RIPE Database FAQ
- What is the RIPE Database?
- What is acceptable use of the RIPE Database?
- What is a netname?
- What is a nic-hdl?
- Can I use a nic-handle from another Regional
Internet Registry in the RIPE Database?
- What is a tech-c and what is an admin-c?
- Can I register a domain in the RIPE Database?
- How do I register a person/role object in the
RIPE Database ?
- Someone has created a person object with my
name, address, telephone number, etc. in the RIPE Database. Why
did they do this?
- My information in the RIPE Database is
not correct, can you please update my object(s)?
- How do I delete an object from the RIPE Database?
- My update failed. Please explain why it failed.
- What are the authorisation rules for route
object creation?
- How to create a route object when the matching
IP range is not allocated or assigned from the RIPE NCC?
- I received a message with the subject "Notification
of RIPE Database changes", but I didn't do anything and don't understand
the message. What is it?
- Why does my phone number appear in the RIPE
Database?
- Can I download the RIPE Database software?
- Can I download the RIPE Database?
- I cannot find any information about a network
in the RIPE Database. Can I look somewhere else?
- When one uses the RIPE NCC whois client, is
it necessary to specify"-h whois.ripe.net" or is that pre-set
by default?
- How do I register reverse-delegations in the
RIPE Database?
- I want to have an IP to country conversion table;
from where can I get it?
- I want to peer with an Autonomous System (AS).
How do I do this?
- Can I enter several contacts in one RIPE
Database object?
- How do I update an object in the RIPE
Database?
- Which date should be used as "changed-date"
in a RIPE Database object?
- Is the "changed" line updated automatically?
- Can I use a nic-handle from another database?
- Where can i find more information about the
RIPE Database?
1. What is the RIPE Database?
The RIPE Database contains information about:
- Allocations and assignments of IP address space;
- Routing Registry Information;
- Reverse DNS Delegations;
- Related objects.
The data is entered into the RIPE Database by operators of IP networks
within the RIPE region. The RIPE NCC supports the operation of the RIPE
Database, but is not responsible for its contents.
The data is accessible by a whois query (whois.ripe.net) and through
a web interface. The RIPE Database is also
referred to as the "RIPE Database".
2. What is acceptable use of the RIPE
Database?
The purpose of the RIPE Database is to assist the operation of the
Internet in the RIPE region. Use of information from the RIPE Database
for activities such as marketing, advertising and distributing Unsolicited
Commercial E-mail (UCE) is covered by the
RIPE Database copyright.
3. What is a netname?
A netname is a mandatory attribute of an inetnum object
which contains a short but meaningful name of the IP allocation or assignment.
Two or more inetnum objects can have the same netname.
The netname attribute is a look-up key, one can query the RIPE Database
supplying the netname as an argument. The result of the query will show
all inetnum objects with that netname.
4. What is a nic-hdl?
A "nic-handle" is a unique person object identifier
that references contact details for a specific person. The RIPE
Database objects list contact persons by their nic-handle, as this is
a more reliable identifier than an e-mail address or a person's name (which
may not be unique).
5. Can I use a nic-handle
from another Regional Internet Registry in the RIPE Database?
Yes, but you must create a person/role
object in the RIPE Database to ensure referential integrity. There
is no existing distributed database of person/role
objects (i.e. contact information) as proposed in "rps-dist"
(RFC-2769).
Please note that updating an object in one database does not
mean the object will be updated in any other database.
6. What is a tech-c and what is an admin-c?
"admin-c" (administrative contact) and "tech-c" (technical
contact) are network contacts, required to be listed by their nic-handles
in certain RIPE Database objects. This is done for operational correspondence
such as Network troubleshooting. The admin-c must be physically located
at the site of the network. The tech-c does not need to be physically
located at the site of the network. You can have multiple admin-c, tech-c
and zone-c attributes in an object, each of them referencing different
person or role objects.
7. Can I register a domain in the RIPE
Database?
No, the RIPE NCC does not register domain names. Currently, the RIPE
Database contains non-authoritative information about some domains, but
this information will be moved to the databases of the national country-code
domain registries.
8. How do I register a person or role
object in the RIPE Database?
There are two ways of registering an object in the RIPE Database:
For your convenience the RIPE NCC has developed an on-line
updating service. This service makes it possible to add, edit or delete
existing objects via a web interface. It also includes online help about
the RIPE Database.
A second way of adding a person or role
object is to obtain a copy of the appropriate template from the RIPE
Database. You can do this through a normal query, either using a
client or the RIPE Database web interface:
person
template
role template
Complete the details in this template and send it to: auto-dbm@ripe.net.
Note that in order to create a role
object, you need to refer to at least one person object
registered in the RIPE Database. The logical order is to create
person objects before you create a role
object.
Please refer to the Database
Reference Manual or the RIPE
Database User Manual: Getting Started if you need help.
The RIPE Database is not a "white-pages" service; person
objects registered in the RIPE Database should be referenced from other
objects in the RIPE Database, either directly or through a role
object. Unreferenced person objects may be deleted from
time to time. Please see the News Archive
of the Database section on the website for more information.
