Leo Vegoda

I just sat in on a call/talk/presentation by Leo Vegoda (the guy who operates the IANA for ICANN) on IPv6. Overall, it was a great primer on IPv6, the exhaustion of IPv4 and the future of Internet addressing.

One idea that I would especially like to echo here is his suggestion for everyone to send an email to their ISP asking for IPv6 connectivity. The message should remind your ISP that as their customer you have choices and that you plan to use a service provider who can provide IPv6. This of course goes for not just ISPs but all types of IT service providers; web and email hosting, DNS, cloud services, etc. The sooner you can migrate to IPv6, the more experience you can gain with it before it is a hard requirement for everyone. If this is done properly, the impact to you and your customers should be minimal.

After Mr. Vegoda’s prepared slides there was some time for Q&A and among the many great questions I was able to get two of my own answered. I think that Leo’s responses were very thoughtful and so I will share them with you here as well. I am however paraphrasing both the questions and the answers for brevity and because my shorthand isn’t that great. =)

Q: As we move to IPv6 many ISPs and end users will need only one address allocation or assignment. This may remove the RIRs primary policy enforcement mechanism which has been to withhold more addresses from folks who do not comply. Do you see address policy changing drastically as a result?

A: While it is true that the RIRs have leveraged this mechanism, most folks cooperate with policy because it is in their best interests to do so. Following community developed policy happens not out coercion but out of cooperation. Everyone works together to keep the Internet running smoothly. Also, while the RIRs may be loosing their current iron fist, they still have others at their disposal. Revoking reverse DNS entries is one that will continue to be effective in an IPv6 world. I don’t thinks it will be necessary very often though.

Q: What is, in your opinion, the biggest challenge to IPv6 adoption today?

A: The fear of trying something new. For this reason, I think that ISOC’s World IPv6 Day on 8 June, 2011 is a huge opportunity and will do a lot to move adoption of IPv6 forward. It gives everyone a chance to test the water, knowing that their competitors are doing the same.

Thanks Leo!

[UPDATE 5-April]: ICANN has posted a recording of the community briefing as a webinar: http://icann.adobeconnect.com/p18473023/