I spent a week without IPv4 (2023)

The author conducted a week-long experiment using only IPv6 to assess transition mechanisms. A core insight is the need to abandon legacy IPv4 thinking, such as Network Address Translation (NAT), which is deemed an address exhaustion fix, not a security measure. IPv6 encourages a return to intended internet protocol behavior with global routing and proper subnet design.

Key IPv6 characteristics include 128-bit addresses, 64-bit network prefixes, and the encouragement of multiple addresses per interface without central DHCP. Advantages for home labs include globally routable connectivity despite Carrier-Grade NAT (CG-NAT) on IPv4, simplifying peer-to-peer communication and VPNs.

Transition methods discussed are Dual Stack (easiest but hard to scale), Stateless IP/ICMP Translation (SIIT), NAT64 (using DNS64 to synthesize AAAA records for IPv4 destinations), and 464XLAT (client-side IPv4 translation used by ISPs).

Lessons learned emphasize that IPv6 is ready, but adoption is hindered by administrative inertia. Networks should be designed IPv6-first. NAT64 is suggested as a replacement for traditional NAT, and 464XLAT offers a user-transparent ISP deployment path. Apple devices show superior native IPv6 support, including automatic 464XLAT configuration.