Draft RIPE NCC Activity Plan 2009 |
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1. Vision and Strategy
2. RIPE NCC Focus Points
3. New or Significantly Developed Activities for 2009
4. Closure or Reduction of Activities
5. RIPE NCC Ongoing Activities
6. Unforeseen Activities
1.0 Membership Services
1.1 Distribution and Management of Internet Number Resources
1.2 Training Courses
1.3 Customer Services
1.4 RIPE NCC Interaction Mechanisms
2. Coordination Activities
2.1 RIPE Database: Maintenance and Development
2.2 RIPE
2.3 Mailing List Management
2.4 Domain Name System (DNS) Coordination
2.5 Reporting on RIPE NCC and RIPE Activities and Developments
2.6 RIPE NCC External Relations
2.7 Information Dissemination
2.8 RIR Coordination
3. Information Services
3.1 Routing Information Service (RIS)
3.2 Active Measurement Services (AMS)
3.3 Reporting and Statistics Collection
Section
A: RIPE NCC Vision and Focus
1.
Vision and Strategy
The
RIPE Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) is an independent,
not-for-profit membership organisation that serves a membership base
of over 5,600 members in more than 70 countries across Europe, the
Middle East and parts of Central Asia. The RIPE NCC operates under
the principles of openness, transparency, neutrality and
impartiality. All services offered by the RIPE NCC are based on the
input and needs of the RIPE NCC members and the RIPE community.
For
more than 15 years, the RIPE NCC has been successful in providing
administrative and technical coordination to the Internet community.
An important aspect of this technical coordination is the RIPE NCC’s
established function as a Regional Internet Registry. This function
includes the reliable and stable allocation of Internet number
resources to its members and the responsible storage of an open,
publicly accessible registry of Internet number resource allocations.
Since
its inception in 1992, however, the RIPE NCC has also provided a
range of important coordination and measurement activities. As a
result of its registry, coordination and measurement activities, the
RIPE NCC has earned the trust and respect of its members and the
Internet community as a whole. Consequently, it has often been asked
by its members, RIPE working groups and other important stakeholders
to perform enhanced or new activities in order to support the
management, measurement and technical coordination of the Internet.
One of the RIPE NCC’s key strengths has been its continued ability
to respond to these requests and the changing needs of its members
and the Internet community as a whole.
The next five years
will see a significant
change in the global Internet landscape. In order to respond to the
changing industry conditions, the RIPE
NCC will need to evolve its position to
remain capable of performing the administrative and technical
coordination of the Internet on behalf of its members and the RIPE
community. In 2008, the Executive Board and the Senior Management of
the RIPE NCC focused on monitoring the changing Internet landscape as
part of an effort to develop a long-term strategy responsive to
Internet industry changes. Based on the preparatory work completed in
2008, the focus in 2009 will be on tracking how the Internet
landscape continues to evolve and on actively influencing this
evolution where possible and within the scope of the RIPE NCC’s
activities. The primary goal of these strategic activities is to make
sure that the RIPE NCC continues to represent the best interests of
its members and the RIPE community while ensuring the overall
stability of the Internet.
The
RIPE NCC will continue to win support from the private and public
sectors for the current RIR system emphasising
that this system is a successful model of industry self-regulation
based on well-established open structures and processes in Internet
number resource management. The key message, to be disseminated
through a variety of external and public relations channels, will be
that the future stability of the Internet relies on the continued
support for these established structures and processes.
The
RIPE NCC will continue to promote cooperation between the
public/private sectors. As a neutral, impartial and respected
organisation, the RIPE NCC is ideally placed to act as point of
contact between the RIPE community and public stakeholders with an
interest in the Internet. The RIPE NCC will support cooperation
activities between public stakeholders and the RIPE community (e.g.
the RIPE Cooperation Working Group) as well as continuing to
cooperate with the other Regional Internet Registries and other
industry partners.
