[arin-ppml] A modest proposal for IPv6 address allocations

[michael.dillon at bt.com]

> No, its just a larger binary number.

It's not a number, it is a 128 bit string.

> The part that appears to get people uneasy is that the orders 
> of magnitude larger than ipv4 ipv6 is supposed to be keeps shrinking. 
> Nobody is concerned that we will face exhaustion in our 
> lifetime. Its the grandkids lifetime where the possibility 
> now seems feasible.

First of all, this is not true that people are unconcerned.
People *ARE* concerned which is why policy proposal 2005-8 
was introduced <https://www.arin.net/policy/proposals/2005_8.html>
and why it was eventually adopted. For more detail on the
concerns raised see
<http://www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-50/presentations/ripe50-plenary-
wed-ipv6-roundtable-report.pdf>

That said, ARIN's job is not to create the most perfect
system which will solve network addressing for all time.
If our grandchildren need to reinvent network protocols
to entirely replace IPv6 as the foundation of their 
Internet, that is their business. It is not our job to
create a problem-free future for our grandchildren,
because, without tough problems to solve, they would 
cease to be human.

> Geoff Huston has a couple of excellent articles regarding 
> this, we seem to keep revolving around the same thought track.
> 
> http://www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-50/presentations/ripe50
> -plenary-wed-ipv6-roundtable-report.pdf

Indeed! 
See reference above, in particular the policy proposal
which was ADOPTED by ARIN to address the issue and give
us around a hundred years before there is the possibility
that we will run out. Of course by then there will be
numerous other technical and social changes in the world
and perhaps we will need less IPv6 addresses. We simply
don't know and it is a waste of time to take any more
action today.

By all means, keep the issue in mind, because maybe in 
10 years we will need to address it by changing the
possibility of /56 to residential customers into a 
requirement. But the people, 10 years from now, who
look at this issue will be far better equipped than
we are to make a decision. They will have the benefit
of 10 years of experience with IPv6 deployment.

--Michael Dillon