Agreed, and supports what I wrote "Matter-certified devices. Thread, the underlying networking protocol often used with Matter, is explicitly built on IPv6. As found on various sites in a Google search. It can run on v4, but it limits it's full ability for expandability as IoTdevices are in greater use as v4 is being pushed to its limits of devices and will result in conflicts. "
Correct it can run on external IP V6, and if you implement with a IP V6 matter hub, your internal security and IoT will be totally seperated from the IPV4. I have to say, my head is spinning after doing more research, and I say to myself, hey Bruce, you retired from this whole question back in 2003, and became an elementary teacher. Why bother wasting my remaining life, debating over what I know nothing about anyway, and as I read more, I found there is so much information, that unless one is fully certified in the standards defined back in 2000, and forwards on IP v6 implementation, it appears that there is so much information out there, that I can't confidently say much of anything on this topic, and suspect that is probably true of many conversations. With full respect for all, I have forgotten that the Internet is fed by lots of misinformed, people, including myself. I was well certified in network design and implementation, but when I did my courses, we were all on switches, modems and internal firewall hardware such as Watchguard firebox firewalls between modems with Telus, two modems and connections for redundancy, and basic 3 com switches with GB backbones, and 100 to the desktops. We had smaller fireboxes in the homes of people who worked at home, and at remote sites.
All of this, I didn't need to know how to manage, it was all handed outside of my department to a specialist remote and internal computing service, who handled all servers, DNS servers, Email, data servers and security testing.
It was already getting beyond my staff. They started with no Internet and we were on 10 base T ethernet and coax with broadcast hubs.
So, now I have done my tread into IPv6, and I have a few things I have learned.
1. For me as a home user, it doesn't matter. Everything in my home is current and IPv6 connectable, except for my cheaper switches, which all use IP v4. My newer stuff is matter and capable of IPv6, but it doesn't come into play until I put a matter hub in to seperate my IoT from the outside world, and is then routed via IPv4 over bell because that is all they offer, to Bell, to my thermostat company, to google for google home appliances, etc. The article I read did say that all this routing from google home, to google servers, to my dlink switch servers, back to my app, and to the light switches and other dlink devices, and back to the google home to tell me it is done can create delays, and timeouts, which it does, not often, but it does. Theoretically, in a total IPv6 connected system, which many businesses will have, and there in lies why business accounts can request it, it is device back to the server via the hub, and back to our apps and software controls via IP, and NAT as we know it and routing as we know it becomes a very different beast, but is still plug and play when the whole system is set up. I am theorizing somehwat here, so will say no more on that, because truthfully, after researching, I have no idea what I am talking about.\
2. We on bell Gigahubs do have an interal link IPv6 running in our homes, that facilitates a closed network on IPv6, but it will go out on IPv4. My Fibe tv box has IPv4 and v6 id's, and I learned that if you see ip internal link on Microsoft Win 10, and it is prefaced fe80, it is an internal network. For my use, I have no need, and have no single device in my network that needs IP v6 exclusively, and are running on IPv4. If I were to add a hub to the system and facilitate IPv6 across all of my eventually IPv6 matter, thread devices, I will move to a full internal network on that stuff run over a hub, which makes the most sense, as the hubs support 2.4 wifi cameras, as well as matter devices, and are controlled internally via my application attached to the hub via wifi, or ethernet. I can still access the internal network securely via v4 over the bell network, as the hub does the translation to the internal network and maintains security.
3. I also learned that cable based networks moved to ipv6 support for one basic reason. To be able to manage tv devices, which was introduced by Comcast to support diagnostic tools and box accessability end to end because a company of the size of Comcast with so many devices out there running off their servers, that they were soon at risk of outrunning their total allocation of IPv4 addresses, and did need direct access to the devices.
Maybe this is why Bell is running an internal virtual IPv6, to give direct access into the TV boxes. I have once had a support person log directly into my box by providing him the mac address, of which there were two. He had me give the one for ethernet and wifi so he could do his work. Don't know what that meant, didn't ask, but he then had full view of all statistics on the box and could do remote.
So why they provide internal ip v6 on the private side of things, I don't know, and at this time in my life, I don't really care.
So that is what I know, except I have learned, that whether I have IP v4 only, it really doesn't matter. I am not designing engineering and testing IPv6 applications or hardware, which I would need it for, nor do I exceed 254 IP addresses in my home and if I did, would just need to figure out how to set up routers and managed switches. If you need this level, and want to stay with Bell or any other telcom it seems, then get a business account.
So that ends my dip of my tow into this discussion. It was interesting, but not worth the time, but I can see why the question remains why does cable have IPv6 external addresses, while bell does not. I am not a certified networking specialist anymore, and never was in this area. I am 25 years out of date. That is why I hired outside consultants, that team is now owned by Nokia and is the exclusive provider of Nokia networking, internetworking and security solutions, and a top awarded industry wide. I lucked out when they were smaller, and from there forward, I just needed to know what they were doing for us. I am sure they could explain IPv6 to me, but I couldn't afford their time.
Over and out, Bruce
