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Are you kidding? 50$ per address is cheap? These should be practically free! 50 is infinitely bigger than 0. IP address is just a number! There's no reason to

Are you kidding? 50$ per address is cheap? These should be practically free! 50 is infinitely bigger than 0. IP address is just a number! There's no reason to charge money for a number. If you are out of numbers, make more numbers. There's an infinite amount of numbers. What's next? 1000$ per social security number, because we are running out of 9 digit numbers?

cassianoleal 3y ago
That's obviously wrong. > IP address is just a number No it's not. It's exactly 4 octets. No more, no less. Which takes me to the next point. > If you are out of numbers, make more numbers You can't make more numbers and expect all systems that assume 4 octets to work. That's how we ended with IPv6, which actually provides us with a near-infinite amount of "numbers" as you call them. Mind you, they're still quite finite though - their numbers are just really really big. > There's an infinite amount of numbers No, and that's why they cost - scarcity. You could try to argue that it's an artificial scarcity, but the most likely answer is just that they never thought they'd need as many addresses as we've realised since.
- stock_toaster 3y ago
  4 octets is just the most common representation. https://www.hacksparrow.com/networking/many-faces-of-ip-address.html https://www.hacksparrow.com/networking/many-faces-of-ip-addr...
  - cassianoleal 3y ago
    This is a very thin hair you're splitting. :)
    - stock_toaster 3y ago
      Well... To be fair, this _is_ HN. ;)
      - cassianoleal 3y ago
        :D
- SturgeonsLaw 3y ago
  That's right. They're not just a number, they are a seat at the table on the internet. That's like buying a ticket to an event and thinking that the barcode on the ticket costs hundreds of bucks. It's not about the number, it's about what the number lets you do.
- sshine 3y ago
  >> IP address is just a number > No it's not. It's some more specific definition of a number So... it's not just a number, it's a number? (Four octets put together form a single 32-bit number)
  - cassianoleal 3y ago
    Good job taking things out of context and completely missing the point!
    - sshine 3y ago
      I understand the "more than just a number" context well from other comments: Access to use an IP address is a ticket to go online, not just the ticket's number. The fact that an IPv4 address can be decomposed into four quads has nothing to do with that point. My comment, said differently, is that the syntax of an IP address is the wrong focus to make a "more than just a number" point.
      - cassianoleal 3y ago
        My comment, literally everything after the only bit you seem to have read, contextualises and explains why it's important. Sure, it's not the raw fact that it's 4 octets. It's the fact that it's not any other number, especially the fact that it's a finite resource.
DeathArrow 3y ago
> IP address is just a number! There's no reason to charge money for a number. A domain name is just a number, still some cost millions.

cassianoleal 3y ago

That's obviously wrong. > IP address is just a number No it's not. It's exactly 4 octets. No more, no less. Which takes me to the next point. > If you are out of numbers, make more numbers You can't make more numbers and expect all systems that assume 4 octets to work. That's how we ended with IPv6, which actually provides us with a near-infinite amount of "numbers" as you call them. Mind you, they're still quite finite though - their numbers are just really really big. > There's an infinite amount of numbers No, and that's why they cost - scarcity. You could try to argue that it's an artificial scarcity, but the most likely answer is just that they never thought they'd need as many addresses as we've realised since.

stock_toaster 3y ago
4 octets is just the most common representation. https://www.hacksparrow.com/networking/many-faces-of-ip-address.html https://www.hacksparrow.com/networking/many-faces-of-ip-addr...
- cassianoleal 3y ago
  This is a very thin hair you're splitting. :)
  - stock_toaster 3y ago
    Well... To be fair, this _is_ HN. ;)
    - cassianoleal 3y ago
      :D
SturgeonsLaw 3y ago
That's right. They're not just a number, they are a seat at the table on the internet. That's like buying a ticket to an event and thinking that the barcode on the ticket costs hundreds of bucks. It's not about the number, it's about what the number lets you do.
sshine 3y ago
>> IP address is just a number > No it's not. It's some more specific definition of a number So... it's not just a number, it's a number? (Four octets put together form a single 32-bit number)
- cassianoleal 3y ago
  Good job taking things out of context and completely missing the point!
  - sshine 3y ago
    I understand the "more than just a number" context well from other comments: Access to use an IP address is a ticket to go online, not just the ticket's number. The fact that an IPv4 address can be decomposed into four quads has nothing to do with that point. My comment, said differently, is that the syntax of an IP address is the wrong focus to make a "more than just a number" point.
    - cassianoleal 3y ago
      My comment, literally everything after the only bit you seem to have read, contextualises and explains why it's important. Sure, it's not the raw fact that it's 4 octets. It's the fact that it's not any other number, especially the fact that it's a finite resource.

DeathArrow 3y ago

> IP address is just a number! There's no reason to charge money for a number. A domain name is just a number, still some cost millions.