Eliminating IPv6 (?)

Tue Jun 18 08:09:20 UTC 2019

My opinion is that being able to practically ignore IPv6, without operational detraction, is a reasonable degree of freedom.  FreeBSD isn’t pushing IPv6 any more or less than any other mainstream OSes.

Given a set number of developer hours I would prefer that IPv6 be fully implemented and functionally "ignorable" as opposed to dev time being spent allowing an essentially cosmetic opting out of IPv6 functionality.  Even more generally I would prefer any dev time time be spent on active issues and new features.

> I ask again, is this really such an unreasonable thing to hope for?

If I were allocating work-hours on FreeBSD development my answer would be:  “yup"  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Christian

> On Jun 18, 2019, at 12:44 AM, Ronald F. Guilmette <rfg at tristatelogic.com> wrote:
> 
> In message <d6a5d6b8-1630-3095-dd0b-22b49213176e at grosbein.net>, 
> Eugene Grosbein <eugen at grosbein.net> wrote:
> 
>> 18.06.2019 10:10, Ronald F. Guilmette wrote:
>> 
>>> How can I turn off IPv6 entirely without rebuilding the kernel?
>> 
>> You cannot. GENERIC kernel specifically enables IPv6 support and you need to
>> disable it at compile time.
>> And if you do, you better rebuild the world too using WITHOUT_INET6=yes in the
>> /etc/src.conf
>> or else some utilities compiled with INET6 by default will query kernel
>> for IPv6-specific data (like routing entries) and complain that your kernel does 
>> not know about it.
>> 
>> World built WITHOUT_INET6 has no such rough edges.
> 
> OK, so I obviously expressed myself badly.  Let me try again.
> 
> IPv6 support is enabled in a the stock kernel.  OK.  Fine.  But just because
> that feature is present in the kernel, that does not imply that anything in
> userland -has- to actually make any use of it at all.
> 
> *Something* is doing ifconfig on my loopback (lo0) interface.  What is that
> thing and how can I get it to stop doing that?
> 
> As I have already learned, the /etc/rc.firewall script also assumes both the
> presence of, and the desirability of IPv6 support.  And unless one edits that
> file manually... which I have been effectively forced to do... there is no way
> to get it to simply NOT create and install multiple IPv6-related ipfw rules,
> EVEN THOUGH in my particular situation... which is still the most common case...
> those extra and entirely superfluous IPv6 ipfw filtering rules are serving
> no earthly purpose whatsoever and are only cluttering up my ipfw rule set,
> thus pointlessly making it harder for me to grok and maintain them all.
> 
> Clearly, if doesn't have to be this way.  Some maintainers just decided that
> I and all other IPv4-only users should get stuck dealing with a lot of useless,
> unnecessary and distracting IPv6 stuff, whether I like it or not, and presumably
> for our own good.
> 
> I really wish that maintainers would allow me a bit more freedom, and show
> me the courtesy and respect to allow me to decide for myself what is and what
> isn't "for my own good".
> 
> I can and will most certainly get down and grovel around in the various
> /etc/rc.d/ scripts and will comment out those parts that do things like
> ifconfig'ing my loopback interface for IPv6, whether I like it or not.
> But there ought to be some single /etc/rc.conf variable via which one could
> simply select the "No, I don't want to have to deal with IPv6 at all right
> now" option.
> 
> Is that really an unreasonable hope, expectation, and request?
> 
> I understand that the kernel will still -offer- the IPv6 support. But if no
> -other- software on my system actually takes the kernel up on that offer,
> then the kernel's IPv6 support becomes like the tree that falls in the
> forrest when there is nobody around to hear it.  It might as well be said
> that it makes no sound, and no difference to anything at all.
> 
> It is clearly not necessary for me or anyone else to have to rebuild the
> kernel... *and* world... just in order to get rid of what are, for the
> majority of users here in 2019, still a bunch of utterly superfluous IPv6
> "features" that (a) do not help us one iota and that (b) are all just a
> big and pointless distraction that muddles everything and unnecessarily
> complicates and complexifies ordinary system maintenance tasks.
> 
> IPv6 is great and I'm sure I'll be using it someday.  But today is not that
> day... not for me, and also not for one hell of a lot of other users.  The
> fact that I and others are effectively being forced to even think about it,
> due to an absence of reasonable and easily accessible userland options, is
> actually a big turn-off, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth which will
> be remembered, in future, at every mention of IPv6.  I hope that all of the
> IPv6 evanglists will take a moment to stop and think about that, and that
> they'll stop effectively forcing those of us who don't need it to both use
> IPv6 and to think about it, whether we like it or not, and before we are ready,
> willing, and able to do so.
> 
> 
> Regards,
> rfg
> 
> 
> P.S.  In case I have again failed to be clear, I am proposing a new /etc/rc.conf
> option.  Something simple and intutive like:
> 
>    ipv6="NO"
> 
> That in turn should be checked -and- respected by all relevant /etc/rc,d/
> scripts.
> 
> I ask again, is this really such an unreasonable thing to hope for?
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