Subject: Re: Why IPv6 is a must?

From: Keith Moore <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 18:41:49 -0500

> Devices that are meant to be local-use only can use local scope
> addresses. 

the whole concept of a local-use-only device is somewhat odd.
how can the device manufacturer make assumptions about his customers' 
network topology?  or about the placement of security threats relative
to that topology?

> In addition, to get to an IPv6 node such as a water meter,
> you need to get the address right -- the whole 128 bits of it. If a
> device uses the "privacy addresses" of IPv6, then the low level 64 bits
> are essentially random. Getting to the device by some form of net-scan
> can prove to be very long, will plenty of opportunity for the network
> police to detect the attack.

the nice thing about "privacy addresses" is that they can be used
when appropriate for a device or application, and avoided when they're
not appropriate. ideally this should happen on a per-application basis.

Keith

---

From: "Anthony Atkielski" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 02:30:42 +0100

Keith writes:

> the whole concept of a local-use-only device is
> somewhat odd.  how can the device manufacturer
> make assumptions about his customers' network
> topology?

Imagine where we would be if this assumption were made in the assignment of MAC
addresses for Ethernet cards.  The Net would be a much different and much more
confusing place, if it existed at all.