NTIA looks for guidance for IoT IPv6 needs

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration wants to know how to handle Internet-of-Things-enabled devices under the IPv6 routing protocol.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration wants to know how to handle Internet-of-Things-enabled devices under the IPv6 routing protocol, according to FCW.

IPv6 will allow for more devices than IPv4, which has been used since 1984, but the transition from one to the other makes it difficult to tell how many internet addresses will be required to accommodate all of the new devices.

IPv4 supports around 4.3 billion IP addresses, whereas IPv6 can handle 340 undecillion addresses, which FCW reported is 340 followed by 36 zeros.

NTIA is accepting comments on the issue until Oct.3, and the agency will use this input for IPv6 best practices.