IPv6 cookbook - was RA vs. DHCPv6 discussion

[Paul Armstrong]

At 2010-06-09T12:34-0700, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
> But, all of the actual devices out there that comprise the Internet
> itself, well THOSE only speak ONE language - IP, and the IPv4
> version, mostly right now.  This mailing list exists at all because
> we are trying to force all those devices to change dialect and
> speak a new dialect of IP - IPv6.  We do this because we all
> know that the Internet won't work if protocols on it bifurcate,
> we do NOT want the Internet to turn into the next Tower of Babel.

A more current analogy: we don't want the Internet to turn into
measurement in the USA where there are two systems, one of which is easy
to use (metric) and one which is archaic ("english", "customary", insert
host of other names).

Doing this is insanely expensive and complicates the life of everyone
needlessly. Unfortunately, getting people to move from something that's
painful but known to something that's easy but requires a little bit of
learning is difficult.

If we let things get mired down with the IPv4 -> IPv6 we'll end up in a
dual-stacked world that's just as miserable as measurement in the USA.
It's not that it doesn't work, it's just utterly and needlessly painful.

Paul