[IgorPartola]

So here is an exercise: go look at the structure of an IPv4 packet. It’s not complicated. Can you see where you can cram 32 additional bits? Or even 24? Because if there isn’t a place for them then you cannot possibly extend the IPv4 address space without breaking backwards compatibility. Anyone can do this exercise, and anyone who has an opinion should do this exercise.

Spoiler: you will come to the conclusion that you can’t find the additional bits. Your only option is to break compatibility and create a new packet header format. At this point you can choose literally any size address larger than 32 bits. 64 is good, but the cost to go to 128 is literally nothing while giving you a lot more possibilities of what you can do with it.

Lastly, IPv6 fixes a lot of craft from IPv4. It is a more streamlined protocol that is actually easier to work with than IPv4. The people who told you that IPv6 is overengineered didn’t have an alternative better protocol. Their point was that IPv4 is fine and we don’t need anything but what it provides because a new protocol is scary and annoying to learn because new things are scary. Literally, mathematically, there is no alternative that solves address exhaustion in a backwards compatible way. CGNAT is the overengineered hack, not IPv6.

I really hope you stop respond in to people with nonsense before you look at the packet structure yourself.

[fargle]

what i said was "a superset of IP with a different packet format and wider fields"

well, yes obviously you need more bits. what you don't need is all the other changes.

> I really hope you stop respond in to people with nonsense before you look at the packet structure yourself.

don't be condescending.

[IgorPartola]

Again, look at the IP header format and see for yourself that there is no place to create wider fields. This is what everyone here has been trying to tell you in a myriad ways and you are not hearing this. There is no possible way to do what you are proposing. What you are saying is the definition of nonsense because there is no sense in it. You are arguing that an 18 wheeler should be able to fit inside the trunk of a car and getting upset when people tell you that it doesn’t fit.