RFC 3364 (rfc3364) - Page 1 of 11

Tradeoffs in Domain Name System (DNS) Support for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)

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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
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