Important IPv6 Policy Issue -- Your Input Requested

Fri Nov 12 00:47:37 UTC 2004

--On torsdag 11 november 2004 09.36 -0600 Adi Linden <adil at adis.on.ca>
wrote:

> RFC1918 address space is free and plentiful for my purposes. It is
> provider independent. It is globally unique in the sense that no other
> publically routed network is using them. My globally unique address will
> come from my provider of the day. NAT is my technology of choice to
> connect to the global internet, but other solutions are possible.

You are probably going to fare well behind your D-Link residential plastic
box. Most people do, as long as they accept the spoon-feeding media model
and stay away from potentially dangerous things like trying to challenge
who gets to publicise things and whatnot. 

Anyway, there are other issues with non-unique addresses. Enterprises
*WILL* use them, in large,
expensive-to-renumber-since-we're-stupid-and-don't-use-DNS schemes.
Enterprises merge. I'll gladly hand out the marshmallows to roast on the
crash-and-burn fire when "unique behind my firewall" isn't. 

> If I understand correctly, ipv6 will force me into using provider
> dependent globally unique address space. 

Yes, as long as you don't run a LIR. (One can argue whether this is The
Way, I don't agree, but basically, this is what stands for now)

> Unless my provider of the day is
> required to assign me address space that is and/or permanently assigned
> and portable it does not meet my needs. Why not? I am not willing to
> renumber when I change providers. 

You are stuck in a v4 model. Renumbering is fun and healthy. In a
residential setting, it should be near automagic. 

> I have no problem using NAT to obtain
> connectivity from provider B using providers A address space internally.

Your applications might have issues. Mine do, and I don't like them
complaining. Unique is Good(tm). 

> But that only works if provider A is prevented from reusing 'my' addresses
> if I terminate my contract.

They are not yours, and why bother anyway? Just digits. (if you say
"security", wrong answer, go back and relearn.)

> And what do I do if I build my network without ties to any provider? Can I
> go to ARIN to get globally unique address space, an ipv6 /48? Without
> RFC1918 that would be my only choice to prevent from overlapping my
> network with someone elses.

There is an issue here -- various schemes have been presented (research
ships, planes, anything) that are exotic at best, yet we can't completely
ignore them. However, I do not think non-unique prefixen are the way to go.
See above under "mergers". 

-- 
Måns Nilsson         Systems Specialist
+46 70 681 7204         KTHNOC
                        MN1334-RIPE
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 186 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.nanog.org/pipermail/nanog/attachments/20041112/2e0d2aed/attachment.sig>