On 8/26/20 12:48 PM, JORDI PALET MARTINEZ via NANOG wrote:
I work and I'm in touch with many CPE vendors since long time ago ... many are on the way (I can remember about 12 on top of my head right now, but because contracts, can't name them). It takes time. However, in many cases, they just do for specific customers or specific models. I know other people that contacted the same vendors and they told them "we could do it for the model you use as well". In some cases, they require a minimum volume per year (less than what you could expect. I've seen cases that start with just 500 units per month).
But this only works if you contact them. The CPE vendors business model seems to be very "ISP" direct. I think the retail marked models, unfortunately, will take a bit more time.
A hint about some vendors: You may take a look at the co-authors in the RFC.
The whole point here is not that some vendors can support these features in a semi-custom firmware image that's specific to a particular ISP deployment - I know that's a possibility and have vendors willing to work with me on a much smaller volume than even what you've indicated - but rather what about customers who want to "upgrade" their router or, for whatever reason (and there are some very valid ones) want to provide their own. Right now, it's essentially impossible for them to walk into a local retailer and walk out with a model that they know for sure will work with my network if I'm requiring e.g. 464XLAT for basic functionality. Even if they buy online and dive fairly deep into model documentation, it is still hard to come up with a model that they know will work, and the lack of documentation will limit their choice of models unnecessarily (i.e. there are probably some options that support the necessary functionality but don't advertise it in the slightest). If someone wants me to provide them with a router, then of course I'll hand them one that I know works on my network. That's easy since I have control over the selection of it (and have presumably done some testing) even if I don't have my own provider-customized firmware. I'll point out that 500 new services (taking a new router) per month is not a particularly small provider. It's not large, no, but it's also a lot bigger than many deployments are at least when they're new, and these are questions you have to essentially answer "up front" in many cases. -- Brandon Martin