RFC 3364 (rfc3364) - Page 1 of 11
Tradeoffs in Domain Name System (DNS) Support for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group R. Austein
Request for Comments: 3364 Bourgeois Dilettant
Updates: 2673, 2874 August 2002
Category: Informational
Tradeoffs in Domain Name System (DNS) Support
for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2002). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
The IETF has two different proposals on the table for how to do DNS
support for IPv6, and has thus far failed to reach a clear consensus
on which approach is better. This note attempts to examine the pros
and cons of each approach, in the hope of clarifying the debate so
that we can reach closure and move on.
Introduction
RFC 1886 [RFC 1886] specified straightforward mechanisms to support
IPv6 addresses in the DNS. These mechanisms closely resemble the
mechanisms used to support IPv4, with a minor improvement to the
reverse mapping mechanism based on experience with CIDR. RFC 1886 is
currently listed as a Proposed Standard.
RFC 2874 [RFC 2874] specified enhanced mechanisms to support IPv6
addresses in the DNS. These mechanisms provide new features that
make it possible for an IPv6 address stored in the DNS to be broken
up into multiple DNS resource records in ways that can reflect the
network topology underlying the address, thus making it possible for
the data stored in the DNS to reflect certain kinds of network
topology changes or routing architectures that are either impossible
or more difficult to represent without these mechanisms. RFC 2874 is
also currently listed as a Proposed Standard.
Austein Informational