I do think, at a high level, that having a registry for non-routable addresses makes sense iff those addresses could be kept that way. There is no reason for RIRs to allocate addresses which would never be used on public networks.
If the addresses are suppose to be unique, then, what is the reason NOT to have the RIRs allocate them? Why set up a separate registry system for these addresses instead of making minor changes to the existing one to accommodate this need? There is no reason to invent the square wheel manufacturing plant when we have a perfectly good round-wheel plant which can be easily retooled for a fraction of the cost.
Yes... Undermining the policy process of the RIRs. Other than that, they have no purpose.
As an argument against centrally-assigned ULAs, they certainly do undermine the RIRs. If the various RIRs provided a viable PI allocation model, then that half of the proposal would largely be moot. However, undermining the RIRs was not the purpose, just the most expedient method of meeting the stated needs.
Well... Expediency often has long-term costs associated with it which are much higher than the short term costs of addressing the issue directly. I believe this is one of those situations.
Locally-generated ULAs meet a need, like RFC 1918, that the RIRs will never (and probably should never) meet -- cost-free and paperwork-free addresses. Local ULAs also have the benefit that it's easy to explain to customers why ISPs won't route them, which has been cited as a problem with central ULAs.
But locally-generated ULAs aren't ULAs, they're NLAs, so, what's the point of creating this giant address space for people to allocate from willy-nilly. If you want to define an RFC-1918 style /32 everyone can play in, go for it. You'll have all the same problems and solutions of RFC-1918. If you want to avoid such collisions as have been the problem with RFC-1918, then, you need an address registry, and, let's just accept that this isn't a bad thing any more in IPv6 and get the RIRs allocating such space in a reasonable fashion. I'm perfectly willing to have the RIRs delegate this space from a separate IPv6 block for that purpose, and, the RIRs are capable of doing this. They're already doing it for IPv4 based on 2002-3 and 2003-15.
Are there objections to local ULAs as proposed, or is all this debate focused only on central ULAs?
Yes. They simply don't make sense as stated above. They are an attempt to pretend we are solving the problems with RFC-1918 while still preserving most of the problems of RFC-1918 in order to get exactly the same benefit, but, use a much bigger chunk of address space in the process.
Thanks for the reminder on how ARIN works; since I'm not a member, I haven't looked at the process details since ARIN was first formed.
I'm not an ARIN member either, but, I am an active participant.
Decisions are made by those who participate. If you want input into the ARIN policies, then, participate in the policy process. If you thing it's someone elses job to make ARIN policy, then, accept the job they are doing, or, contribute.
Or simply route around the failure via the IETF/IANA, which is what the drafts' authors did. That method has the advantage of not needing to be redone for each of the RIRs, but obviously has other disadvantages.
Hmmm... Then perhaps I should solicit the other people I know who don't like the recent actions of our government and we should route around the damage of the united States Congress? Yes, I'd say it has other rather obvious disadvantages.
At the personal request of an AC member, I will be requesting suggestions on PPML for IPv6 PI space requirements and then submitting a policy proposal. We will see what happens after that.
Good... Welcome to the process. Pitchforks and Torches are not required. I think you will find that the ARIN staff is helpful and the AC is very interested in developing policies that meet the needs of the community. I can honestly say that while I don't always agree with everyone on the ARIN BOT or AC, I do believe that each and every one of them is a good person with their heart in the right place and the best of intentions. FWIW, I will strongly support any proposal to make it easier for organizations to get rational IPv6 allocations of PI space. Owen -- If it wasn't crypto-signed, it probably didn't come from me.