[83156] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: RFC for Mask/Gateway
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jay R. Ashworth)
Fri Aug 5 15:49:36 2005
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 15:46:07 -0400
From: "Jay R. Ashworth" <jra@baylink.com>
To: nanog@merit.edu
In-Reply-To: <200508051909.j75J9rle025503@turing-police.cc.vt.edu>; from Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu on Fri, Aug 05, 2005 at 03:09:53PM -0400
Errors-To: owner-nanog@merit.edu
On Fri, Aug 05, 2005 at 03:09:53PM -0400, Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu wrote:
> On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 13:55:58 CDT, Scott Altman said:
> > Is there an RFC or other standard that specifies that IPv4 connected
> > devices must support the concepts of Subnet Mask and Default Gateway?
>
> No, because there's plenty of applications (embedded systems, for example),
> where you have no need or desire to be able to talk to things off-local-net.
Which doesn't really excuse you from subnet mask, I wouldn't think.
You clearly don't need a default gateway if you're not going to reply
to off-net packets, but how would you idenfity broadcast packets if you
didn't know the netmask?
> > I have a kludgy (<- technical term) vendor that has developed a custom
> > AP that only has an IP address.
>
> Be afraid. Be very afraid. Any vendor in *this* year who makes gear that
> is supposed to connect edge devices to the rest of the net but doesn't
> get the ideas of subnet masks and default gateways should be feared.
Indeed, run far, far away.
And yes, Scott: RFC 791. It's not just a good idea...
Cheers,
-- jra
--
Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com
Designer Baylink RFC 2100
Ashworth & Associates The Things I Think '87 e24
St Petersburg FL USA http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274
"NPR has a lot in common with Nascar... we both turn to the left."
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