FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hurricane Electric, the world’s leading IPv6-native Internet backbone and colocation provider, today announced that it is the first network in the world to connect to over 600 IPv6 networks, doubling its IPv6 network size in less than a year.

The majority of Internet traffic today is composed of IPv4 transmissions, but the IPv4 protocol’s 32-bit address will soon be overwhelmed by the rapidly growing number of Internet-connected devices.

In order to avoid projected address-space depletion by 2011, IPv4 systems must be transitioned to the newer IPv6 protocol, which has a vastly larger address space. In addition to providing distinct, globally-routable addresses for all devices connected to the Internet, the IPv6 protocol also mandates network-layer security and simplifies certain network configuration tasks.

“This rapid growth uniquely positions Hurricane Electric’s network to be able to provide the best native IPv6 connectivity to our business partners in strategic locations all over the world,” said Martin Levy, Hurricane Electric’s Director of IPv6 Strategy.

In addition to expanding its own network, Hurricane Electric has expanded its free IPv6 Certification and Training program which allows network engineers, system administrators, and software developers to gain expertise in IPv6.

“We realized a few years ago that if we wanted to be able to provide production ready native service to our business customers that depend on the Internet, we needed to start deploying IPv6 early,” said Mike Leber, Hurricane Electric’s President. “Because of this foresight, we are now in a position to give our customers the service they need, to ensure they stay in business on the Internet as we all go through this transition.”

Hurricane Electric first deployed IPv6 on its global backbone in 2001, and the company now interconnects with more than 600 associated IPv6 backbones - approximately twice as many as its nearest rivals. Hurricane is one of the few global Internet backbones that is IPv6 native and does not rely on internal tunnels for its IPv6 connectivity. IPv6 at Hurricane Electric is a core service and every customer is provided IPv6 connectivity as well as classic IPv4 connectivity.

In July, as a fun way to bring attention to IPv4 depletion, Hurricane Electric released an IPv4 depletion App for the iPhone along with additional tools to educate CIOs and other stakeholders about the urgency of this transition.

Today’s announcement follows Hurricane Electric’s recent global expansion that includes new peering points such as SwissIX at Zurich, and SOLIX and STHIX at Stockholm.

About Hurricane Electric

Hurricane Electric is a leading Internet Backbone and Colocation Provider specializing in IP Transit (High Speed Internet Connections), Colocation and Dedicated Servers. Hurricane Electric operates its own global network, running multiple OC192s, OC48s and Gigabit Ethernet.

Founded in 1994, Hurricane Electric was started in a garage by founder and President Mike Leber in order to offer colocation, web hosting, dedicated servers and Internet connections. Hurricane Electric now operates an international backbone network and owns several datacenters, including its new 200,000 square-foot Fremont 2 colocation facility.

For additional information on Hurricane Electric, please visit http://www.he.net.