RFC 1681 (rfc1681) - Page 1 of 5

On Many Addresses per Host

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Network Working Group                                        S. Bellovin
Request for Comments: 1681                        AT&T Bell Laboratories
Category: Informational                                      August 1994


                       On Many Addresses per Host

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo
   does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of
   this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   This document was submitted to the IETF IPng area in response to RFC
   1550.  Publication of this document does not imply acceptance by the
   IPng area of any ideas expressed within.  Comments should be
   submitted to the  mailing list.

Overview and Rational

   Currently, most hosts have only one address.  With comparatively rare
   exceptions, hosts as hosts -- as opposed to hosts acting as routers
   or PPP servers -- are single-homed.  Our address space calculations
   reflect this; we are assuming that we can estimate the size of the
   address space by counting hosts.  But this may be a serious error.  I
   suggest that that model may -- and should -- change.

   For the ideas outlined below, I do not claim that multiple addresses
   per host is the only or even necessarily the best way to accomplish
   the goal.  I do claim that my ideas are at the very least plausible,
   and that I expect that many of them will be tried.

Encoding Services

   More and more often, services are being encoded in the host name.
   One can fetch files from ftp.research.att.com, look up an IP address
   on ns.uu.net, synchronize clocks from ntp.udel.edu, etc.  Should this
   practice be generalized to the IP address domain?

   In some cases it would be a very good idea.  Certain services need to
   be configured by IP address; they are either used when the DNS is
   being bootstrapped (such as in glue records and root server cache
   records), or when its unavailable (i.e., when booting after a power
   hit, and the local name servers are slower to reboot than their
   diskless clients.




Bellovin
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