[arin-ppml] Policy Proposal 2008-6: Emergency TransferPolicyforIPv4 Addresses - Last Call

[Ron Cleven]

>>The stupidity of this discussion is breathtaking.  ARIN has 
>>yet to even begin to change its IPV4 billing policy to make 
>>the cost of IPV4 addresses uniform.  That, in turn, would 
>>strongly encourage the large ISP's (where much of the 
>>momentum for IPV6 transition needs to take
>>place) to begin the transition.  At the same time, it would 
>>not hurt the "little guy", as their costs would change very 
>>little, if any.
> 
> 
> You should raise this issue on the ARIN members mailing list.
> They are the ones who set the fees, not us.

I have posted the same opinion on that list, with similar:
	Don't worry, the change will happen.  Embrace the change.
		Spooky, eh?
	It is not ARIN's job.
		Yes, ARIN is not the whole world, but it does
		influence the half of the Internet with all the
		largest ISP's who are in a position to actually
		DO something pre-emptive, but appear not to care.
responses.

However, more to the point, everyone on this list seems to find it quite 
agreeable to pontificate about every other facet of the IPV4 runout. 
Why not discuss how to avoid it and how to ensure the transition will be 
as smooth as possible?  Would it not be better if large ISP's were busy 
making the transition EARLY?  Do people have something against actually 
planning the transition?  I realize it might be more entertaining to sit 
back and watch the chaos.  I am not nearly so sanguine about taking the 
"don't worry, it will all work out" position.  If that were the only 
position to take, I suppose I would, but the fact that it is completely 
unnecessary irks me just a little bit.


> 
> This is the public policy list where anyone concerned
> with ARIN policy can influence the ARIN Advisory Council
> to make changes to policies. However, the AC has no
> control over billing at all.
> 
> ARIN fees are controlled only by the ARIN members and
> the ARIN Board of Trustees.

Yes, I'm sure these issues have been discussed ad nauseum by them with 
stellar results.


> 
> Also, it is worth noting that it is not ARIN's responsibility
> to transition the Internet to IPv6. That responsibility lies
> collectively on the ISPs who make up the Internet, many of
> whom are not in the ARIN region.

So, I guess it is ok for them to continue with their policies that 
discourage, rather than encourage, the transition to IPV6?  If it's good 
for GM, it's good for the country.  Who was GM again?


> 
> 
>>If that timeframe is still within the IPV4 runout window, 
>>then great, the world may not end at that time, and ARIN, et 
>>al, still have time to institute coherent policies to make it 
>>happen in an ORDERLY fashion.
> 
> 
> When IPv4 addresses runout, the Internet will continue to 
> function as normal. A very few people and companies will
> be inconvenienced as they try to ADD CONNECTIVITY, and
> of course, a few ISPs will find themselves in a postion
> where they cannot grow their IPv4 networks and therefore
> can no longer grow their business using IPv4.
> 
> Even if everybody waits until this happens, before starting
> to offer commercial IPv6 services, it is still soon enough.
> The point that many have been making is that if an ISP begins
> IPv6 testing and deployment today, they will be in a position
> to take business away from lazy competitors when that day
> comes. This is not a bad thing and happens all the time in
> business and in society (Obama vs. George W.) so we don't
> need to change any policies to fix a non-existent problem.
> 

Ahh, the IPV4 to IPV6 transition is a non-existent problem?  Sorry, I 
didn't realize that.  Ok, never mind.  I can die peacefully now.



> 
>>Boss: So, when will we be ready to do some alpha/beta testing 
>>of the UI, stress testing, and parallel testing?
>>
>>Programmer: Oh, I don't see any need to do that.
>>
>>Boss: Wha?????
>>
>>Programmer: Our license for the old software expires at the 
>>end of the month, so we have to switch to the new system 
>>then.  No point in worrying about it until then.  It is 
>>inevitable, man.
> 
> 
> The fact is that many ISPs are already doing this kind of testing
> and raising issues with their vendors because of it. This kind of
> thing rarely is visible to the public, and IPv6 is no different.
> 

Yep, the little tests in the lab are pretty much working out all of the 
kinks of IPV4/IPV6 peaceful coexistence that will come up once IPV6 
begins to seriously roll out.


> The best thing that all of us can do is to ask all of our suppliers
> how and when their products will *FULLY* support IPv6. A steady
> stream of such requests from customers and propective customers,
> will spur any company into action. If the market demands IPv6,
> then it will come. It does help if the market is willing to switch
> vendors based on IPv6 support capability.
> 
> --Michael Dillon

I've actually made some of those calls, and most of the manufacturers 
are quite confident they'll be ready when IPV6 rolls out.  Unless there 
is a downturn in the economy or something and they have to lay off a 
bunch of programmers.  But that is unlikely, so, not to worry.  Be happy.


Let me put this a different way:

What would prevent Comcast, Earthlink, MSN, and AOL (just to pick a few) 
from doing a large-scale roll-out of IPV6 in 1 month?

What would prevent Comcast, Earthlink, MSN, and AOL from doing a 
large-scale roll-out of IPV6 in 3 months?

What would prevent Comcast, Earthlink, MSN, and AOL from doing a 
large-scale roll-out of IPV6 in 6 months?

What would prevent Comcast, Earthlink, MSN, and AOL from doing a 
large-scale roll-out of IPV6 in 1 year?

What would make the answer to the previous question "Nothing."?