In extending the web front end to support IPv6, I came across the issue of how to specify the netmask.
Currently, a bit mask, in dotted quad form e.g., 255.255.255.0, is expected to specify the netmask. IPv6 does not use a bit mask but instead uses a prefix size, e.g., ::1/128 which is the address for localhost. (Not only is a similar bit mask format not defined for IPv6, it is not practical either as the netmask for localhost if defined would be FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF.) On the other hand, IPv4 can use either a bit mask or a prefix specification, with the later actually being preferred since the switch to CIDR. I propose we change the front-end (and back-end if needed) to switch to the prefix notation for specifying the bit mask as it is the current best practice for IPv4 and the only notation for IPv6. Any thoughts? Mark -- Mark Gardner --
