Comcast and Time Warner Cable Show Dramatic Increases in IPv6 Deployment | Hacker News Reader

Comcast and Time Warner Cable Show Dramatic Increases in IPv6 Deployment

internetsociety.org

42 pointsdanyork34 comments

I run native IPv6 at home in San Francisco on Comcast. It just works after some screwing around. Every now and then I'll notice that my web browser selects the AAAA record for google.com, facebook.com or something else.

It'd be nice if they gave out a proper prefix delegation. Instead the best I can get allocated is a /60. Pretty sure the RFC recommends /48's to be allocated to customers.

> It'd be nice if they gave out a proper prefix delegation. Instead the best I can get allocated is a /60. Pretty sure the RFC recommends /48's to be allocated to customers.

Out of curiosity, what's your use case for more than 16 subnets? I agree on principle they should give you a /48 if you ask for it, but the truth is that I'm extremely grateful they rethought their original stance, which was that a measly /64 was enough for anyone! That would have been extremely harmful and short-sighted; I feel pretty comfortable with a /60.

On that note, does anyone know what Time Warner's maximum prefix delegation size is?

I have been perfectly happy with my /64 for many years. I can't imagine needing multiple subnets for home or small office use.

I think the most compelling use case is a separate guest network (which is firewalled from your normal network; some wireless access points tout this as a feature). Power users might also run a VPN and allocate a subnet to VPN clients. There are also home automation standards that put all your devices on a separate subnet.

I think the single most compelling use case is to segment WiFi and Ethernet traffic. No point in broadcasting useless Ethernet ARPs to the WiFi network when bridged for example.

I can see use for maybe about 4, not sure about more, but if I recall correctly the privacy extensions require a /48 don't they?

No, the privacy extensions simply use a random interface ID instead of deriving it from the MAC address. You still use a single /64 subnet as usual.

(Unless there is an aspect of the privacy extensions I'm not familiar with, but this is what people usually mean when they say "privacy extensions.")

As far as I know the privacy extensions only cycle through the host portion of the address (lower 64 bits) so they should work fine with just a /64. Access to a bigger prefix may help you get around systems that do IP banning in /64 chunks though.

I have several subnets (WiFi, LAN, virtual machines, guest WiFi, etc). I don't just bridge WiFi and LAN together like most, I prefer more control.

I'll fine with 16 subnets today, but I don't know what'll change in the future. I'm sure I'll have use cases for more.

> Every now and then I'll notice that my web browser selects the AAAA record for ...

By what method are you noticing that? I made this extension for Chrome that displays a "4" or "6" in the address bar:

https://ipvfoo.googlecode.com/

Here's a similar extension for Firefox:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/sixornot/

Sadly, Hacker News is still stuck on "4".

I just activated a new Comcast connection in Portland. Ironically, IPv6 "just works" totally out of the box, but IPv4 does not.

A friend of mine had a similar "issue". He had a modem too new to be on Comcast's approved list so they refused to register it. After plugging it in anyways, IPv4 was filtered to a Comcast captive portal with modem registration instructions but IPv6 stuff worked fine... whoops.

Fascinating, does that mean you can plug a random DOCSIS 3.0 modem into any Comcast port, and get free IPv6 access? That's an effective way to encourage deployment, but I'm sure they'll fix the bug if they haven't already :-)

Just like all the places that are only firewalling IPv4 (I blame the iptables/ip6tables split).

> Ironically, IPv6 "just works" totally out of the box, but IPv4 does not.

Not very ironic at all. IPv6's autoconfiguration (through link-local addresses, the Neighbor-Discovery Protocol, etc.) comes from engineers with decades of experience (and frustration) in managing ISP-sized netblocks.

RFC 3177 suggested /48 for customer networks but RFC 6177 allows shorter delegations. /56 and /60 are common allocations for ISPs. /60 should be plenty for residential customer especially if larger allocations are available for business customers.

Wow, sounds pretty incredible that they're giving out substandard prefixes, given the whole point of IPv6...

So right from the start, consumer/small business IPv6 gear won't be able to build on having more than a /64 for themselves (to subdelegate for things like home automation networks, virtualization, etc). Oh well, I guess those things will need to support IPv6 NAT!

I'll remain pessimistic for the time being. IPv6 has been coming my entire life.