The
RIPE NCC’s primary focus will continue to be on performing
activities that support the operations of its members and the
activities of network operators throughout its service region and
specifically those activities that require a neutral, impartial and
authoritative organisation with the specific expertise demonstrated
by the RIPE NCC. As part of its evolution, the RIPE NCC will ensure
that it is prepared to perform any enhanced or new coordination
activities as requested by its members or the RIPE community.
2.
RIPE NCC Focus Points
Reliable
and Stable Technical Registration of Internet Number Resources
Since
1992, the RIPE NCC has been responsible for allocating Internet
number resources in its service region. The
next five years will see a significant change in the global Internet
landscape and in particular in the Internet registry system, as the
remaining IPv4 address space is allocated. Against a likely backdrop
of increased demand for resource transfers and creating an even
greater motivation for the certification of Internet resources, the
RIPE NCC will need to evolve its registration processes if it is to
continue to uphold the core principles upon which its registry
function has been based: uniqueness,
aggregation and conservation.
An
important part of this evolution will involve enhanced registry
functions that will enable the RIPE NCC to play a more active role in
the lifecycle management of Internet number resources (IPv4, IPv6 and
AS Numbers). While some of these activities will be an extension of
current resource management practices (such as allocation, auditing
and merger/closure procedures), other activities will provide new
registry functions designed to meet the changing needs of RIPE NCC
members (e.g. certification of Internet number resources). As a
result of these enhanced registry activities, the RIPE NCC will
evolve its role from a distributor of Internet number resources to
the steward of an Internet number registry.
Enhanced
registry functions are necessary to enable the RIPE NCC to adapt the
way it engages with its core registry principles to better reflect
the changing Internet landscape (e.g. imminent exhaustion of
unallocated IPv4 address pool and increased deployment of IPv6). With
the exhaustion of the unallocated IPv4 address pool, there will be an
increased scrutiny on the processes involved in IPv4 address space
allocation, a possibility of a growing demand for resource transfers
and an increasing potential for conflicts over address space. Given
these developments, there will be an increasing need for the RIPE NCC
to provide a more robust registry function. Enhanced registry
activities, such as certification, will enable the RIPE NCC to
provide this function. At the same time, increasing the accuracy and
range of the data stored in the record archive of Internet number
resources will support future Internet coordination, statistical and
research activities.
Data
Quality – The RIPE NCC as a Trusted Source of Reliable Data
The
RIPE NCC will maintain and extend its reputation as a trusted source
of data about the Internet in the RIPE region and beyond. Providing
high-quality measurements and analysis that can be used for a variety
of operational, media, analyst and governmental activities, the RIPE
NCC will secure its place in the Internet industry as a trusted
authority capable of not only performing a much-needed registry
function but also of providing a range of useful data sets, tools and
analysis services that can be used by a range of Internet
stakeholders.
Data
analysis is essential in helping support most of the policy debates
within RIPE by providing accurate analysis of the potential impact of
a specific policy proposal. In addition, providing accurate,
up-to-date and trusted data on Internet operations will help the RIPE
NCC to make expert contributions to public policy debates and to
defend the current RIR, industry self-regulation model against
arguments in public policy debates that are based on perceptions
rather than demonstrable facts.
3.
New or Significantly Developed Activities for 2009
Note: Information
about the budgeted costs for these activities is available in the
Draft RIPE NCC Budget 2009:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/draft-documents/gm-october2008/budget-2009.html
Deployment
of Internet Number Resource Certification
As
part of a focus on Internet lifecycle management, the RIPE NCC will
continue to deploy the systems necessary for preparing to issue
certificates for Internet number resources. The focus will be on
implementing the technological, administrative and procedural
elements necessary to certify Internet number resources and to ensure
that the RIPE NCC’s registration systems respond to, and
incorporate, any relevant policy developments.
