Accurate history [Re: "professional" in an IETF context]

[Brian E Carpenter <[e-mail]>]

On 03-Nov-21 05:45, Vasilenko Eduard wrote:
> +1.
> It was a big mistake to break OSI model and include L2 address (MAC) inside L3 address (IPv6).

I think you are not familiar with the CLNP NSAPA GOSIP addressing model. As RFC1526 clearly explains, the CLNP address architecture proposed for the Internet embodied an ID field that could be an IEEE MAC address (see section 3.1 in particular). That's how DECnet/OSI worked, too. (And Novell Netware, copied from Xerox PUP, a.k.a. XNS.)

We didn't break the OSI model, we copied it.

> Half of the address bits were wasted.

No, we *doubled* the address size to accomodate the ID field. Most people at the time expected a 64 bit address. I believe that it was the 20 byte GOSIP address that made the 16 byte IPv6 address thinkable.

    Brian

> Many people are coming and coming asking that they would like too to get some bits of IPv6 address for some new protocol.> Eduard