A Primer on IPv4 Scarcity
- 22 April 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review
- Vol. 45 (2), 21-31
- https://doi.org/10.1145/2766330.2766335
Abstract
With the ongoing exhaustion of free address pools at the registries serving the global demand for IPv4 address space, scarcity has become reality. Networks in need of address space can no longer get more address allocations from their respective registries. In this work we frame the fundamentals of the IPv4 address exhaustion phenomena and connected issues. We elaborate on how the current ecosystem of IPv4 address space has evolved since the standardization of IPv4, leading to the rather complex and opaque scenario we face today. We outline the evolution in address space management as well as address space use patterns, identifying key factors of the scarcity issues. We characterize the possible solution space to overcome these issues and open the perspective of address blocks as virtual resources, which involves issues such as differentiation between address blocks, the need for resource certification, and issues arising when transferring address space between networks.Keywords
Other Versions
Funding Information
- DHS/ARL (W911NF-05-C-0013)
- NSF (CNS-1111672)
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Measuring IPv6 adoptionPublished by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) ,2014
- Origin Validation Operation Based on the Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI)Published by RFC Editor ,2014
- Estimating internet address space usage through passive measurementsACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 2013
- On Evaluating BGP Routing Stress AttackJournal of Communications, 2010
- A Survey of BGP Security Issues and SolutionsProceedings of the IEEE, 2009
- Internet Registry IP Allocation GuidelinesPublished by RFC Editor ,1996
- Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR): an Address Assignment and Aggregation StrategyPublished by RFC Editor ,1993
- Guidelines for Management of IP Address SpacePublished by RFC Editor ,1993
- Improving the routing and addressing of IPIEEE Network, 1993
- IAB recommended policy on distributing internet identifier assignment and IAB recommended policy change to internet "connected" statusPublished by RFC Editor ,1990