In the period since the last Roundtable Meeting (held in September 2012 during the RIPE 65 Meeting in Amsterdam), there have been a number of significant developments of interest to governments, including the ITU's World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) and the emergence of a trade in IPv4 address blocks.
The agenda of this week's Roundtable Meeting reflected those developments. RIPE NCC Registration Services Manager, Andrea Cima, led a discussion of IPv4 address management in the RIPE NCC service region. Feedback from participants focused on issues including:
Discussion also centered around developments in the IP address registry system, with RIPE NCC Director of External Relations, Paul Rendek, reporting on the RIPE NCC's engagement with the ITU and discussions around the establishment of an "Arab RIR". Participants were able to provide some important feedback and perspectives, such as:
Finally, Emile Aben, System Architect with the RIPE NCC Research & Development Group, showcased some of the statistical and analytical tools being developed by the RIPE NCC, and their relevance for policy makers. Subsequent discussion demonstrated the public sector's strong interest in this work, particularly in tools that can be used for comparative analysis of Internet trends.
The feedback and discussions that the RIPE NCC Roundtable Meetings facilitate are an important factor in shaping the RIPE NCC's strategy in Internet governance, and are a valuable opportunity for public sector representatives to inform their own decision-making. They can also inspire discussion in more open community venues, including the RIPE Cooperation Working Group, which will meet at RIPE 66 in Dublin this May.
If you would like more information about upcoming RIPE NCC Roundtable Meetings, please contact us at roundtable _at_ ripe _dot_ net.
]]>On 13 February 2013, the RIPE NCC received the verdict that the Dutch court had deemed the RIPE NCC's case "inadmissible" and that it had been dismissed.
The RIPE NCC is now considering its options and conducting an analysis of the verdict. The RIPE NCC will communicate its findings to the membership and the RIPE community.
For further background on this story, see: Summons of the RIPE NCC Against the State of the Netherlands.
]]>Please send your feedback on this proposal to the members-discuss mailing list.
Questions or concerns can also be sent directly to the RIPE NCC Executive Board.
The RIPE NCC has requested to assign a /23 IPv4 PI assignment, a /43 and /47 IPv6 PI assignment and three 32-bit AS numbers to itself for facilitating the MENOG IPv6 roadshow.
The IP Resource Analysts involved with this request were Kjell Leknes, Marco Schmidt and Alex Le Heux.
The RIPE NCC internal procedures were followed and all preliminary checks were completed:
During the IPv6 roadshow events the RIPE NCC will organise a hands-on lab workshop for the participants. During this workshop the participants will be presented with a network representing a small ISP and its customers, operating only on IPv4. During the workshop, participants will deploy IPv6 on this network and explore the problems associated with such a deployment. To make the workshop as realistic as possible and allow participants to observe the results using regular tools such as looking glasses, all address space involved will be publicly announced via BGP. Two ISPs will be publicly peering with the network.
The IPv4 network will contain nine /27 POPs, allowing them to connect 8 /30 users in each POP. Each of the nine POPs will also require one /30 transit connection, and a /28 to each of the two lab switches. This adds up to a /24, a /25 and a/29. As all space will be routed on the public internet. A minimum of a /23 IPv4 is required, as the current IPv4 policy allows. The size of all IPv4 subnets was chosen to be as small as possible for the network design. The total of all subnets is /24, /25 and /29. In cases where the network will be multi-homed, Section 6.10 of the IPv4 Address Policy proscribes that the assignment size should be a multiple of a /24. In this case that results in a /23. The RIPE NCC has not received any other assignments under Section 6.10 so will remain below the 255 "additional IPv4 addresses" limit set by the Policy.
In the IPv6 network each of the transits will use one /48 to number the various point-to-point connections and simulated infrastructure. In the ISP network, each POP/End Site will be numbered with a /48 internally as policy allows and is common practice in IPv6 networks and will use two /48s for the simulated customers. IPv6 Address Policy allows assignments of a /48 each to POPs, infrastructure and customer end-sites. This is also common practice in real world networks. As the focus of the IPv6 Roadshow workshop is to provide a deployment experience that is as realistic as possible, the network design incorporates this practice. The total of IPv6 space requested is a/43 and a /47. Even though real world ISPs normally hold a /32 or larger allocation, it was felt that a /32 would only add to the workshop experience if making assignments in the RIPE Database would be a big part of the workshop. However, this is not the case. The workshop concentrates on network design and equipment configuration. Therefore a /43 and a/47 PI assignment is fully sufficient.
Three AS numbers are required as the workshop network will consist of three separate network segments, two upstream ISPs and one small ISP with clients. Each of the three network segments has its own routing policy. This justifies the assignment of three AS Numbers. All equipment and both ISPs support 32-bit AS numbers.
Alternative options were explored besides using public resources during the evaluation of this request:
As the IPv6 roadshow is a series of events, we explored the possibility of using temporary assignments as described in ripe-526. These workshops will take place at least once per month over a period of several years. Even though the workshops happen in different locations each time, this gives the IPv6 roadshow a semi-permanent character. Requesting temporary assignments for each one would result in a significant workload for both the RIPE NCC as well as the Arbitration Board. Due to standard quarantine periods used after resources are returned and the frequency of the workshops, the net result would be that these resources would remain unavailable for any other use. Due to this and the semi-permanent character of the IPv6 roadshow the RIPE NCC does not consider temporary assignments appropriate. When the IPv6 roadshow events come to an end, the resources will be reclaimed and returned to the free pool.
As ripe-476 requires, the pool of arbiters has to evaluate allocation/assignment requests for number resources to be used by the RIPE NCC.
The arbiters asked for clarification on the number of pops. This was clarified by the RIPE NCC which noted that reducing the number of pops from 9 to 8 would not reduce the size of the assignment from /23 to /24.
