Subject: RE: draft-ietf-zeroconf-ipv4-linklocal-03.txt

From: Stuart Cheshire <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 15:28:14 -0700

>Device B could join Device A's network.  I would argue that in this case,
>Device B has to release it's IP address.  This is as has been pointed out,
>not the way the world works, but the world hasn't been very friendly at
>providing easily configured networks, either.  My argument is that since
>Device B has a manually configured address, it too is out-of-scope for
>Zeroconf.  I don't have a work-around for this.

This does in fact work today, and Apple uses it to allow configuration of 
AirPort base stations. If the Mac has an LL address, and the AirPort base 
station has some incorrect manually configured static address that some 
user typed in by mistake, then they can still communicate with each 
other, which lets the user reconfigure the base station back to a 
sensible configuration.

This is extremely useful. The AirPort base station has no screen or 
keyboard, or serial port to connect a terminal. Without some kind of 
reliable always-working IP, a user might easily get it into a state where 
it is very hard to communicate with it to fix it.

Stuart Cheshire <[email-masked]>
 * Wizard Without Portfolio, Apple Computer
 * Chairman, IETF ZEROCONF
 * www.stuartcheshire.org