On Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:03:13 AM Justin M. Streiner wrote:
My guesses for the foot-dragging, re: v6 deployment on FiOS: 1. Can't get their set-top boxes working on it yet. One customer service rep told me this. I didn't feel up to starting the whole "what's wrong with dual-stack?" argument.
Well, typically, linear Tv services are ran in their own VLAN and on RFC 1918 space. So in essence, they can start deploying IPv6 for the Internet VLAN (I'm not claiming to know their network design, just speaking generally) while they figure out how to get their STB's supporting IPv6. The majority of STB's support neither IGMPv3 nor IPv6, for the same reason. The manufacturers don't see the point, and the operators who buy from them don't see the need to put them on the spot (which is all bad). I could see an issue where the STB also has some OTT content capability (like VoD or cloud-based DVR, e.t.c.), and if the servers pumping that content out are not part of the walled- garden, NAT44 would be needed to bring that content down to an STB that has an RFC 1918 address driving it. In such a case, supporting IPv6 on the STB sooner rather than later alleviates pressures associated with NAT44. So lack of IPv6 support in the STB is not a deal-breaking reason, IMHO, since users are generally using IPv6 on laptops, desktops, smart phones, tablets, gaming consoles, OTT services, Tv's, media streamers, e.t.c., which typically fall under the Internet VLAN, i.e., aren't in some walled- garden. Mark.