Re: [Int-area] I-D Action: draft-herbert-ipv4-udpencap-eh-00.txt

[Stewart Bryant <[e-mail]>]

On 05/03/2019 19:37, Brian E Carpenter wrote:
> On 06-Mar-19 04:55, Tom Herbert wrote:
>> On Tue, Mar 5, 2019 at 2:30 AM Stewart Bryant <[e-mail]> wrote:
>>>
>>> On 05/03/2019 01:37, Brian E Carpenter wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> This is an interesting draft, but I must say I have serious doubts about
>>>> the IETF working on any significant update to IPv4 at the IP header level,
>>>> or of any such updates ever making it into the operational network.
>>> This is something that worries me, in that the IETF seems to be
>>> deserting the IPv4 market sector before it is clear that the market is
>>> fully committed to an IPv6 only world.
>>>
>> Stewart,
>>
>> I agree. It's clear that IPv4 isn't going away any time soon (e.g.
>> https://www.internetgovernance.org/2019/01/04/is-there-hope-for-ipv6/).
>> Bringing beneficial features into IPv4 from Ipv6, like the
>> aforemention extension headers, could promote uniformity between the
>> versions and might help to facilitate transition to IPv6.
> Well, I worded my comment quite carefully. IPv4 will fade out over many
> years, and any attempt to actively kill it would backfire. But that
> doesn't mean that the intensively conservative enterprise network
> operators will rush to enable new features. Rather the opposite, in
> fact. That's why I give the UDP encapsulation approach a much better
> chance of success, whether the carrier is IPv6 or IPv4.
>
>     Brian

I certainly think that the UDP approach is a good one that will see 
greater exploration with time. The thing about UDP is that all the 
routers look at it anyway to do ECMP.

As to enterprises, for them it is all cost benefit, which is why they 
may "never" go IPv6 in many cases, but might be interested in enhanced IPv4.

As you may gather I think our "pilgrimage" to IPv6 means that we have 
taken our eye off the ball in terms of the needs of the users of 
Internet technology, which may remain IPv4 in some cases, and may move 
immediately to something beyond IPv6 in other cases.

- Stewart