[rpd] Pushing IPv6 ? Re: Questions about IP Allocation rate

[Hendrik Visage]

On 14 Oct 2025, at 11:35, Noah <noah at neo.co.tz> wrote:




On Tue, 14 Oct 2025, 11:31 am Hendrik Visage, <hvisage at hevis.co.za<mailto:hvisage at hevis.co.za>> wrote:
Question:

 Shouldn’t we rather consider pushing IPv6 deployment assistance across Africa?

ie. let the rest of the IPv4 go ASAP without much resistance.

Let it go where?

Issued to (new)members without the onerous requirements … but yes, counterintuitive to the below

ARIN (North America) & RIPE (Europe) serviced areas are way ahead of IPv6 roll outs, ‘cause they don’t have any left,

Yes true but the operate dual-stack networks.

I’m seeing examples of IPv6 infrastructure examples, with IPv4 edges or IPv4aaS, so yeah, “dual” but the eyeballs dual


Have the global north networks returned the IPv4 address space back to ARIN and RIPE since its legacy to them and most of them are now IPv6 ready?

It is chickens and eggs situations ;(
As long as there are a “value” to IPv4s, they’ll get TRADED not returned ;)

so IPv6 percentage roll outs are very low,

Is needed to aid with IPv6 transition...

Yes, so change to: “You get the tiniest IPv4,  but we’ll be generous with IPv6… or we’ll just issue all IPv4 without asking, so we don’t have any IPv4 to issue… but here is a IPv6 !!”

and rathe we should be pushing to mirror the IPv6 percentage rollout and usage rather than fighting over the few remaining IPv4s if we want to grow digital rollouts.

Show me who in ARIN or RIPE returned their IPv4 address allocations back to the inventory after going full IPv6.

True, but when they return it, then somebody else will use/buy it, and… no incentive to move to IPv6 for new entrants ;(
That is also why they’ll rather TRADE (or lease) it as they get something back for those IPv4s

Perhaps even moving to a state of: “You can have IPv6, once you’ve proven a complete IPv6 rollout can you get anymore IPv4"

Good idea for those already with IPv4 space. Let us work out a policy around the above statement which I find reasonable.

:)

Yes, mostly spitballing and wondering about the options.

Though the quicker AfriNIC is in a position to say “we don’t have any more IPv4s” the quicker the IPv4 fighting and policy issues will be gone… and basically all the court cases will be mood points.

I’ll content (given I’m being on the receiving end of blocked resources) that the things NEW operators need from AfriNIC/RIR:

1) Working RIR w.r.t. ROA/RPKI/WHOIS/etc.
2) ASN - Without this you can’t peer!!!
3) IPv6 space - Now they have something to deploy a stable network

For the needs towards IPv4, there are “enough” floating IPv4 space, but without an ASN your network are hobbled to a single upstream… and without your own IPv6 your network deployment is… challenging - and in need of renumbering later as I need to do now.

So yes, IPv4 is a “thing” but there are enough free/etc. IPv4 space to trade/get in the open market… yes, paying somebody, but it pushed me to be a IPv6 only first network with IPv4 as an add on rather as a planned first!


---

Hendrik Visage

hvisage at hevis.co.za

HeViS.Co Systems Pty Ltd

https://www.envisage.co.za




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