[arin-ppml] What is a "host"?

[William Herrin]

On Thu, Sep 16, 2010 at 5:50 PM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:
> On Sep 16, 2010, at 1:13 PM, William Herrin wrote:
>> IPv6 already has a formal, accepted standard on the definition of
>> "host." The above isn't it.
>>
> True, but, the accepted standard definition isn't particularly useful
> for IP policy purposes.

Then don't use the word host in IPv6 policy. There are plenty of words
in the dictionary that haven't yet been given a standardized meaning
in IPv6. Pick one.

Better yet, don't use the concept of a host. It doesn't fit. Unlike
IPv4, IPv6 was deliberately designed to accommodate a functionally
infinite number of hosts on any given network segment. The addressing
driver is how many segments you need to break your network in to.

Regards,
Bill



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William D. Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
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