Robert, On Wed, Nov 18, 1998 at 01:05:08PM +1300, Robert Hunt wrote:
I fail to see how a meeting can be successful where there is not comprehensive representation of the decision makers in matters of ownership/proprietary claim as that seems to be the basis of some of the most contentious aspects under discussion. Certainly as far as the 202/8 continued portability... the issue cannot be resolved as a purely technical elegance question.
The fact of the matter is that the network has changed in the last five years, growing beyond almost anybody's expectations. Along with this increase in size has, by necessity, come changes in operational practice -- if they had not, the internet would have run out of addresses a long time ago. We cannot expect the argument that "we used to do it yesterday, therefore we claim our right to do it tomorrow" to somehow insulate New Zealand networks from the changes sweeping across the global network. Having said all that, the aggregation and address famine issues are not so critical at this precise instant that we all need to renumber straight away. This is a good thing, because (as you mention) there are other issues to consider, including those of operational cost and commercial reality. I think that what we are all looking for is an agreed policy which will take into account the operational and commercial issues, but will also ensure that the aggregation/numbering situation doesn't get any worse. If we are lucky, we might even find a policy we can all agree on which will make things better. Suppose an end-user decided to change ISPs, and was told by his old ISP that he had to renumber. He might take issue with that, and decide that his original service contract was sufficiently vague that he might stand a chance of keeping his addresses if he went to court. A court might very well decide that under NZ law, he has every right to keep his IP addresses. Then we have a technical, operational and _global_ issue being decided by a New Zealand court. This is worth avoiding at all costs. Regards, Joe -- Joe Abley <jabley(a)clear.co.nz> Tel +64 9 912-4065, Fax +64 9 912-5008 Network Architect, CLEAR Communications Ltd http://www.clear.net.nz/ --------- To unsubscribe from nznog, send email to majordomo(a)list.waikato.ac.nz where the body of your message reads: unsubscribe nznog