On Thu, May 5, 2016 at 6:07 AM, Jari Arkko <jari.arkko@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> So - even though the DHCPv6 PD RFC uses the term "requesting router", a host can use DHCPv6 PD to receive a prefix as well. The host can pick some addresses for that prefix for its own use, originate/terminate packets on those addresses, and not forward packets addressed to any of the other addresses in the prefix.
Lorenzo: Personally, I think it would perhaps useful to consider a slight reformulation of the text, given that for things like tethering or virtual machines, hosts essentially become routers.
Personally I agree. I think hosts are routers that are currently not forwarding packets
However, this topic generated a lot of heat in the WG, with people arguing vocally on both sides. So it was not easy to come up with this text. There's also the fact that the IPv6 specification (RFC 2460 itself) defines hosts and routers, and if we made a statement on the matter, we might have had to formally update RFC 2460, which we did not want to attempt. (Bob, is this something that could be re-examined in 2460bis? I think defining a router as "a node that forwards packets" and a host as "a node that's not a router" is a bit simplistic these days, particularly when a node decides to enable forwarding between some set of its interfaces but not all.)
Going back to the text - Jari, do you have a suggestion on how to reword this? The main reason that text is there is because a small number of WG participants said, "we can't use DHCPv6 PD on hosts because DHCPv6 PD is for routers and hosts aren't routers". We wanted to clarify that.