I am searching for a definitive, plain-english answer
to two questions that
have bothered me for a long time:
My opinion - after years of experience and more years of net
discussions... This is slightly changed after the discussions last
week...
a) Should 44-net be accessible to non-44 source
addresses?
It should be possible - but only in a highly filtered and controlled
special case.
As one example, I've been turning on MRTG traffic charts on the
various home and radio subnets. That page could be something that
would be of interest in the non-44 world and could be safely shared.
b) Should non-44-net destinations be accessible from
44-net source addresses?
It should be possible - more than the incoming case above but still
carefully controlled. Recently I've come to appreciate more the
corporate structure where outgoing access is somewhat controlled.
Somethings I've seen on some systems are a bit scary.
If the answer to either of the above is
"yes", then there is the potential
for traffic which violates radio licensing laws to be carried by radio.
As long as you have 'users' there is potential for traffic violations.
That's the small price we pay for doing cool things.
Personally I block all traffic with a non-44/8 source
or destination, but I
was never sure if that is the "correct" policy?.
There is probably no universal 'correct' policy. Everybody has to
weigh all the consequences of their configuration.
73, Paula G8PZT
Bill, WA7NWP