Dan,
>
> Actually, I'm not sure I do agree. I can imagine address allocation and
> routing protocols which would vest far less power in the existing oligopoly,
> thus promoting true competition.
>
> |The best we can do is design tools that, when applied
> |to a competitive environment, will yield the desired results.
>
> Designing tools that yield the desired results only when applied to a
> competitive environment (assuming there is no valid technical reason
> for the limitation) is at best bad engineering. Doing so when there
> is good evidence that the competitive environment will not exist begins
> to look disingenuous.
>
Sure, if one doesn't accept that routing aggregation is important then
of course we can go back to PI space just like good old IPv4. If in fact
aggregation isn't important then it would be disingenuous to continue down
a design path that puts ISPs in the driver's seat to the detriment of end
users. I don't follow the research in this area well enough to know whether
or not there are serious alternatives to routing aggregation techniques like
CIDR. If there are then I would be very happy to forget all about site-local
addresses and PA address space. Life would be a lot simpler.
> |The desired
> |results in this case would be an end to the proliferation of NATs.
>
> Provided we maintain the functionality. Buggering applications to make
> NAT impossible in order to force users to pay ISPs for more global addresses
> is not an acceptable approach.
>
Sure.
> |Ensuring
> |the competitive environment is definately out of scope for the IETF. That
> |doesn't mean we have to completely ignore market realities when designing
> |the tools.
>
> It is a difficult line to tread. However, as long as anyone is suggesting
> that we must avoid doing things which would work around the ISPs' "desires"
> I think it is also valid to talk about the end users' requirements...
>
Agreed.
Tim Hartrick
Mentat Inc.
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