Slashdot: UK ISP PlusNet Testing Carrier-Grade NAT Instead of IPv6

Fri Jan 18 22:00:14 UTC 2013

On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 4:46 PM, Jean-Francois Mezei
<jfmezei_nanog at vaxination.ca> wrote:
> Should NAT become prevalent and prevent innovation because of its
> limitations, this means that innovation will happen only with IPv6 which
> means the next "must have" viral applications will require IPv6 and this
> may spur the move away from an IPv4 that has been crippled by NAT
> everywhere.

It won't happen and I'll tell you why not.

Client to client communication block diagrams:

Without NAT:
Client->Router->Router->Router->Router->Router->Client

With NAT:
Client->Router->Router->Relay->Router->Router->Client

At a high level, the two communication diagrams are virtually identical.

Add killer app. By it's nature, a killer app is something folks will
pay good money for. This means that 100% of killer apps have
sufficient funding to install those specialty relays.

Odds of a killer app where one router can't be replaced with a
specialty relay while maintaining the intended function: not bloody
likely.

Regards,
Bill Herrin

-- 
William D. Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/>
Falls Church, VA 22042-3004