Are you looking forward to learning about the nuances of the Internet transitioning from IPv4 to IPv6? Watch this video recording of the talk by Fred Baker, Cisco Fellow, IPv6 Committee Co-Chair, and IETF Chair. In this broad talk, Baker covers technology aspects of the different key components of the Internet. He also shares his perspectives on business issues, supporting legal systems, and social implication aspects.

Baker starts by describing the high-speed Internet corridor and usage patterns across the world. He has included analysis and insights concerning the status of connectivity. He then moves on to dive deeper into the high-impact changes due to the introduction of IPv6 replacing IPv4 address spaces. He establishes that we have hit the limits of the IPv4 era. The primary drivers of the Internet economy today are the content providers, mobile Internet providers, enterprises, and home users. The first two constituents will benefit more directly and immediately from the transition to IPv6 due to the value it provides to them: location identification, user identity, user relationships, simpler networks, surveillance, and easier troubleshooting. While they want to turn off IPv4 and turn on IPv6, it is not easy to do. Baker presents the issues and challenges associated with IPv6 adoption. He then presents a model to predict the possible adoption trend.

After a detailed treatment of IPv6 adoption, Baker moves on to touch upon the trends in the Internet of Things (IoT), net neutrality/open Internet, encryption, and debates around cryptography. He treats these topics at a policy level without going much into technical depth, possibly due to time constraints. Therefore, the key technical takeaway from this talk is about IPv4 depletion and the transition to IPv6. It also provides a good overview about the current status of the Internet.

Fred Baker’s talk is just over an hour long. He delivered this talk on February 2, 2016, at CMU, Silicon Valley as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series.