At the recent RIPE Meeting we presented some IPv6 address distribution statistics that we would like to share with a wider audience. In the article below, you can find recent statistics on IPv6 allocations and assignments.

The first image shows the number of IPv6 allocations the RIPE NCC made to LIRs in each quarter, starting in 2008. (Note that the RIPE NCC started allocating IPv6 address space from 1999. For a long-term overview of IPv6 allocations, please see the earlier article on CircleID: A Look at IPv6 Allocations Since 1999.) Each year is depicted in a different colour, the last one showing the number of allocations made in Q3 2012. The Y-axis shows the number of IPv6 allocations form 0 to 500.

Figure 1: Number of IPv6 allocations made by the RIPE NCC per quarter

We saw quite an increase in the number of IPv6 allocations in the last quarter of 2010 and the first two quarters of 2011. IANA handed out its last IPv4 address blocks to the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) in February 2011 and this seemed to have encouraged many LIRs to request IPv6 address space. After Q2 2011, the number of allocations decreased again, but it is still higher than it was before Q4 2010.

In the next image, you can see the number of IPv6 provider independent (PI) assignments the RIPE NCC made since 2009 (when the RIPE NCC started to assign IPv6 PI addresses). Again, each year is depicted in a different colour, the last one showing the number of allocations made in Q3 2012. The Y-axis shows the number of IPv6 assignments form 0 to 140.

Figure 2: Number of IPv6 PI assignments made by the RIPE NCC per quarter

You can see the same peak as in Figure 1, but after a small drop in Q3 2011, the numbers are now increasing again.

For more information, please refer to the background article on RIPE Labs: Update on IPv6 Address Distribution. This article details what affect the removal of the requirement to be multihomed had on the number of assignments and the relationship between the age of an LIR and the number of IPv6 addresses they have received.