IPv4 to IPv6 Transition and Global Adoption Timeline (1996–2025)

1. IPv6 protocol specification published as RFC 1883

   Dec 1, 1995Labels: IETF, RFC 1883

   • RFC Editor

2. Early IPv6 transition mechanisms standardized (RFC 1933)

   Apr 1, 1996Labels: IETF, RFC 1933

   • IETF Datatracker

3. Updated IPv6 specification published as RFC 2460

   Dec 1, 1998Labels: IETF, RFC 2460

   • RFC Editor
   • IETF Datatracker

4. Revised IPv6 transition mechanisms published (RFC 2893)

   Aug 1, 2000Labels: IETF, RFC 2893

   • IETF Datatracker

5. 6to4 tunneling defined to carry IPv6 over IPv4

   Feb 1, 2001Labels: RFC 3056, 6to4

   • IETF Datatracker

6. IPv6 addressing architecture updated (RFC 4291)

   Feb 1, 2006Labels: RFC 4291, IPv6 addressing

   • IETF Datatracker

7. IANA allocates final IPv4 blocks to RIRs

   Feb 3, 2011Labels: IANA, RIRs

   • InfoWorld
   • ICANN Policy

8. NAT64/DNS64 standards published for IPv6-only clients

   Apr 1, 2011Labels: RFC 6146, RFC 6147

   • IETF RFC 6146
   • IETF RFC 6147

9. World IPv6 Day runs 24-hour global test

   Jun 8, 2011Labels: World IPv6, major websites

   • Digital Policy
   • Microsoft Blog

10. World IPv6 Launch begins permanent IPv6 enablement

    Jun 6, 2012Labels: World IPv6, ISPs

    • World IPv6
    • Wikipedia

11. RIPE NCC starts allocating IPv4 only from last /8

    Sep 14, 2012Labels: RIPE NCC, last 8

    • RIPE NCC

12. ARIN IPv4 free pool reaches zero

    Sep 24, 2015Labels: ARIN, free pool

    • ARIN Vault

13. IPv6 becomes an Internet Standard (RFC 8200)

    Jul 1, 2017Labels: IETF, RFC 8200

    • IETF Datatracker
    • RFC Editor

14. RIPE NCC makes final IPv4 allocation from its pool

    Nov 25, 2019Labels: RIPE NCC, final allocation

    • Wikipedia

15. LACNIC exhausts its IPv4 pool

    Aug 19, 2020Labels: LACNIC, pool exhausted

    • LACNIC
    • LACNIC Phases

16. IPv6 Hop-by-Hop option processing updated (RFC 9673)

    Oct 1, 2024Labels: RFC 9673, Hop-by-Hop

    • IETF Datatracker

17. Google continues publishing global IPv6 adoption measurements

    Jan 1, 2025Labels: Google, adoption metrics

    • Google IPv6