Following
the initial deployment of a certification system in 2008, in 2009 the
RIPE NCC will extend the available functionality. This additional
functionality will be defined by the business cases produced by the
RIPE Certification Task Force and the RIPE NCC as well as the
feedback provided by the RIPE community and RIPE NCC members. The
RIPE NCC will gather and incorporate this feedback into the continued
deployment of a certification system.
An
important consideration will be to ensure that the RIPE NCC is
prepared for changes in the industry that will take place once the
remaining IPv4 address space has been completely allocated. The
primary concern will be to continue providing a stable and secure
registry function where registry data is maintained with a high level
of accuracy. As
in the past, the registry function provided by the RIPE NCC will
incorporate all procedural and technical elements that are needed in
order to implement policies concerning IP address registration that
are developed by the RIPE community.
External
Relations
The
RIPE NCC has been called upon by different entities in the public
sector (including individual governments and the United Nations) to
continue providing support for the technical coordination of the
Internet. As a result, the RIPE NCC will continue its successful
coordination work with the other RIRs, industry bodies and
governments.
The
RIPE NCC has received positive recognition for its contributions to
the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held from
2003-2005, the ongoing Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP).
These experiences demonstrate that the RIPE NCC’s public affairs
contributions are an essential contribution to promoting
public/private sector dialogue and to guaranteeing the future growth
of the Internet.
Following
input from industry groups, such as the RIPE Enhanced Cooperation
Task Force, and focusing on the key questions governments need to
answer, the RIPE NCC’s external relations activities will continue
to promote this important dialogue between the technical community
and government stakeholders. The RIPE NCC will represent the view of
the RIPE community and the RIPE NCC’s members, at the same time
explaining to all relevant stakeholders recent developments in the
Internet landscape and the impact that these developments could have.
These
developments include the pressing need for IPv6 adoption, the future
exhaustion of IPv4 address space and the related issues of global and
regional fairness. The RIPE NCC will build on its relationships with
the public sector, promoting the public/private dialogue required to
deal with IP address issues that affect public policy and that have
an impact on the technical coordination of the Internet. As part of
these efforts, the RIPE NCC will continue to develop relationships
with government representatives in order to understand their
concerns, to answer their questions and to help them understand the
key issues related to the management and distribution of IP
addresses. At the same time, the RIPE NCC will continue to work with
a range of stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to
ensure that the relevant parties are working together to understand
the changing Internet landscape and to make informed decisions that
guarantee the stability of the Internet.
High
Quality Information Services for Operators and the Internet Community
The
RIPE NCC provides a range of information services to the global
Internet community. These services include Test Traffic Measurements
(TTM), the Routing Information Service (RIS), DNS Monitoring (DNSMON)
and Hostcount. The purpose of the RIPE NCC’s Information Services
is to provide timely, multi-purpose, accurate, high quality data that
can be used to analyse general Internet operations including routing,
link quality, traffic flow and DNS infrastructure performance; to
create alerts and ad-hoc tests; to detect, diagnose and analyse
significant network incidents; and to research long-term trends.
The
RIPE NCC will focus on improving the quality and usefulness of this
data, as well as the speed and manner with which it is collected,
processed and presented. In addition, the RIPE NCC will further
develop the user-interfaces and query tools to make them more
powerful, simpler to use and more intuitive.
The
RIPE NCC will make increased efforts to encourage feedback and
involvement from the RIPE community and users of the RIPE NCC’s
Information Services to guide ongoing development of current and new
services. In addition, the RIPE NCC will actively seek to promote its
information services to new users both within and outside its service
region.
4.
Closure or Reduction of Activities
At
the time of writing, the RIPE NCC does not foresee the closure or
reduction of any service or activity.
5.
RIPE NCC Ongoing Activities
Information
on the RIPE NCC's ongoing activities (Membership Services,
Coordination Activities and Information Services) is available in
Section B of this document, RIPE NCC Ongoing Activities.
6.
