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Can Large Scale NAT Save IPv4?

Julie188 writes "The sales pitch was that IPv6, with its zillions of new IP addresses, would eliminate the need for network address translation altogether. But Jeff Doyle, one of the guys who literally wrote the book on IPv6, suggests that not only will NAT be needed, but it will be needed to save IPv4 at the tipping point of IPv6 adoption. 'I've written previously that as we make the slow — and long overdue — transition from IPv4 to IPv6, we will soon be stuck with an awkward interim period in which the only new globally routable addresses we can get are IPv6, but most public content we want to reach is still IPv4. Large Scale NAT (LSN, also known as Carrier Grade NAT or CGN) is an essential tool for stretching a service provider's public IPv4 address space during this transitional period.'"

11 of 583 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hasn't it already? by santax · · Score: 4, Funny

    You know... you really should upgrade your toaster.

  2. Re:NOOOOOOO by smash · · Score: 2, Funny
    What about all the commodore c64 owners out there? XP is a turd that needs to be dropped. It is out of date, insecure and unsupported. If you don't like Windows 7, then change to something else - there are plenty of viable alternatives.

    Or - get off my internet.

    --
    I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
  3. Re:NOOOOOOO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Your UID is also the model number for the first mouse I ever bought for my C64. Eh, memories.

  4. Re:It would probably be good, here by Anpheus · · Score: 2, Funny

    You know there's probably a reason we haven't heard anything from them. :)

  5. Re:Hasn't it already? by bbn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are you betting on the ipv4 space usage magically decreasing ( right when everyone will start freaking out about getting their last allocations )?

    No no, there is always more to be found. That link of yours only show the _known_ reserves of addresses. They continue to find new fields of IP addresses and existing fields continue to find more than initially expected. This "peak IP" is never going to happen and you know it!

  6. Re:You mean like ipv6porn ? by radish · · Score: 3, Funny

    And the rest of the internet is giving it away to anyone who can access it with an ipv4 address. Fail!

    --

    ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  7. Re:Hasn't it already? by j+h+woodyatt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Haven't you heard? The IAB has known for decades that the default-free zone is continually making new IPv4 addresses as a natural function of the BGP protocol. The reason you've never heard about it is the evil telecom companies control the media and the NRO, and they don't want you to know the truth.

    --
    jhw
  8. Re:NOOOOOOO by skids · · Score: 2, Funny

    Using "!=" in prose isn't grammatically acceptable in third-grade English class, FWIW.

  9. Re:Pirates rejoice by virtigex · · Score: 3, Funny

    Um, everybody?

  10. IPv4.5 is the answer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's what we should have done 8 years ago in a firmware flash.

    Add 2 octets to the front of ipv4.
    1.1.x.x.x.x = the entire current internet.
    Any new addresses start at 1.2.x.x.x.x
    All the way up to 254.254.254.254.254.254.
    What's that? Around 250 trillion IP's?
    Sure beats the 4bn we're at now.

    Sure, it's not as elegant as IPv6, and it has all the problems of IPv4, but shit, we would have another 50 years or more to play with and no dodgy NAT solutions.
    The best thing is, every device ever made could have had a relatively straight forward firmware flash.

  11. Re:Large scale NAT is completely moronic. by Culture20 · · Score: 2, Funny

    But 99% of the people might not notice. They could give 99% of their customers NAT'ed service, and when someone calls and complains, apologize, and offer them a unique public ip for $500 extra per month, or if they upgrade to a "business class line" that permits them to have a dedicated static, addressable IP.

    FTFY