All arbiters have reviewed the request by the RIPE NCC for these IPv4, IPv6 and ASN resources. The request was reviewed for compliance with every section in the IPv4, IPv6 and AS number policies. There was consensus among the arbiters that the request is consistent with these policies.
Based on the decision by the pool of arbiters, the RIPE NCC has received the approvals for a /23 IPv4 PI assignment, a /43 and a /47 IPv6 PI assignment and three 32-bit AS numbers.
The AIGF was formally established at a multistakeholder open consultation meeting held in Beirut, Lebanon in February 2012. Sponsored by the RIPE NCC and the Kuwait Information Technology Society, this open consultation featured stakeholders from governments, private sector, civil society and regional organisations in the Arab World.
The proposal to form the AIGF received consensus support from the government representatives as well as other stakeholders. Following the consensus received during the open consultation, the Arab Telecommunication and Information Council of Ministers (ATICM) of the League of Arab States gave approval for the AIGF to begin its important work. Efforts to establish the AIGF have been greatly supported by the League of Arab States (LAS), the United Nation Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia (ESCWA), the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Republic of Egypt National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority and the Government of Lebanon.
“With the launch of the AIGF we are witnessing a further evolution in the relationship between the technical community and governments,” notes RIPE NCC Director of External Relations Paul Rendek. “This comes at a crucial time for the Arab region when the need to discuss Internet governance in a regional context has become more important than ever. I am delighted that the RIPE NCC has been able to support the development of the AIGF. We have worked hard to foster cooperation between local technical community and bodies like ESCWA and LAS. The launch of the AIGF paves the way for us to build even stronger relationships with governments and national regulatory authorities in the region”.
As well as providing a forum to discuss those aspects of Internet governance most relevant to operators, governments and other stakeholders in the region, the AIGF also serves to channel those concerns into broader Internet discussions, particularly the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which takes place in November this year in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“By discussing regional issues at the AIGF, Internet stakeholders in the Arab States will be better positioned to contribute to and take advantage of an event like the 2012 IGF in Baku, ” comments AfriNIC CEO Adiel A. Akplogan. “I welcome the development of this regional forum which will enable all stakeholders to further cooperate to address issues specific to the region”.
The AIGF represents a further development following on from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that took place between 2003-2005, and the subsequent evolution of the IGF over the past six years. This has been a result of the continued regional coordination and cooperation between governments, private sector, civil society, academia and the technical community.
“Capacity building is one of the most significant issues in ICT for the governments in the Middle East,” says Mr. Rendek, “and this depends on developing relationships between all stakeholders in the region. The RIPE NCC has been focusing efforts on such capacity building initiatives through the IPv6 Roadshow training events and the Middle East Network Operators Group (MENOG), which holds its tenth meeting in May, while AfriNIC has been instrumental in establishing the African Network Operators’ Group (AfNOG). The launch of the AIGF is a further example of what effective cooperation between governments and the private sector can achieve in this area.”
The multistakeholder nature of the AIGF is highlighted by the formation of a Multistakeholder Advisory Group to develop the event’s program and direct the work of the AIGF generally. The AIGF Secretariat recently issued an invitation for experts from all stakeholder groups to apply for membership of the MAG. An application form is available at:
The First Meeting of the Arab Internet Governance Forum (AIGF) will take place in Kuwait City, Kuwait, in October 2012.
Notes to Editors
About the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)
Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) are independent, not-for-profit membership organisations that support the infrastructure of the Internet through technical coordination. There are five RIRs in the world today. Currently, the Internet Assigned Numbers Association (IANA) allocates blocks of IP addresses and ASNs, known collectively as Internet number resources, to the RIRs, who then distribute them to their members within their own specific service regions. RIR members include Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunications organisations, large corporations, governments, academic institutions, and industry stakeholders, including end users.
The RIR model of open, transparent participation has proven successful at responding to the rapidly changing Internet environment. Each RIR holds one to two open meetings per year, as well as facilitating online discussion by the community, to allow the open exchange of ideas from the technical community, the business sector, civil society, and government regulators.
The countries in the League of Arab States are split between two RIR service regions, and are served by AfriNIC and the RIPE NCC.
About AfriNIC
AfriNIC has been set up to serve the African community by providing professional and efficient management of Internet Number Resources, supporting Internet technology usage and development, and promoting a participative and multi-stakeholder approach to Internet self governance. AfriNIC is a non-government, not-for-profit, membership based organization, based in Mauritius. Trainings and capacity building are a central part of AfriNIC’s activities and our objective is to build competence within our region in IPv6 implementation and associated technologies required to use our resources effectively and to increase awareness within the service region on
About the RIPE NCC
Founded in 1992, the RIPE NCC is an independent, not-for-profit membership organisation that supports the infrastructure of the Internet. The most prominent activity of the RIPE NCC is to act as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) providing global Internet resources and related services to a current membership base of more than 8,000 members in over 75 countries. These members consist mainly of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunication organisations and large corporations located in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.
The RIPE NCC performs a range of critical functions including the allocation of Internet number resources, the storage and maintenance of this registration data and the provision of an open, publicly accessible database where this data can be accessed.
The RIPE NCC also provides a range of technical and coordination services for the Internet community including the operation of K-root (one of the 13 root name servers).
About The Middle East Network Operators Group (MENOG)
The Middle East Network Operators Group (MENOG) is the regional forum offering network engineers and other technical staff the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences, and identify areas for regional cooperation.
About The African Network Operators Group (AfNOG)
The Africa Network Operators Group is a forum for the exchange of technical information, and aims to promote discussion of implementation issues that require community cooperation through coordination and cooperation among network service providers to ensure the stability of service to end users.
The goal of