Dual stack IPv6 for IPv4 depletion

Tim Franklin tim at pelican.org
Fri Jul 10 08:48:56 UTC 2015


> And I’m saying you’re ignoring an important part of reality.
> 
> Whatever ISPs default to deploying now will become the standard to which
> application developers develop.
> 
> Changing the ISP later is easy.

I'm not even convinced of that.  Once "/56" (or *any* value) is baked into the processes, hard-coded in systems all over the shop, assumptions made left, right and centre throughout the business, changing it will be hard.  Only the tech part of changing the ISP is easy.

It's the same reason it's so difficult to get IPv6 moving in some ISPs.  Making the kit dance the appropriate jig in (modulo a few Luddite vendors and legacy kit that Just Won't Die) is quite straight-forward.  Getting IT to update a field to not force [0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1-3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}, or to add a new field, without a revenue stream attached is *hard*.

(Yes, it's part of our job as technologists to explain why we should do it anyway.  That doesn't stop it being hard.)

Regards,
Tim.



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