On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:25 PM, Simón Ruiz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I appreciate your rant in that I wasn't aware that 10.0.0.0/8 is the > only standard way to use the 10.*.*.* range of IP addresses. I shall > try to remember this in the future.
So, I was thinking about this, and this may sound a little like Bill Gates scoffing at the need for more memory, but... How in the world would anyone need 16,777,216 machines on one subnet? I mean it's even hard to think of wanting more than 65,536 machines on one subnet, but 17 million? I can envision a private supernet that requires more than 256 subnets (thus making class B and C networks too small), but 17 million machines on one subnet seems...mindbogglingly illogical. 10.0.0.0/8 sounds to me like a wholly stupid subnet to ever use. On the other hand, if you ignore the standard, then "10" is an excellent, round, easily human-rememberable number, and then you have total freedom to use whatever numbering scheme you feel like using to distinguish your subnets. So, I can't say I'm surprised people don't stick to the RFC standard. Using 10.*.*.* as a blank slate to do with whatever you will is an infinitely more useful idea than having it reserved for effectively one infinitely huge subnet. So, accepting that this usage is a violation of the technical standard: If *most* people use it in that way, then we might not be following the RFC, but by the usage of the word that most English-speakers would understand, the RFC—while a technical standard—is a codification of non-standard behavior. IMHO, any manufacturer that is *that* out of touch with the market that they would create devices that would function incorrectly within the most popular usage of the 10.*.*.* range deserves to get them sent back for being defective, even if they stick to the RFC standard in this case. Just a thought. A thoroughly biased, Devil's Advocate type, thought. ;-) Simón _______________________________________________ Fwlug mailing list [email protected] http://fortwaynelug.org/mailman/listinfo/fwlug_fortwaynelug.org
