YouTube, Netflix Dominate IPv6 Traffic

5:40 PM If native IPv6 traffic were the measuring stick, YouTube, Netflix and a dash of Facebook would represent almost the entire Internet

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

June 7, 2012

2 Min Read
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5:40 PM -- Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is hungry for more IPv6 traffic, but it certainly can't pin any of the blame on YouTube Inc. and Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX). (See Comcast: More IPv6 Traffic Please .)

They're doing their part as, together, they represent almost all of the native IPv6 traffic in the early going, according to some preliminary data released by Sandvine Inc. Thursday, the day after World IPv6 Launch Day. (See IPv6 Launch Day: Should Milestones Be Boring?)

Sandvine notes that there was a slight uptick in IPv6 traffic on June 6, just as Comcast witnessed, but points out that the big spike occurred in late May, when Netflix and Facebook enabled their sites. YouTube's had IPv6 enabled for much longer, so it's been the driving force in the category for a while:



But even with Facebook 's recent entry, YouTube (57 percent of distribution) and Netflix (32.56 percent) rule the native IPv6 world. Here's how Sandvine data sees the IPv4 and IPv6 domains stacking up:



Sandvine also noticed that it appears as though Netflix may have created its own IPv6-specific domain, rather than operating a single domain with IPv6 and IPv4 records, meaning (tsk, tsk...) Netflix "might not be in full compliance with the spirit" of World IPv6 Launch Day.

But we won't hammer them too hard. At least Netflix is on the board, while IPv6 is hardly on the radar for most of the Web. That may change, though, as Vint Cerf and the gang try to nag everyone else to get with the program posthaste. (See IPv6 Hoopla Not Over Yet.)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable

About the Author

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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