nanog mailing list archives
Re: IPv6 Confusion
From: Nathan Ward <nanog () daork net>
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:05:08 +1300
On 18/02/2009, at 8:28 AM, Tony Hain wrote:
One last comment (because I hear "just more bits" a lot in the *nogcommunity)... Approach IPv6 as a new and different protocol. If you approachit as "IPv4 with more bits", you will trip over the differences and bepissed off. If you approach it as a "different protocol with a name that starts with IP" and runs alongside IPv4 (like we used to do with decnet, sna, appletalk...), you will be comforted in all the similarities. You will also hear lots of noise about 'lack of compatibility', which is just another instance of refusing to recognize that this is really a different protocol. At the end of the day, it is a packet based protocol that moves payloadsaround.
Having taught a bunch of IPv6 courses opening with a photo of Gaurab and his "96 more bits, no magic" tshirt and then having dealt with the confusion once we get in to the nitty gritty details, I am inclined to agree with you here.
The intention of these sorts of statements is to remove the "I will have to learn IP all over again" fear (and the associated "it's too hard" etc.), but you are right, this has been causing people to get a bit surprised when stuff does not work the same as IPv4.
I suppose it is fair to say that in the core of the network, it is essentially 96 more bits, and no magic. The access network is where this becomes a bit of a confusing statement.
Anyway, comments taken on board, I'll have a think about how to do this differently.
-- Nathan Ward
Current thread:
- Re: IPv6 Confusion, (continued)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Mark Andrews (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Valdis . Kletnieks (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Mark Andrews (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Leen Besselink (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion David Conrad (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Mark Andrews (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion David Conrad (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Zaid Ali (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Randy Bush (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Mark Andrews (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Nathan Ward (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Joe Provo (Feb 17)
- RE: IPv6 Confusion Tony Hain (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Randy Bush (Feb 17)
- RE: IPv6 Confusion Steven Lisson (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Randy Bush (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Brandon Galbraith (Feb 17)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Randy Bush (Feb 17)
- RE: IPv6 Confusion Frank Bulk (Feb 19)
- Re: IPv6 Confusion Jack Bates (Feb 19)
- RE: IPv6 Confusion Frank Bulk (Feb 19)