Unforeseen Activities
The
RIPE NCC will keep a reserve of resources to take up any activities
that appear necessary during the course of the year. These activities
are entirely unforeseen at the time of writing the RIPE NCC Activity
Plan 2009 or have started recently and are not at the stage where
they can be quantified as a budgeted activity. A quick, well-focused
reaction to the changing environment and new requirements of the RIPE
NCC members and other stakeholders has always been a strong point of
the RIPE NCC.
Section
B: RIPE NCC Ongoing Activities
1.0
Membership Services
The
RIPE NCC aims to exceed its members' service expectations in the
registration of Internet resources. The purpose of these distribution
activities is:
-
To
provide a fair, impartial distribution of Internet number resources
guided by the RIPE community policies based on the goals of
uniqueness, conservation and aggregation
-
To
actively maintain an accurate resource registry
-
To
provide accurate and valid Internet Registry resource data
-
To
provide guidance for internal procedures
1.1
Distribution and Management of Internet Number Resources
In
its role as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), the RIPE NCC provides
allocation and registration services to Local Internet Registries
(LIRs) in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. The overall goal
of the RIPE NCC's allocation and registration services is to provide
fair, impartial and stable distribution of Internet number resources
in its service region. The specific goals for the distribution of IP
address space are:
-
Uniqueness
of IP addresses
-
Aggregation
of routing information
-
Conservation
of IP address space
-
Procedure
and policy definition for IP address space
-
Registration
of network management and contact information
1.1.1
IPv4 / IPv6 Address Space and Autonomous System (AS) Numbers
Description of
Activity:
The
RIPE NCC allocates and assigns Internet number resources according to
RIPE community policy.
The
RIPE NCC allocates and assigns IPv4 and IPv6 address space to RIPE
NCC members and other network operators. The RIPE NCC also assigns AS
Numbers and registers these numbers and the initial associated
routing policy, ensuring the uniqueness of AS Numbers and collecting
data for the Routing Registry. From 2007, the RIPE NCC has assigned
AS Numbers from both the 16-bit and 32-bit pools.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
ensure the fair distribution of Internet number resources
-
To
ensure the efficient use of IP address space and AS Numbers
-
To
facilitate the optimal aggregation of routing information
-
To
support members with the processes and procedures
1.1.2
Auditing and Data Accuracy
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC actively checks the quality and validity of Internet
resource registry data. To ensure fair address space distribution,
the RIPE NCC checks that appropriate assignment decisions are made.
The RIPE NCC also makes regular reports on these activities to the
RIPE community as well as producing statistics on address space
usage.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
promote a consistent and fair application of assignment criteria
relating to the conservation of address space and aggregation of
routing information
-
To
identify and improve any parts of the registration procedure that
cause delays in order to improve service levels and response times
-
To
implement mechanisms to improve the quality, range and accessibility
of the data the RIPE NCC provides relating to its allocation of
Internet number resources to its members
-
To
provide high quality data on the allocation of Internet number
resources that can reliably be used in the daily operations of ISPs
1.1.3
Policy Implementation (procedures)
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC implements procedures as part of the RIPE Policy Development
Process (PDP). New policy requests or requests for changes to be made
to existing policies are discussed in the RIPE NCC Policy
Implementation Coordination Group (PICG).
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide transparency and consistency of the procedures
-
To
provide procedural information and responses to the RIPE community
-
To
support and promote global Internet IP address policies
-
To
document and maintain a clear overview of new and changed policies
1.1.4
Project Support
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC co-ordinates internal projects to support the range of
activities related to the distribution of Internet resources.
Goal
of Activity:
1.2
Training Courses
The
RIPE NCC provides a range of courses to members and non-members,
using a variety of teacher-based courses and additional training
strategies.
The
RIPE NCC makes continued efforts to reach a broader audience,
particularly members who are unable to attend RIPE NCC training
courses due to geographical, financial, scheduling or other
constraints. These efforts include developing online modules that
cover a range of RIPE NCC procedures and the RIPE Policy Development
Process (PDP).
