RIPE our of IPv4

Fri Nov 29 02:49:19 UTC 2019

----- On Nov 27, 2019, at 8:03 PM, Doug Barton dougb at dougbarton.us wrote:

> I don't understand how you're using "teams" here. For the most part you
> turn it on, and end-user systems pick up the RA and do the right thing.
> If you want something fancier, you can do that with DHCP, static
> addressing, etc. In other words, this works the exact same way that IPv4
> does.

Different teams support different parts of the business. Also, most large enterprises today have been through multiple acquisitions, with different systems that are somehow merged into each other. Those that know how it works have left a long time ago, and those that don't won't touch it. 

>> - Modifying old (ancient) internal code;
> 
> What code? IPv4 isn't going away on the inside, so what needs to be
> modified? If you're talking monitoring software, etc., if you're still
> using software that doesn't understand IPv6, you're way overdue for an
> upgrade already.

There can be many things that need to be modified. And I'm not saying an upgrade is not long overdue, I'm saying it must make sense on the business side before the engineering side gets the go ahead to spend time and resources (and thus, cash) on it.

>> - Modifying old (ancient) database structures (think 16 character fields for IP
>> addresses);
> 
> Either see above, or much more likely you'd be adding a field, not
> modifying the existing one.

Yeah, maybe yes, maybe no. That will be part of a feasibility/cost study.

>> - Upgrading/replacing load balancers and other legacy crap that only support
>> IPv4 (yeah, they still exist);
> 
> If we're talking about an enterprise that is seriously still using stuff
> this old, it's more likely than not that IPv6 is the least of their
> worries. And I'm not being flippant or disrespectful here. For at least
> the last 10 years or so, and definitely in the last 5, all of the
> enterprise level network gear sold has had support for IPv6. 

Let me give you one example: old APC remotely accessible powerstrips. Plenty in use today. IPv4 only.

>> Execs have bonus targets. IPv6 is not yet important enough to become part of
>> that bonus target: there is no ROI at this point.
> 
> That depends heavily on what enterprise you're talking about.
> 
> The point I'm trying to make is that there IS an ROI here.

You are preaching to the choir here. I have made those points many times. However, the ROI is in the distant future, and won't be easily measurable. So execs just don't prioritize; they are motivated by their own targets for the year so they get their bonuses. And let's be honest: can you blame them?

Again, I'm not saying there is no need to implement it, I'm saying that the reality is that large businesses have not prioritized it enough because it is difficult to measure the need and ROI. And that's a problem I have, unfortunately, witnessed firsthand over the course of my career at different employers.

Thanks,

Sabri