[arin-discuss] [ppml] Counsel statement on Legacy assignments?(fwd)

[Michael Sinatra]

Mike Horwath wrote:


> If auditing were to occur, there could eventually be a nice increase
> in the amount of available IPv4 space for assignment, allowing for
> more allocations, and the cleanup of legacy/free ride blocks into
> revenue generating income for the non-profit that is ARIN.  This would
> give what is needed to lower the cost *per block* to the companies and
> organizations that pay today, and pave the way for more tools and
> systems for IPv6.

If by "nice increase," you mean two or three fat juicy /8s and the dregs 
of the swamp /24s, then that doesn't really seem worth it to me.  As of 
this past summer, the IPv4 available pool consisted of 49 /8s, and we 
don't think that's going to last us more than a few years.  Given the 
legal issues (regardless of who ends up being legally correct, there 
_will_ likely be a fight), the effort to audit and reclaim legacy space, 
whether it's MIT's space or Interop's or GE's or the US Government's, so 
that we can squeeze the last muddy drops out of the IPv4 pool and get 
6-12 more months of IPv4 just doesn't make sense to me.  We're better 
off putting our energies into IPv6.  No, it's not our savior, but to 
paraphrase Paul Vixie, it's all we have right now.

I'd prefer that the communities' energies (and ARIN's) go to promoting 
IPv6 traction rather than scraping the bottom of the IPv4 barrel, 
especially when we don't _really_ know what's down there.

michael