9. Someone has created a person object
with my name, address, telephone number, etc. in the RIPE Database.
Why did they do this?
Currently, some country-code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) registrars require
that information about the registered owners of domain names be stored
in the RIPE Database. If you are unhappy with this, please contact
the ccTLD registrar and/or the organisation with which you registered
domain. Some Internet Service Providers (ISP's) put information about
their clients in the RIPE Database. Again, if you are unhappy with
this, please contact your ISP.
10. My information in the RIPE
Database is not correct, can you please update my object(s)?
The RIPE NCC does not own the data which is in the RIPE Database,
therefore the RIPE NCC cannot not make changes to it. We encourage you
to either change the data yourself or request the changes from the organisation
that created the object on your behalf..
11. How do
I delete an object from the RIPE Database?
There are two ways of deleting an object in the RIPE Database:
For your convenience the RIPE NCC has developed an on-line
updating service. This service makes it possible to add, edit or
delete existing objects via a web interface. It also includes online
help about the RIPE Database. -
A second way of deleting an existing object is to obtain a copy
of the object as it appears in the RIPE Database. You can do
this through a normal query, either using a client or the RIPE
Database web interface.
Copy and Paste the object in an editor and append a new line to the object
which will read:
"delete: <reason>"
For example "delete: Not needed anymore" (without the quotes)
and send it to: auto-dbm@ripe.net.
Note that you must not change anything in the object,
nor add or delete anything else. This also applies to "changed:"
attributes. A new "changed:" attribute should not
be added.
Please keep in mind that most objects have to pass a check with the
"mnt-by:" attribute to clear authorisation for editing or deleting.
Please see the RIPE
Database documentation for more information about maintainers.
12. My update failed. Please explain why
it failed.
There are many reasons why an update could fail. Usually, the update
message stating the failure is self-explanatory. The errors and warnings
are contained in the "ERROR:" and "WARNING:" lines
appended to the object which could not be updated. Please read these lines
carefully. Often the errors are simple syntax errors in the object: check
your object for typos.
Sometimes, your update fails with this error message: "authorisation
failed, request forwarded to maintainer". This means that you haven't
supplied the correct authentication for the maintainer that protects the
object. The attempted update is sent to the maintainer, to notify him
that someone tried to change his object.
Please note that if you send several objects in one message and at least
one of them fails, the subject of the acknowledgment message will start
with "FAILED:". This does not mean that the whole update failed,
only that some updates were unsuccessful. Please check the message carefully
to see which objects were not updated.
More information about error
messages from the RIPE Database.
13. What are the authorisation rules
for route object creation?
There are three phases of authentication checks when creating a route
object:
- a check with the relevant aut-num object,
- a check with the "IP space"
- a check with the "mnt-by:" attribute of the route
object itself.
All of these three phases must be passed individually. If any of them
fails, the route object creation is rejected. Take a
look at the graphical presentation
of this process.
You cannot create a route object if the origin AS refers
to an aut-num object that does not exist in the RIPE
Database. Therefore, before creating the route
object, the aut-num object must be created in the RIPE
Database, even if the AS number is registered in another whois database.
If you are the party that has been assigned this AS number, please create
the corresponding aut-num object by using the aut-num
template. If the AS number is assigned to another party, please contact
them to create the aut-num object.
14. How to create a route object when
the matching IP range is not allocated or assigned from the RIPE NCC?
Before creating the route object, the "origin"
AS number object must be created in the RIPE Database, even if the
AS number is registered in another whois database. If you are the party
that has been assigned this AS number, please create the corresponding
aut-num object by using the aut-num
template. If the AS number is assigned to another party, please contact
them to create the aut-num object.
To authenticate successfully for the IP space, you need to include the
password for RIPE-NCC-RPSL-MNT, along with the passwords for the maintainer
of the aut-num and actual route object.
The RIPE-NCC-RPSL-MNT clear text password is mentioned in the object
itself:
mntner: RIPE-NCC-RPSL-MNT
descr: This maintainer may be used to create objects to represent
descr: routing policy in the RIPE Database for number resources not
descr: allocated or assigned from the RIPE NCC.
<snip>
remarks: *******************************************************
remarks: * The password for this object is 'RPSL', without the *
remarks: * quotes. Do NOT use this maintainer as 'mnt-by'. *
remarks: *******************************************************
<snip>
The mnt-by: attribute of the route object should refer
to your own maintainer object. Do *not* use RIPE-NCC-RPSL-MNT as the maintainer
of the route object; the route object
will not be protected with this public maintainer.
15. I received a message with the subject
"Notification of RIPE Database changes", but I didn't do anything
and don't understand the message. What is it?
The message you received has been automatically sent to you from the RIPE
Database software. The purpose of this notification is to inform
you that some objects have been changed in the RIPE Database. You
received the message because you were either listed in a "notify:"
attribute of the object itself, or in a "mnt-nfy:" attribute
of the mntner that protects the object.
