Internet service provider Internode has invested in Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) as part of its standard service, for end users.

Internode managing director Simon Hackett claimed IPv6 is one of the next generation Internet Protocol that offers a number of longer IP addresses.

“Internode operates a native IPv6 network, spanning Australia and its international Points of Presence in the US and Japan. Our routers are running in 'dual stack' mode, allowing it to offer concurrent IPv4 and IPv6 services to its customers,” said Hackett.

He said the decision to offer public access to IPv6 was part of “future-proofing” its customers’ networks.

“The current IPv4 address space is simply running out of IP numbers, possibly as soon as 2011. Internode has chosen to invest in deploying IPv6 technology throughout its network now to give its customers the maximum amount of time to transition their own networks to the new address scheme,” he said.

Internode's backbone network now runs IPv6 natively, which allows it to connect with many peers and upstream network sources, said Hackett.

Internode was also working on mechanisms to allow ADSL and other ‘layer 2’ customers to obtain native dual-stack access. “In the future, all Internode ADSL customers will have native IPv6 access as part of their normal ADSL service,” he said.