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Why the Journey To IPv6 Is Still the Road Less Traveled

Posted by samzenpus on from the that-has-made-all-the-difference dept.

alphadogg writes The writing's on the wall about the short supply of IPv4 addresses, and IPv6 has been around since 1999. Then why does the new protocol still make up just a fraction of the Internet? Though IPv6 is finished technology that works, rolling it out may be either a simple process or a complicated and risky one, depending on what role you play on the Internet. And the rewards for doing so aren't always obvious. For one thing, making your site or service available via IPv6 only helps the relatively small number of users who are already set up with the protocol, creating a nagging chicken-and-egg problem.

3 of 390 comments (clear)

  1. How about basic security? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    IPv6 has a number of weaknesses:

    1: No encryption. This was promised, but in reality, transport encryption is still at the SSL/TLS level.

    2: Attackers can view your entire IP space. A simple nmap scan, then choosing what zero days to use... instant pwn-ership.

    3: Untested stack, relatively. The IPV6 versions of land, teardrop, ping of death, and other attacks have yet to be found.

    4: Support is spotty. Using IPv6 on the edge means most people around the world can't touch the websites.

  2. Re:IPv6 and Rust: overhyped and unwanted! by Cramer · · Score: 1, Troll

    End-to-end connectivity.

    Something we've gone out of our way to intentionally break (read: FIREWALLS) on purpose for decades.

  3. Why? Because IPv6 isn't an extension by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    The original article adds no insights to the real issue, but Dan J. Bernstein outlines the issue
    nicely in http://cr.yp.to/djbdns/ipv6mess.html

    Choice quote: " Unfortunately, the straightforward transition plan described above does not work with the current IPv6 specifications. The IPv6 designers made a fundamental conceptual mistake: they designed the IPv6 address space as an alternative to the IPv4 address space, rather than an extension to the IPv4 address space. "