A Farewell to ARPs: IPv4 Service on IPv6-Only Networks
This article discusses an IETF proposal to eliminate the need for ARP and IPv4 subnets by treating IPv4 as a service over IPv6-only network infrastructure. It highlights how current ad-hoc solutions used by major hosting providers demonstrate the need for a standardized approach to reduce operational complexity and security risks.
Why it matters
Standardizing this approach would eliminate significant operational overhead, security vulnerabilities, and address wastage associated with legacy IPv4 networking in modern data centers.
IPv6-only networks often still depend on IPv4 subnets and ARP. This article introduces an IETF proposal to eliminate both, allowing IPv4 to operate as a service over IPv6-only infrastructure without translation or tunnelling.
This article grew out of a lightning talk at RIPE 91 in Bucharest, titled A Farewell to ARPs . The reaction from the room and the hallway conversations afterwards made it clear this is a problem the operator community recognises immediately.
The Internet-Draft that followed, draft-vanmook-intarea-ipv6-resolved-gateway , is now in front of the IETF IntArea working group in its third version, with a presentation scheduled at IETF 126 in Vienna and an adoption call expected after the meeting. This article tells the story behind it - and explains why, if you operate a network, you might want to care.
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