[ppml] Policy Proposal: IPv4 Soft Landing

[David Conrad]

Hi,

On May 14, 2007, at 1:39 PM, Kevin Kargel wrote:
> I still think that all we have to do is do nothing with IPv4, stop
> improving and adding management, let it die a slow death by attrition,
> while at the same time making IPv6 easier to use and educating  
> people on
> the network enhancements that IPv6 provides.

This would appear to be what I call the "cruise control" model of  
dealing with IPv4 exhaustion.  The analogy is that you're driving  
down a road that you know has a brick wall at the end.  Some folks  
are building a parallel highway right next to the road you're on.   
Not doing anything is approximately equivalent to putting the car on  
cruise control, leaning back, and hoping somebody builds an off ramp  
to the new highway before you hit the wall.

My concern this approach is that I don't believe it is feasible.  The  
problem is that people in the backseat are beginning to notice there  
is a wall in front of us and if we don't do something, the backseat  
drivers are going to do something we probably don't want them to do.   
I believe we need a coherent plan to deal with IPv4 exhaustion that  
gives people a clear idea of what is going to happen and what they  
need to do.

> What we will see is that the big money boys with R&D teams and budgets
> will migrate to IPv6,

Or not, and folks will use IPv4 and NAT/ALG.

> Just as consumers naturally migrated from Beta to VHS because of
> content, from LP's to tape to CD because of content, and from Win98 to
> WinXP because of content and services and support, so will consumers
> migrate to IPv6 when it is easier and offers advantages.

I don't disagree and that's why I put in the requirements for ISPs to  
document support for IPv6 services and connectivity in order to  
obtain additional IPv4 support.

> It would be much better for the internet community if we avoided the
> temptations of ego and control, and concentrated on architecture more
> than management.  Build the product before we try to force the market.

The challenge is there is little incentive to build the product  
because there is no market.

Rgds,
-drc