Why do I need more bits to support more subnets? Since my IPv6 addresses are going to be assigned via DHCP and since I have not the slightest intention of using the MAC address as the low order bits that appear on the Internet proper, I don't see why I would be requiring more than 2^32 devices in my home within the next 20 years, nor for that matter can I imagine how I could usefully employ more than 2^16 different subnets. And since an ARIN initial allocation can always be extended if by chance I do run out I don't see the problem. An IPv6 network is not like an IPv4 network, there are no static IP allocations, the network can renumber at any time. Being parsimonious in address allocations helps to constrain the size of router tables. I presume that the registries will issue contiguous allocations as a matter of preference. Router manufacturers will therefore be able to employ compression techniques to reduce the size of the tables, unless of course some toerag has patented the obvious idea. > -----Original Message----- > From: michael.dillon@xxxxxx [mailto:michael.dillon@xxxxxx] > Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 6:01 AM > To: ietf@xxxxxxxx > Subject: RE: IPv6 addresses really are scarce after all > > > I know the reasons behind the /48 etc but it just going to cause us > > trouble to keep it like that, we should divide the > > /48 cateogry of users into two: > > - people that can get the current /48 as long as they have > more than > > ONE subnet > > - people that only have ONE subnet, typical home-users (end-users, > > including your grandmother), they should get a > > /56 or whatever else bigger than /60 and smaller than /48. > > ARIN already has done something like that but the /56 is not > for sites with ONE subnet because IPv6 already defines /64 > for that. Instead they define /56 as the right size for sites > expected to need only a few subnets over the next 5 years. > This came about due to requests for a smaller assignment size > for consumer customer, i.e. individual homes and apartments. > > During the discussion it became clear that even if the > majority of homes today only have one subnet, this is likely > to change as more categories of networkable device become available. > > --Michael Dillon > > _______________________________________________ > Ietf mailing list > Ietf@xxxxxxxx > https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf > _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf