CircleID

As IPv6 takes hold, NAT will run its course and recede into memory. But don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet. The transition to IPv6 and the temporary (indefinite?) coexistence with IPv4 will require the use of translation-based transition mechanisms. These translation mechanisms will be a part of our networks for the better part of the next decade. Old habits die hard.

These translation mechanisms are and always will be a requirement.  Do you think IPv6 will be the end-all of protocols?  There is more than just address space involved here, but innovation in protocol design (BTW, is the IPv6 dual-homing problem solved yet?) If IPv6 is the end-all be-all of networking, then innovation in that space is dead.  If it is not, then some day, when something else comes along (IPv7, IPv8, whatever) that is more innovative, then translation mechanisms will be needed again as well.