proclaimed technology and history nerd, I have to note the landmark event that occurred yesterday on February 3, 2011 – the authority responsible for allocating unique IP addresses gave out the last one, number 4,294,967,295 to be precise.

Why did this happen? When the internet (then ARPANET) was born on just a handful of networked computers, the early architects of the system could never have predicted the proliferation and commercialization of their project. Back then computers were not common household items (despite being the size of refrigerators) so it was hard to imagine there would ever be a day when the limits of the current protocol (IPv4) would be a problem.

What happens now? Upgrades and lots of ’em! Similar to the legacy code and systems that needed updating prior to Y2K, the low level routers, switches, and servers that make up the net’s backbone will have to be upgraded to understand the new IPv6 protocol (which is capable of handling 340 trillion, trillion, trillion unique IP addresses). Currently less than 1% of the internet is IPv6 capable, so the transition is likely to take a while.

So what’s this mean for you and your website? As it turns out, not a whole lot. The companies who actually host your website and the telecom companies who provide your internet access are going to be the ones shouldering most of the burden. Your customers may potentially experience occasional delays or hiccups accessing your website, but no more worse than they do now.