Over time, we’ve encountered a significant issue — the depletion of available IPv4 addresses. IP addresses are essential for connecting devices to the internet, and with the rapid growth of devices, IPv4 space has become insufficient.
Solution 1: Use of Private IP Addresses
One effective solution is the use of private IP addresses. These are specific IP address ranges reserved for internal use within organizations, allowing them to reuse the same address space across different networks.
For example, your company can use a set of private IP addresses internally, and another company can use the same set in their own network. There’s no conflict because private IP addresses are not routable on the public internet.
Solution 2: Network Address Translation (NAT)
To connect private networks to the internet, we use Network Address Translation (NAT). NAT allows multiple private IP addresses to be translated into a single (or a few) public IP address(es) provided by your internet service provider.
This way, multiple devices can share one public IP address to access the internet, effectively conserving the limited IPv4 address space.
Solution 3: Transition to IPv6
Another long-term solution is adopting IPv6, which offers a vastly larger address space. IPv6 is designed to overcome the limitations of IPv4 and support the growing number of internet-connected devices well into the future.
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