[arin-ppml] The non-deployment of IPv6 - The Economic Factor

[Chris Engel]

Matthew Keller wrote:

"I'll go one step further - Deploying IPv6 across a perfectly-running enterprise network is excruciatingly daunting."

Matt,

Very much so....in point of fact....I would say for an established edge network right now, IPv6 is a solution looking for a problem.

That's not to say it might not be a real problem 2 years from now that needs to be addressed...but right now it's not. I'm not one to argue against trying to get ahead of the game if you have sufficient resources (time/money/manpower) to do so....and can do so with little disruption.... but I don't believe that's the position most enterprise admins/managers find themselves in these days. If you have a limited pool of resources and you can choose to spend them on solving the problem that keeps you in business 2 months from now....or spending them on solving the problem that keeps you in business 2 years from now....it's a no brainer which one of those you prioritize.

Furthermore, there is no real indication that switching to IPv6 native will be the best solution to the problem when it does come. There is no one size fits all solution. Every organizations business needs are different....and therefore the solutions that make sense for them can be different as well. Right now my gut tells me that an IPv4 to IPv6 gateway service seems to make sense for my particular business needs, if I can find one that provides the features I need. It's entirely possible I may be wrong on that (particularly not having a good idea what solutions along those might look like when the time comes that they are needed). Since I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet....I can always adjust plans if that is looking not to be the case as time gets closer.

What kind of amazes me is the strength of reaction that some of these posts get. After-all, what does it matter to anyone else what a network runs behind it's firewall....it could be IPv6, IPv4, IPX/SPX or smoke signals... as long as it serves their needs and they aren't bleeding stuff out onto the public net that trashes anyone else's network...what does it matter? If I didn't know better I swear some folks here were getting a nickel every time some-one configured a NIC with IPv6.








Christopher Engel