The RIPE NCC provides the following
courses to its members for free:
1.2.1
LIR Training Course
Description
of Activity:
The
Local Internet Registry (LIR) Training Course is a one-day
introduction to the procedures and policies related to obtaining and
distributing Internet number resources from the RIPE NCC, operating
an LIR and using the RIPE Database. The training material is
regularly updated to make sure that LIRs are aware of any recent
policy changes decided by the RIPE community.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
help members send correctly prepared Internet number resource
requests to the RIPE NCC
-
To
help ensure a more timely completion of these requests
-
To
explain the correct procedure for registering and updating registry
data relating to Internet number resources
-
To
create awareness for the RIPE Policy Development Process
1.2.2
DNS for LIRs Training Course
Description
of Activity:
This
course provides an introduction to reverse DNS (rDNS) procedures and
checks, as well as giving information about DNS Monitoring (DNSMON),
K-root and anycasting. The course also covers DNSSEC and the specific
procedures set up by the RIPE NCC to secure the in-addr.arpa zones.
Goal
of Activity:
1.2.3
Routing Registry Training Course
Description
of Activity:
The
Routing Registry Training Course covers Internet Routing Registry
(IRR) usage, related tools and Routing Policy Specification Language
(RPSL).
Goal
of Activity:
1.3
Customer Services
The
purpose of the RIPE NCC's Customer Services is to take ownership of first
line enquiries and requests, managing each request correctly and
efficiently while communicating all necessary details. In order to
ensure the complete satisfaction of its members, the RIPE NCC focuses
on the following Customer Services goals:
-
Act
as the general first line contact point for the RIPE NCC as a whole
(questions, feedback, issues and problems)
-
Bring
new members up to speed so that they can request resources and make
use of other RIPE NCC services
-
Consolidate
customer support services and facilitate the coordination of
consistent internal and external service levels
-
Answer
general member and public enquiries, providing a good resolution in
the shortest possible time and escalate when appropriate (following
agreed Service Level Agreements)
-
Provide
the first interface between the RIPE NCC and potential and new
members
-
Handle
all phone, mail and e-mail enquiries in a professional manner
-
Create
standard answers for frequently asked questions
-
Document
service quality measures and targets and provide reporting on this
1.3.1
New LIR Support
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC gives initial support to LIRs during their set-up phase.
Information and support is also extended to potential LIRs.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
support new LIRs during their set-up phase by introducing them to
the relevant tools, procedures and guidelines
-
To
give potential LIRs enough information to make an informed choice as
to whether or not they become an LIR
-
To
prepare LIRs so that they are able to make use of the RIPE NCC's
services
1.3.2
Billing and Administration Support
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC provides billing and administrative support for existing and
potential LIRs.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide support for billing questions, invoicing (invoices,
reminders) and the merger/closure of LIRs
-
To
provide support for contract-related issues such as LIR name changes
and mergers
1.3.3
Database User Support
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC provides user support for the RIPE Database and related
services. This includes incident handling and problem resolution as
well as responding to user questions and comments.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide first line user support for the RIPE Database and related
services
-
To
continuously collect user feedback regarding these services
-
To
report on Service Level Agreement (SLA) adherence
-
To
create standard answers for frequently asked questions
1.3.4
DNS and Reverse DNS (First Line Support)
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC provides DNS coordination and support activities as well as
reverse DNS service for IPv4 and IPv6 address space managed by the
RIPE NCC.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide first line user support for the DNS, Reverse DNS and related
services
-
To
continuously collect user feedback regarding these services
-
To
report on SLA adherence
-
To
create standard answers for frequently asked questions
1.4
RIPE NCC Interaction Mechanisms
The
RIPE NCC provides flexible and convenient ways for LIRs and others
from the Internet community to interact with the RIPE NCC's systems.
There is a specific focus on the security aspects of such
interactions to ensure privacy and authentication wherever needed.
