nanog mailing list archives
RE: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies
From: "Matthew Kaufman" <matthew () eeph com>
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 13:01:35 -0800
Michael Dillon:
Do you suppose that if a Microsoft salesman had given me a free copy of Windows back in 1990, I would have a right to use any version of Windows for free forever?
Any version? No. That version, particularly its fixed representation as an unchanged string of binary digits? Probably, but maybe not.. But that's because Microsoft can copyright long strings of binary digits as software and sell you a restricted license to use it. Note that small integers, unlike software, aren't easy to copyright, trademark, or "own" in any of the other traditional senses. Back in the early 1990s, I proposed to number my machines that I planned to attach to the Internet with small integers chosen from a small range. Conveniently, at the time, there was an organization that helped, at no charge to the end users, to make sure that no two people chose the same numbers, and so I allowed them to help make sure there was no conflict. Since that time, I've arranged to have those numbers listed in one or more BGP announcements on the global Internet. And, over that time, nobody else that I've noticed has also tried to use and announce the same numbers... I suppose if that sort of thing happened a lot, the Internet would be much less stable and useful (and filled with lawyers, no doubt, arguing over their proposed "solutions" to the problem), so it is nice that nobody has chosen to do so. If there ever comes a time when there's an actual shortage of unique numbers that are routable, I suspect things will get more Interesting. Matthew Kaufman matthew () eeph com
Current thread:
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security), (continued)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Andre Oppermann (Nov 23)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Steven J. Sobol (Nov 22)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Randy Bush (Nov 22)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Steven J. Sobol (Nov 22)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies Florian Weimer (Nov 24)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies Valdis . Kletnieks (Nov 25)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies Florian Weimer (Nov 26)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies Michael . Dillon (Nov 25)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies Florian Weimer (Nov 25)
- RE: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies Matthew Kaufman (Nov 25)
- RE: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) william(at)elan.net (Nov 22)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Randy Bush (Nov 23)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) George Michaelson (Nov 23)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Steven M. Bellovin (Nov 23)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) william(at)elan.net (Nov 23)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) George Michaelson (Nov 23)
- Re: BGP Security and PKI Hierarchies (was: Re: Wifi Security) Steven M. Bellovin (Nov 23)