If you did not create or update the object yourself, then someone else
did this. The e-mail address from which the update came is usually mentioned
in the notification message. Please contact that e-mail address for questions
and clarifications about the update.
16. Why does my phone number appear
in the RIPE Database?
The RIPE Database contains contact information for IP addresses,
autonomous systems, reverse delegation domains, etc. This is why it is
necessary to have contact information in a person object,
and the "phone:" attribute is mandatory.
If your personal information appears in the RIPE Database and you
did not place it there yourself, then someone must have inserted the object
containing that information (generally a person object)
into the RIPE Database. If you do not want the object to be there,
you should contact the organization that created the object in the RIPE
Database, and ask them to remove it.
17. Can I download the RIPE Database
software?
Yes, you can find links to download both the server and client software at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/tools/index.html.
18. Can I download the RIPE Database?
You cannot download the RIPE Database in the way you can download
software from the Internet. The database is dynamic and is constantly
being updated.
We produce daily snapshots which are available to the public. You can
find these files at our FTP site at: ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ripe/dbase/ripe.db.gz
or split by object type at: ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ripe/dbase/split
These daily snapshots exclude the object types: Person,
Role, Organisation and Mntner.
If you need to access these object types, please contact ripe-dbm@ripe.net
to discuss your requirements.
Another way to "download" the RIPE Database is to become
a Near-Real-Time Mirror (NRTM). This means that you run a copy of the
database at your site that keeps up-to-date with the master server by
regularly downloading the most recent updates. You must be authorised
to become a NRTM.
If you are interested, please contact ripe-dbm@ripe.net
explaining why you want to become a NRTM.
19. I cannot find any information about
a network in the RIPE Database. Can I look somewhere else ?
Yes; try http://www.ripe.net/db/whois-free.html.
This is a full text search.
20. When one uses the RIPE NCC whois
client, is it necessary to specify"-h whois.ripe.net" or is
that pre-set by default?
You can configure the RIPE NCC whois client to look at any server by default.
You should define the 'NICHOST' variable in the source code. By default,
it is defined as "whois.ripe.net".
21. How do I register reverse-delegations
in the RIPE Database?
To register reverse-delegations in the RIPE Database, see the Reverse
Delegations FAQ
22. I want to have an IP to country
conversion table; can I get it?
The inetnum object represents IP address space in the
RIPE Database; this object has a 'country' attribute. However, you should
not rely on this information to be 100% accurate. Please contact ripe-dbm@ripe.net
to discuss your application for this data.
23. I want to peer with an Autonomous
System (AS). How do I do this?
Once an AS number has been assigned to you, you are responsible for it.
It is important that your aut-num object in the RIPE
Database is reflects the reality. If you have new peers and/or stop
peering with one or more Autonomous Systems, please update your aut-num
object. You need not ask the RIPE NCC for permission to update your aut-num
object.
24. Can I enter several contacts in one RIPE
Database object?
Yes. You can have multiple admin-c, tech-c and zone-c attributes in an
object, each of them referencing different contact record, person or role
objects.
25. How do I update an object in the RIPE
Database?
There are two ways of updating an object in the RIPE Database:
-
For your convenience the RIPE NCC has developed an on-line
updating service. This service makes it possible to add, edit
or delete existing objects via a web interface. It also includes online
help about the RIPE Database.
-
A second way of updating an existing object is to obtain a copy of
the object as it appears in the RIPE Database. You can do this
through a normal query, either using a client or the RIPE
Database web interface.
Copy and paste the object in an editor and change the attributes to
their new values. You cannot change the key attributes, e.g. person
name or nic-hdl values, since these are the unique identifiers of
an object.
Finally, send the object as a plain-text e-mail to <auto-dbm@ripe.net>.
If the object is maintained (that is, if it has one or more "mnt-by:"
attributes), then you must meet the authentication specified by one
of the maintainers. Please see the Database
documentation for more information about maintainers.
26. Which date should be used as "changed-date"
in a RIPE Database object?
The date in the "changed" line should be the date you submit
the object to the RIPE Database. Make sure your new object has a
"changed" line. If you edit an existing object, make sure you
do not delete previous changed lines. Add a new line at the end of the
updated object so the history of the object remains visible.
27. Is the "changed" line updated automaticallyly?
No. You must add a new line when you do a new update and keep the previous
"changed" lines. If there are many "changed" lines, keep at least the
first (the oldest) and the last (the newest) one.
28. Can I use a nic-handle from another database?
Yes, but you must create a person/role object in the
RIPE Database to ensure referential integrity. There is no
existing distributed database of person/role objects
(i.e. contact information) as proposed in "rps-dist" (RFC-2769).
Please note that updating an object in one database does not
mean the object will be updated in any other database.
29. Where can i find more information about the
RIPE Database?
More information about the RIPE Database is available at: http://www.ripe.net/db/.
Additional information can be found in the Routing Registry Training Course and LIR Training Course material.
If you cannot find the information
you are looking for, please contact ripe-dbm@ripe.net.
|
you are here: home -> Info, Stats and FAQs -> FAQs
