I'm disappointed that this article shows a basic lack of understanding about IPv6.
I'm MORE disapointed that all the replies on slashdot show they underestand EVEN LESS ABOUT IPv6 Here's the issue: A host's IPv6 address will be 128-bits long. the last 48 bits are going to be the same as their Ethernet ("MAC") address.
Therefore, if I plug my laptop in at work, it will have one address, and if I plug my laptop in at a Internet Cafe, it will get a different address. However, the last 48 bits of both addresses will be the same.
Someone had the mistaken impression that the entire IPv6 address would stay the same no matter what. That's not true. That would make routing very difficult.
Someone else pointed out that the Ethernet "MAC" address of a host can be changed in software. Yes, that is true for newer NICs. However, the average user will not know how to do that.
So, the big issue is that other people will be able to trace a computer as it moves from network to network. In IPv4 one could trace an IP address back to a particular ISP or company... but then you had to rely on the local admins to break any confidentiality to get to the exact machine.
With IPv6 if you catalog the last 48 bits of all the hosts that connect to you, you will eventually be able to coorelate where hosts are moving.
Is this a requirement of IPv6? Not really. This was done to make host configuration without DHCP possible. (There is a DHCPv6, but it only adds features to the native host configuration "AutoConfig" stuff built into IPv6). A IPv6 stack could choose to pick random numbers instead of using MAC addresses. It would just be a simple matter of programming.
Oh, there is one more point I'd like to debunk. That IPv6 development is U.S. Department of Defense funded. Well, they fund a little of everything, so don't get all worried. Heck, they funded the original IPv1 thru IPv4 development too. So deal.
The article isn't even funny. If it were humorous, it would draw insightful comparisons between the OSI model and the Taco Bell product. Instead, it just describes both. Oh, that took brain work! NOT!
The opening, however, is absolutely not funny. It says "If you aren't sterotypical macho male, you aren't worthy of respect." A lot of your most famous computer scientists are gay or bisexual... so learn your history and get some respect.
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I'm MORE disapointed that all the replies on slashdot show they underestand EVEN LESS ABOUT IPv6 Here's the issue: A host's IPv6 address will be 128-bits long. the last 48 bits are going to be the same as their Ethernet ("MAC") address.
Therefore, if I plug my laptop in at work, it will have one address, and if I plug my laptop in at a Internet Cafe, it will get a different address. However, the last 48 bits of both addresses will be the same.
Someone had the mistaken impression that the entire IPv6 address would stay the same no matter what. That's not true. That would make routing very difficult.
Someone else pointed out that the Ethernet "MAC" address of a host can be changed in software. Yes, that is true for newer NICs. However, the average user will not know how to do that.
So, the big issue is that other people will be able to trace a computer as it moves from network to network. In IPv4 one could trace an IP address back to a particular ISP or company... but then you had to rely on the local admins to break any confidentiality to get to the exact machine.
With IPv6 if you catalog the last 48 bits of all the hosts that connect to you, you will eventually be able to coorelate where hosts are moving.
Is this a requirement of IPv6? Not really. This was done to make host configuration without DHCP possible. (There is a DHCPv6, but it only adds features to the native host configuration "AutoConfig" stuff built into IPv6). A IPv6 stack could choose to pick random numbers instead of using MAC addresses. It would just be a simple matter of programming.
Oh, there is one more point I'd like to debunk. That IPv6 development is U.S. Department of Defense funded. Well, they fund a little of everything, so don't get all worried. Heck, they funded the original IPv1 thru IPv4 development too. So deal.
The Lucent 400G is shipping and it transmits 3.2 terabit/sec!
The article isn't even funny. If it were humorous, it would draw insightful comparisons between the OSI model and the Taco Bell product. Instead, it just describes both. Oh, that took brain work! NOT!
The opening, however, is absolutely not funny. It says "If you aren't sterotypical macho male, you aren't worthy of respect." A lot of your most famous computer scientists are gay or bisexual... so learn your history and get some respect.
WE AREN'T GOING AWAY!
--Tom