[ipv6-ops] Re: So why is "IPv4 with longer addresses" a problem anyway?

[Fred Baker]

On May 26, 2010, at 2:32 PM, Mark Smith wrote:

> IMHO, if the Internet was running IPX (32 bit network number, 48 bit node address), we'd still be running it, and wouldn't now have the problem of running out of addresses. 

well, yes, but we might have some issues with route scaling. IPX enumerates LANs, not edge networks or the ISPs that serve them. 

We could make the same comment about CLNS and NSAPs; CLNS enumerates networks, and within them, subnets and hosts. The networks would be the edge networks, not the ISPs that serve them.

IPv6 isn't perfect. The nice thing about it is that we can reasonably enumerate hosts, subnets (/64), edge networks (/48 or longer), and ISPs (/32 or thereabouts).