1.4.1
Customer Service Centre
Description
of Activity:
At
RIPE Meetings the RIPE NCC provides staff who are available for
face-to-face consultation about:
-
Internet
resource requests (IPv4, IPv6, Autonomous System Numbers)
-
The
RIPE Database
-
Changes
to registry file information
-
Invoice
and billing queries
-
RIPE
NCC Training Courses and the RIPE NCC E-Learning Centre
-
The
Routing Information Service (RIS) and BGPlay
-
Reverse
DNS setup, DNSSEC, DNSMON, K-root, the Test Traffic Measurements
(TTM) service and e-mail services
-
How
to become a Local Internet Registry (LIR)
-
The
RIPE NCC and its services
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
assist members and the RIPE community in any outstanding issues
-
To
promote greater cooperation between the RIPE NCC, its members and
the RIPE community
1.4.2
RIPE NCC LIR Portal
Description
of Activity:
The
purpose of the LIR Portal is to give LIRs an easy-to-use web
interface for accessing RIPE NCC services, for managing their
registry's data and for making queries and updates. The LIR Portal is
also used by the RIPE NCC to make important announcements to RIPE NCC
members and for collection of valuable feedback through a range of
member surveys.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
enable members to receive Internet number resources in a timely
fashion by improving the request, evaluation and approval process
-
To
enable members to manage their registry data and make queries and
updates
2.
Coordination Activities
2.1 Database: Maintenance and Development
The
RIPE Database contains registration details of IP addresses and
AS Numbers used by networks based in the RIPE NCC service
region.
It
shows the organisations that hold the resources, where the
allocations were made and contact details for the networks. The
organisations that hold those resources are responsible for updating
their information in the RIPE Database.
An
Internet Routing Registry (IRR), primarily for the RIPE NCC region,
is also part of the RIPE Database.
The
information in the RIPE Database is used by a range of people,
including network engineers, system administrators, researchers and
End Users for various purposes such as network troubleshooting or
determining abuse contacts. In most cases these users are not RIPE
NCC members.
The
RIPE NCC regularly makes improvements to the interface for the RIPE
Database in order to provide users with more useful features and
easier ways to update the database. The RIPE NCC also makes continued
efforts to improve the accuracy and the usefulness of the data in the
RIPE Database.
The
RIPE NCC implements community-driven changes as they arise, making
software and system modifications in response to feedback from users
and decisions made by the RIPE community.
2.1.1
User support and software maintenance
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC provides user support for the database and related services.
This includes incident handling and problem resolution as well as
responding to user questions and comments.
The
RIPE NCC also performs regular software maintenance activities
including bug fixes and minor modifications. The results of these
software development efforts are made publicly available.
This
activity includes the maintenance and improvement of documentation
associated with the RIPE Database.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide user support for the RIPE Database and related services
-
To
continuously collect user feedback regarding the service
-
To
keep the user community informed about new developments as well as
planned and emergency maintenance
-
To
ensure the high quality of the system software and the reliable
operation of the database and related services
2.1.2
New Database Features
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC designs and implements new database features as requested by
the user community or proposed by the RIPE NCC. It performs the
development work based on the priorities established in the
appropriate RIPE Working Groups.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
ensure that the RIPE Database continues to serve the needs of the
user community and the priorities of the RIPE Working Groups
-
To
provide new features to the RIPE Database that reflect the changing
requirements of the Internet community
2.2
RIPE
The
RIPE NCC supports the RIPE community through technical and
administrative coordination.
