[6bed4-devel] New, and hopefully final 6bed4 Internet Draft version!

[Rick v. R. <ri...@op...>]

Hello all,

It’s been a long time, but 6bed4 has been in the pipeline all along — the pipe just got clogged a bit because our ARPA2.net project is taking off.

There is a new Internet Draft for 6bed4, available here:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-vanrein-6bed4/

This is probably the last draft before I can forward it to the RFC Editor.  There have been a few changes:
 * The address format was said to be “wasteful” of IPv6 space
 * The top half now doesn’t mention a port; instead, 6bed4 now assumes a TBD default port for the 6bed4 Server
 * This reduced the required prefix to a size that I can request with a mere “experimental” level RFC (similar for the port)
 * The prefix sizes are in line with the sizes that are commonly stored in backbone routers
 * It will be possible to run your own 6bed4 Server even on a SOHO network, by just forwarding the TBD default port
 * There are clearly marked openings for multicast support over 6bed4
 * There is a clearly marked opening for LAN-based Stateless Address AutoConfiguration of a local /64 under 6bed4
 * There is no mention of anycast-based routing anymore; it is not required, but still possible
 * I detailed at length how “opportunistic peering” can be used to connect to peers
 * It is even possible to do this (or try to do this) without intervention from the 6bed4 Server
 * Incorporated a SEcure Neighbor Discovery nonce into messages to avoid replay and guessing

It certainly isn’t the simple protocol anymore that it was initially, but I dare say it has matured into a very versatile little protocol!

As always, your feedback is kindly appreciated.

Cheers,
 -Rick