[AfriNIC-rpd] Re: Proposal: Reclamation of allocated but unrouted IPv4 addresses.

[James Blessing]

On 10/02/2011 15:26, Jackson Muthili wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 11:04 AM, Andrew Alston<aa at tenet.ac.za>  wrote:
>> Secondly, I have to wonder if we are not perhaps flogging a dead horse
>> here.  The simple fact is, even if you reclaimed a load of space, would you
>> really be able to make a difference, particularly in the AfriNIC region,
>> where the rest of the world is likely to have run out of IPv4 space and gone
>> IPv6 only for large portions of the Internet at least a year or two before
>> the current AfriNIC allocations are depleted?
>
> Many contend that it will be a while before IPv6 is accepted. Some say
> it could take decades. They may be right. Policies to extend
> availability of IPv4 can not be taken lightly. If IPv6 were an
> acceptable medium to long term solution, it would have been massively
> deployed by now.

This is like having an argument about who's going to be organizing the 
reorganisation of the deckchairs on the Titanic whilst the water is 
ruining your deck shoes.

IPv4 has effectively depleted, whilst within AfriNIC its likely to have 
little impact in the short term, now is the time to adopt IPv6, if 
anything it might be beneficial to AfriNIC to return the /8 to IANA as 
being not required in an effort to increase the speed of transition.

Whilst I think that the proposal to sell the last /8 might be a little 
extreme, looked at in pure 'good of the internet' terms increasing the 
pace of transition is probably a 'good thing'.

J
-- 
James Blessing
+44 7989 039 476
Strategic Relations Manager, EMEA
Limelight Networks