2.2.1
RIPE Meetings
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC organises RIPE Meetings, providing all administrative and
technical support.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
support the open, bottom-up, industry self-regulatory structure
common to all RIR communities in managing Internet number resources
-
To
stimulate the participation of the RIPE community and other
stakeholders in the IP policy-making process and the technical
coordination of IP networking
-
To
contribute to the stable operation of the RIPE NCC by allowing for
guidance and advice from the RIPE Working Groups
-
To
enable attendees to provide input and feedback on the RIPE NCC
Activity Plan
2.2.2
Supporting the RIPE Policy Development Process (PDP)
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE community develops and sets policies through a long established,
open, bottom-up process of discussion and consensus-based decision
making. Anyone interested in the well-being of the Internet may bring
up proposals within the RIPE community forum and take part in the
related discussions. The RIPE NCC supports this process by giving
administrative and facilitative support.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
track proposals and make sure the milestones of the PDP process are
applied as necessary
-
To
monitor policy-related topics and report these to the RIPE community
-
To
analyse RIPE policies and proposals and report the findings back to
the RIPE community
-
To
support the RIPE NCC’s implementation and execution of policies
2.3
Mailing List Management
The
RIPE NCC maintains a number of high volume external mailing lists.
The processing of mailing list traffic is constantly monitored.
Efforts are made to support subscribers with problems and to reduce
or control the spam on external mailing lists so that they can be
easily and efficiently moderated without losing any End User
functionality.
The
goal is to ensure the exchange of information among the RIPE
community and the RIPE NCC membership, as well as to provide support
for subscribers of the RIPE and RIPE NCC mailing lists.
2.4
Domain Name System (DNS) Coordination
The
RIPE NCC provides DNS coordination and support activities as well as
reverse DNS service for IPv4 and IPv6 address space managed by the
RIPE NCC.
For
reverse DNS associated with address space managed by other RIRs, the
RIPE NCC provides secondary DNS to support the reliability of reverse
lookups.
The
scalability of the DNS infrastructure for secondary, reverse and
primary DNS services is improved based on the requirements specific
to each of these services. The purpose of these activities is to
maintain and improve the operations of an efficient, responsive and
robust DNS service.
2.4.1
Reverse DNS
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC delegates reverse DNS zones for the address ranges managed
by the RIPE NCC. To support this service, the RIPE NCC provides a
reliable authoritative name server and checks all zones under its
responsibility to ensure they are properly set up and functioning
correctly.
As
part of its efforts in the area of DNSSEC deployment, the RIPE NCC
publishes signed zones and provides tools for users to secure
delegations received from the RIPE NCC. In addition, the RIPE NCC
shares experience through publishing operational white papers,
documentation and software toolkits.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
support the proper address-to-name mapping for addresses allocated
to the RIPE NCC
-
To
provide reliable and secure reverse DNS services
-
To
support the operation and maintenance of DNSSEC
2.4.2
Operating the K-root Name Server
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC operates the K-root server. Root name servers are a crucial
part of the Internet DNS infrastructure. The RIPE NCC has operated
the K-root server since 1997 when the first server was installed at
the London Internet Exchange (LINX) in the United Kingdom.
Since
2003, the RIPE NCC has been deploying anycast instances of the K-root
server with local reachability. The RIPE NCC has also deployed five
global nodes of the K-root name server. The RIPE NCC collects and
analyses data to determine the performance of the K-root anycast
nodes that have been deployed.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
improve the resiliency, efficiency, security and quality of the
K-root service
-
To
isolate the impact of an "external" Denial of Service
(DoS) attack and localise the impact of a "local" DoS
attack
-
To
efficiently maintain the network of anycast instances of K-root by
monitoring network and instance problems, performing trend analysis
and determining if, and where, other anycast nodes should be
deployed
2.4.3
Secondary DNS Service
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC offers a secondary name service to the other Regional
Internet Registries along with some country code Top-Level Domain
(ccTLD) administrators, although it no longer provides this service
to well-established ccTLDs.
Goal
of Activity:
2.4.4
DNS Services in the e164.arpa Domain
Description
of Activity:
The
Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has an agreement with the RIPE NCC
under which the RIPE NCC provides technical operation of the
e164.arpa domain. This domain implements support in the DNS for the
ENUM protocol, allowing mapping of telephone numbers to domain names
in order to help facilitate such services as Voice over IP (VoIP).
