Jeff Doyle chat transcript

Moderator-Julie
Hello and welcome to today's Network World Chat. Our guest is Jeff Doyle.  Jeff is the well-known author of the CCIE bible, Routing TCP/IP, Volumes I (read an excerpt) and II.  He also writes the popular IP Routing blog for Network World's Cisco Subnet. Jeff is an expert on all things routing and is ready to answer your questions. So, let's get started.

Jeff_Doyle
Hi, I'm Jeff Doyle of the consulting firm Jeff Doyle and Associates. This is the first time Network World has tried a live chat, so you and I get to be guinea pigs for this mad little experiment. I'd like to thank my friends at Network World for inviting me to help out on this project. I'm all set up, loaded with caffeine, and ready to demonstrate to you both what a terrible typist I am and how little I know, so let's get started! First question?

(Pre-submitted question): Can OSPFv3 support IPv4, or is it only for IPv6?

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Moderator-Julie
Hello and welcome to today's Network World Chat. Our guest is Jeff Doyle.  Jeff is the well-known author of the CCIE bible, Routing TCP/IP, Volumes I (read an excerpt) and II.  He also writes the popular IP Routing blog for Network World's Cisco Subnet. Jeff is an expert on all things routing and is ready to answer your questions. So, let's get started.

Jeff_Doyle
Hi, I'm Jeff Doyle of the consulting firm Jeff Doyle and Associates. This is the first time Network World has tried a live chat, so you and I get to be guinea pigs for this mad little experiment. I'd like to thank my friends at Network World for inviting me to help out on this project. I'm all set up, loaded with caffeine, and ready to demonstrate to you both what a terrible typist I am and how little I know, so let's get started! First question?

(Pre-submitted question): Can OSPFv3 support IPv4, or is it only for IPv6?

Jeff_Doyle
Right now, OSPFv3 only supports IPv6. So if you want to route both IPv4 and IPv6, you need to run both OSPFv2 and OSPFv3. But there are currently proposals in the IETF to add "address family" support to OSPFv3, which primarily means adding IPv4 support. I hope this happens, both because running two versions of OSPF is an operational and scaling hassle and because OSPFv3 is an improved, more modern version of the protocol.

Plnnightsky
Those networks using IPv4 addresses, will they have to completely redo their networks to IPv6 or can existing IPv4 be mapped IPv6  i.e. 1.1.1.1  --> aa:aa:1:1:1:1?

Jeff_Doyle
Although there are no standard ways to incorporate IPv4 addresses (other than some tunneling protocols) there are a number of tricks you can use to do it. So yes, you can incorporate IPv4 addresses.

Bo
Jeff, thanks for doing this. I've read over the years about a concept called "network coding" that I understand some people think could eventually play a big role in enterprise and carrier networks, perhaps even replacing traditional switch and router architectures. Are you familiar with network coding and do you have any thoughts on what impact it could have on enterprise networks in the near term?

Jeff_Doyle
I'm afraid I haven't heard much about network coding. What are the sources on this?

Moderator-Keith
Update on network coding definitions:

Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_coding

Bo also contributed this link from Scientific American:
http://scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?articleID=77129353-E7F2-99DF-37738629167B4856&chanID=sa006

SteveEyler
What tools have you used to gain your mastery of the TCP/IP routing?

Jeff_Doyle
Mark Twain said the three secrets to being a good writer are Write, Write, and Write. The same applies to networking knowledge. No substitute to long experience. Volunteer for as much as you can, keep up with the IETF working groups, and read a lot.