[773] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: IETF questions -- Internet growth
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Manavendra K. Thakur)
Thu May 30 00:54:30 1991
To: com-priv@psi.com
Date: Thu, 30 May 91 00:52:52 EDT
From: "Manavendra K. Thakur" <thakur@zerkalo.harvard.edu>
Hey folks,
This "running out of IP addresses" problem isn't new. I've heard
estimates that the existing space will run out before the decade is
over.
Some would say that OSI provides the answer. OSI nsaps have 20 octets
of addressing space, compared to the piddling 4 octets allocated to
each IP address.
But since many in the TCP/IP world seem too anally retentive about
anything resembling OSI (and vice versa!), it seems clear that the
issue is far from settled.
I think the basic response to all these questions is: don't worry
about it. The IETF (or the FNC, or ISO, or ...) will worry about it
for you.
Think about how you might co-exist (in the Marshall Rose sense of the
word) with OSI.
Or, if you are appalled at the thought of anything resembling OSI,
realize that the appropriate Internet gurus (hey, I'm not one of them,
so what do I know) are probably already thinking about how to expand
IP addresses.
In any event, don't worry about it too much. We're not going to come
up with any solutions on this mailing list. If you really think you
have a dandy idea on how to solve the problem, contact the IETF.
I guess the main point I'm trying to make is that the specific details
of the addressing scheme really aren't all that relevant to the
concept of extending network connectivity to commercial sites.
As long as the problem gets resolved somehow, and by somebody, then
that's all that matters (for the purposes of this mailing list,
anyway).
Manavendra K. Thakur Internet: thakur@zerkalo.harvard.edu
Systems Programmer, High Energy Division BITNET: thakur@cfa.BITNET
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for DECNET: CFA::thakur
Astrophysics UUCP: ...!uunet!mit-eddie!thakur
