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IPv6 is Here
shawn(at)fsu writes "Reuters is running a story that Vinton Cerf of the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) says that "IPv6 been added to its root server systems" I like how they said that it will run along side IPv4 for 20 years to get rid of the bugs.
A few previous Slashdot stories out of many here, here and here"
That's optimistic.
Sounds like an open source project to me. I'm surprised they didn't just rename it to IPv0.4 so they could use the fact that it's pre-1.0 as a safety net for bugs, etc.
It seems like just yesterday, I was surfing the Web, telnetting ports and Cracking warez with little old IPv1, strange - we are on v6 now and I dont even remember 5. guess I'm suffering from geezer syndrome.
or does "virtually unlimited" seem like a very silly and shortsighted estimate of the number of possible addresses? Especially because the uses/monopolization of these addresses will probably grow in unforeseeable ways.
We Are Familiar With Elephants By Virtue Of Their Size.
Let's add "good netizens who want to be anonymous". Maybe I'm not thinking clearly, but I don't see a way of making the net spammer-proof without ending the concept of internet anonymity.
Imposing Libertarian views on everyone online since 1992.
What, can you think of better uses for a mole of IPs per square foot?
Having more IP addresses doesn't mean that they will be statically assigned, nor that they will be assigned on a "per-user" rather than on a "per-device" basis. Even if each individual were assigned a block of addresses for their devices (this packet comes from John's palm pilot, this from his cell phone, and that one from his refrigerator...) you'd still have the problem of multiple users with a single physical device (public library computers, internet cafes, office beer fridges...) so, unless each device includes biometric identification and logging, you'll never be able to attribute every internet communication to a human party, even when one exists. I won't even get into the privacy concerns there.
The vast majority of bad netizenship occurs at protocol levels above IP -- spammers abuse SMTP, advertisers abuse DHTML, hackers abuse various services running on open ports. While some of this bad netizenship can be addressed at lower protocol levels (e.g. by blackholing certian IP ranges) the real solution is in fixing the higher-level protocols.
I posted How the Internet is broken, how to fix it, and why that's not going to happen, a rant about IPv6 adoption, to my personal site.
Basic idea - include IPv6 over IPv4 tunneling software in Linksys routers. This would allow people to run IPv6 networks in their houses and talk to IPv6 networks elsewhere. This would fix a lot of problems that NAT introduces, and would sidestep the wait for IPv6 ISPs. It would also provide enough of a user base to encourage application developers to include IPv6 support.
Of course, this would kill Linksys' NAT router sales, so they have no incentive to do so, but I like to think it's a good idea.
Why can't I moderate something "Wrong" or at least "Grossly Misinformed"?
Um. IPv6 is big enough to give a Class A subnet to every living person on the planet.
It's big enough to route an entire IPv4 numberspace to every living person on the planet, and to each of their pets, favorite invisible friends, and pieces of furniture.
2^128 is a big, big number.
The point is, they'll be able to "waste" huge swaths of the that numberspace as they build the routing hierarchy, making the network more scalable.
I'm worried about remembering ssh 2031:0000:130F:0000:0000:09C0:876A:130B
- Peter
INsigNIFICANT
What do you young'uns need with all those IP addresses? In my day, we only had eight, and they were big and bulky. We didn't have any fancy network address translation, you had to put your 80 pound IP address in your wheelbarrow and roll it across town so Joe Billy Bob Joe Bob could use it! And ol' Joe Bob sure would give you a sound whuppin' if you was late with his IP address!
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.