Re: Interest in IPv6 Hop by Hop options

[" Rémi Denis-Courmont" <[e-mail]>]

Le mercredi 4 novembre 2009 18:40:26 Alan Davy, vous avez écrit :
> We are currently specifying an IPv6 hop by hop option which will be used
> to carry node related information along a path within a network domain.
> There has been previous proposals submitted to the IETF within this
> area, such as IPv6 Route Record [1] and Connection/Link Status
> Investigation[2]. We are aware of the reasons these proposals have been
> rejected previously, being mainly related to the problems of the hop by
> hop option and the operators unwillingness to share private data.

Every router and middlebox on the path needs to parse HBH, which causes severe 
challenge with some hardware and/or software architecture. Hence, I believe 
many, if not all, network gears vendors hate HBH.

With HBH, you can in principle extend IPv6 routing to do really anything. But 
then you need to upgrade all the routers. And that's simply not going to 
happen. So basically, HBH is only useful in the mythical "walled garden" 
networks.

-- 
Rémi Denis-Courmont
http://www.remlab.net/