From: Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 96 22:59:17 PST
To: Adam Shostack <adam@homeport.org>
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Policy Research -- hiring for cypherpunks
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960214070150.00af2350@mail.teleport.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 10:03 PM 2/13/96 -0500, Adam Shostack wrote:
>	IP addresses are a scarce resource today.  Try getting a /16
>allocation (what used to be a class B).  There are politics in the
>process already.

I know they are getting scarce.  I just find the "let's sell IP addresses on
the open market" do be a scary though.  it will make them less available.

>	Addresses will not be easily 'transferable.'  The IETF is
>discussing a 'Best Current Practices' document that talks about
>address portability.  Basically, it can't happen, because the routers
>only have so much memory, and the routers at the core of the internet
>can't keep in memory how to reach every one; there needs to be
>aggregation.  The only feasible aggregation seems to be provider
>based, ie, MCI, Alternet, and other large ISPs get blocks of
>addresses.  They give them to smaller companies, like got.net, which
>gives them to customers.  The result?  The core routers have a few
>more years.

A good point. Having parts of subnet shifting around could be pretty painful
from an admin point of view.

>	Lastly, 32 bit addressing is going away.  IPv6 offers 128 bit
>address space, and (hopefully) much more efficient allocation, as well
>as such useful things as hooks for automatic renumbering of address space.

I just hope that the AT&T scheme does not get put into place.  Otherwise it
will be just viewed like a stock split.  ("Wow!  We have more addresses to
sell!")

The AT&T plan as described sounds like something dreamed up by a marketing
droid as a way to "Make Money Fast Off Of The Internet".

What is the timeline for implementation of IPv6?

---
Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
                http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
  "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
"I, Caligula Clinton... In the name of the Senate and the people of Rome!"
   - Bill Clinton signing the CDA with the First Amendment bent over.