Outline of Problem The Internet has grown from a research project involving a small number of research institutions to a global infrastructure reaching into the most remote parts of the world, and is used for a vast array of applications. Following trends on the Internet is important for policy makers and enterprises that need to make important decisions that may shape the future. The size of the Internet is one such trend and holds a fascination for many people. Many attempts are made to estimate the population of the Internet, often presenting quite different results, as there are many definitions of what the population should be. One aspect of the population that is critically important to the operation of the Internet is the number of allocated IP addresses. The current addressing scheme, IPv4, is running out of unallocated addresses and so a replacement, IPv6, is being readied to replace v4. Unfortunately, progress has been slow for a number of different reasons. Detail of Questions In this essay you are required to consider what it means to measure the population of the Internet and why it is a difficult task. Then you are to assess how close to empty the reserve of IPv4 address is. Last you need to investigate ways in which IPv6 will come to replace IPv4, and make some conclusions about the most likely outcome. In detail: 1. nternet Population: Define the different ways in which the Internet population can be defined, i.e. what metrics can be used. Then discuss how the population can Ibe measured using the metrics you discuss, including shortcomings of each measure. For example, some measures are not estimates rather than exact counts, which is clearly a shortcoming. Last you should include in your discussion a summary of some recent published Internet population statistics, this need not be exhaustive but enough to illustrate your research. 2. IPv4 address crisis: Explain the nature of the address space crisis with reference to both the IP version 4 and version 6 protocols. Why is there a shortage of addresses? What is has been done to mitigate it up to now (i.e. pre-IPv6 deployment)? How much space (and how long) is left before exhaustion. Obviously you can’t provide an accurate figure – but what evidence is there? 3. IPv6 deployment: Provide a discussion of the different v6 deployment strategies. Conclude the essay with a discussion of what the likely outcomes of the deployment are likely to be, i.e. which strategies are most likely to happen and any other effects the transition may have on the Internet apart from more addresses becoming available. A structured report containing the research (see Detail of Questions). Sources of information MUST be referenced. The report MUST be formatted according to the IEEE authoring style guidelines for conference papers. A copy of the guidelines is available at: http://www.cms.livjm.ac.uk/iwna5/authoringtemplate.pdf.