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Re: How many IP addresses?

2000-04-25 08:00:04
In message 
<PPECLLOGBEPHLOMKLNAMAENNCAAA(_dot_)Michael(_dot_)CTR(_dot_)Bellopede(_at_)tc(_dot_)faa(_dot_)gov>,
 "Mi
chael B. Bellopede" writes:



 But we have to engineer this in some fashion that
permits efficient use of these addresses by hosts and (especially) routers.
(An earlier poster wrote that you "just have to write the code".  That's
the
wrong idea -- big iron routers don't use "code" to do forwarding, they use
silicon, and very fast silicon at that.  There are routers in production
use
today that are handling OC-192 -- 10 Gbps -- links.  You can't do that in
software.)
               --Steve Bellovin

Software, firmware, its a matter of semantics.  Do you think that silicon
magically performs routing and logical functions.  Hmmm...

Well, yes, magic might help the routing problem, if you have suitable pixie 
dust...  

More seriously, my point is that the techniques, optimizations, and costs are 
very different for software versus hardware.  If you're accustomed to thinking 
in software terms, you're not likely to make the proper design tradeoffs.

                --Steve Bellovin




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