I'm a Comcast Business class customer in Silicon Valley, and I recently (few months ago, a little after IPv6 day) asked about IPv6 support. "Not currently" was the answer, so it's a little surprising to see a HN article about "Comcast [shows] Dramatic Increases in IPv6 deployment". If the article's graph is to be believed (and I don't see why not), then I'm curious as to where they're deploying it.

I partially wish the graph's Y axis was [0, 100%], to show how far they have yet to go.

If Time Warner continues deployment at current rates, it looks to take them ~15 years to complete. That's assuming that the growth is linear, and only using the last ~6 months. (Since it seems they only just started.) Hopefully, growth will initially be exponential, and this won't take quite that long (I expect some sort of S-curve[1]).

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations

ISPs are doing consumer IPv6 first because consumer has no SLAs.

The process definitely isn't linear; it generally consists of badgering the CMTS vendor until they release working firmware (which takes 2-5 years) and then deploying that firmware to millions of customers en masse. Since each ISP uses a small number of CMTS models, we should expect to see large jumps with plateaus in between.

Also, I think these graphs are measuring not just customers who have IPv6 available but how many are actually using IPv6. There are millions of customers who have IPv6 but their router or OS doesn't support it; this will probably phase out over 5-10 years.

Everyone I know in Chicago with residential Comcast service (including myself) has had native IPv6 deployed since ~June 2012. Based on information from http://www.comcast6.net it looks like Comcast lit up IPv6 for residential customers first and is now conducting trials with their business customers.

I don't have a link handy but I've read in multiple places that Comcast will be doing ipv6 for consumer class first and then deploy business class.

(Same boat as you, business class with no ipv6)

Yes, because if something isn't happening in Silicon Valley it must not be happening anywhere, right?

It's clear that progress is slow, but any progress at all is good news in my book. My T-Mobile cellphone is also now IP6, so it's happening. Gradually.

Allow me to clarify: given the concentration of software engineering in the bay area, I figured there would also be a concentration of demand for IPv6.

I agree, any progress is good progress. It's just interesting that it's actually proving difficult to voluntarily jump on the bandwagon that many are resisting.

(And interesting: I'm also T-Mobile, but when on data, I've only seen IPv4.)

I'm a Comcast Business customer in Seattle:

"Dear Comcast Business Class Customer,

Thank you again for signing up for the Comcast Business IPv6 Trial! At this time, we ask that you please register on our Trial Portal. Here you will be able to provide feedback, complete exercises and read documents related to the Trial.

To Register: Go to https://trials.comcast.net Create an account by clicking "Register Now" When prompted, add BusIPv6 as the Trial Code You will also receive an email from DocuSign with the Trial Agreement. Once you have registered for the Trial Portal and signed the Trial Agreement, you will be notified with next steps.

We thank you in advance for your participation!

Thanks, Comcast Business IPv6 Trial Team"

The trial agreement was agreeing to provide periodic feedback. In return, I would get a new cable modem, a new block of static IPs, AND keep my old modem and old block for "transition".

Colorado here, have had IPv6 native with Comcast for several years now. I don't use it because the IPv6 nodes are slow (mostly hurts my ping, 20ms => 100ms), but it's there and working. I try again periodically to see if it's better.

Does your address start with 2002? If so, you're using a 6to4 tunnel, which is basically crap.

Nah, 2601:1

I've got IPv6 over Comcast in CO. I've had it for about two years now. Youtube and various other services over IPv6 are actually more responsive than over IPv4 =).

Comcast had real incentive to push IPv6 hard in some markets -- their address plane was out of addresses to satisfy DHCP leases in some markets. When you get support calls in a market, and the reason is because they can't be given an IP address, it lights a fire under you.

Needless to say, I've had IPv6 with spot-on 6-to-4 support in Boston for over a year now.

IPv4 addresses are still available for free in North America.

Source Article http://www.worldipv6launch.org/measurements-update-cable-ops...

are they still doing that jank-ass "1 ip per household" bs? pls2be /64 thanks!

> are they still doing that jank-ass "1 ip per household" bs? pls2be /64 thanks!

If you're asking whether Comcast is still limiting people to a /64, the answer is no. They now allow you to request up to a /60 with DHCPv6-PD. I'm not sure about Time Warner.

Comcast gives you a /128 for your gateway device. They will also give you a /64 over DHCPv6 for SLAAC. (although some people are reporting that they can get /60's, I've been able to get up to two /64's without issues myself).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com