In (msg07061 - "Re: [rrg] ILNPv6 Mobility problem") Steven Blake wrote:

> Name one modern device that doesn't have a unique hardware ID that
> could be used to form a global-scope EUI-64?

What really matters is whether this is a reasonable basis for the future.

Since not every host has or will have a MAC address, your proposed
algorithm would need to work from a variety of different types of
hardware ID.

How then to have an algorithm which partitions the namespace of the
64 bit result so that there's no way a host with MAC address XYZ will
create the same 64 bit Identifier as another host which doesn't have
a MAC address, but which has, for instance, a cell-phone identity
number, or perhaps a PSTN phone number, which your algorithm
processes to the same result as for the XYZ MAC address?

I guess it could be done, but you would need to divvy up the 2^64
member namespace carefully, and allow for all future types of
hardware ID which might be needed.

I think a better approach would be some kind of hierarchical system
of assigning Identifier space to organizations, just like IP address
space today.  Then each host can be configured to use a given
Identifier, or to obtain one from which ever organisation it uses for
the the purpose of gaining an Identifier.

But I am opposed to Identifiers anyway - so I won't argue the point.
 I just want to break it out of the previous thread.

To see why I oppose Locator Identifier Separation:

  "Overloading" of Loc & ID functions is good for hosts and should be
  maintained
  http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/rrg/current/msg07017.html

and:

    http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/rrg/current/msg06219.html

for my goals and attempt at writing a Recommendation.  No-one has yet
responded to these.

  - Robin
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