RE: IPv6-only devices?

[Margaret Wasserman <mrw@windriver.com>]

> But does introducing IPv6 in a device / application always require also
> IPv4 to be there? I think it doesn't. Allowing some (new) applications /
> services to be IPv6-only can make IPv6 transition happen more quickly.
> And if the application is IPv6-only, we don't need to worry about IPv4 NATs
> either.
It makes sense to deploy IPv6-only nodes and services in two
situations:

        (1) Closed or limited network situations where you
                know that all nodes that need to reach the
                IPv6-only node/service have IPv6 available.

                This might occur in hospital, a home, a
                military application, an industrial site, etc.

        (2) New services/applications that require a
                software upgrade, anyway.  While the
                client is being upgraded to include the new
                service, IPv6 can be installed or enabled.

                A large PC software manufacturer, for example,
                could support a new peer-to-peer game that
                was IPv6-only, and could require that IPv6
                be installed and enabled as part of the game
                installation.

In these cases, it is valid to assume that any node that needs
to communicate to the IPv6-only node or service will use
IPv6 to do it.

It may be a long time, though, before it will make sense to
deploy IPv6-only servers on the public Internet to provide
existing services.  For example, how long do you think it will
be before it makes sense to deploy an IPv6-only e-commerce
site?

Margaret