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
support operations of one of the systems required for the deployment
of the ENUM protocol, promoting increased integration between the
Internet and services provided through the traditional telephony
infrastructure
-
To
support security of the e164.arpa domain by deploying and
maintaining DNSSEC and allowing secure delegations from ENUM
operators
2.5
Reporting on RIPE NCC and RIPE Activities and Developments
The
RIPE NCC reports on its activities and RIPE developments using a
variety of media:
-
The
RIPE NCC website
-
The
RIPE NCC Annual Report, including financial statements
-
The
RIPE NCC Member Update newsletter (distributed to the membership one
month prior to each RIPE Meeting)
-
E-mail
reporting to RIPE NCC members and interested parties
-
RIPE
Meetings, RIPE NCC Regional Meetings and Roundtable Meetings
-
Press
releases, media briefings and speaker opportunities
The
goal of the RIPE NCC's reporting activities is to provide the
membership and other interested parties with open, detailed
information about the ongoing activities of the RIPE NCC and its role
in Internet administration. It also furthers the RIPE NCC's efforts
to communicate more effectively with its membership and stakeholders
and to increase participation in RIPE.
2.5.1
Annual Report
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC Annual Report, including financial statements, is published
in advance of the RIPE NCC General Meeting (GM).
Goal
of Activity:
2.5.2
Minutes and Reports from RIPE Meetings
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC provides minutes, webcasts and audiocasts of RIPE Working
Group and Plenary sessions at RIPE Meetings, as well as links to
relevant presentations.
In
addition, the RIPE NCC provides reports after each RIPE Meeting that
summarise the highlights and actions that came out of the meeting.
Goal
of Activity:
2.5.3
RIPE NCC Member Update
Description
of Activity:
The
Member Update publication fulfils a request made by members in the
2002 RIPE NCC Membership Survey by providing information on the RIPE
NCC and the development and performance of its services to the
membership. It also provides updates on policy development issues
affecting the RIPE community.
Goal
of Activity:
2.6
RIPE NCC External Relations
The
purpose of the RIPE NCC's external relations activities is to:
-
Support
and represent the interests of the RIPE NCC's membership and the
RIPE community
-
Communicate
the RIPE NCC's role in IP address management and the technical
coordination of the Internet
-
Win
continued support for RIPE's long-established, bottom-up, industry
self-regulation and promote the open structures and processes in
which RIPE and the RIPE NCC operate
-
Ensure
that the RIPE NCC and the RIPE community continue to play an
effective role in the further formalisation of Internet
administration, particularly technical coordination and the
development of policy related to Internet number resource
distribution
2.6.1
Coordination with Governments and Regulators
Description
of Activity:
Building
on its position as a neutral and trusted organisation with proven
expertise in the technical coordination of IP networking, the RIPE
NCC continues to develop relations with government and regulator
representatives. This is part of continued efforts to enhance the
cooperation between the public and private sector regarding Internet
management issues.
The
RIPE NCC facilitates Roundtable Meetings to discuss Internet
management issues relevant to governments and regulators. The
Roundtable Meetings provide a chance for attendees to learn more
about how to participate in IP address management policy-making.
High-level discussions of topics such as IP address space management
and root server operations also provide attendees with an overview of
the main elements involved in the technical coordination of the
Internet.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
develop close contact with governments and regulators with an
interest in the technical coordination of IP networking
-
To
explain the proven, long-standing industry self-regulatory
structures of the RIRs and secure continued support for the existing
registry process
-
To
communicate the principles of Internet industry self-regulation to
policy makers in the public and the private sector, and to
encourage well-informed decisions
-
To
encourage the participation of public and private sectors in the
formation of policies related to Internet number resource
distribution
-
To
bring together the public and private sector to discuss IP
networking issues
2.6.2
Coordination with Industry Bodies
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC continues to support and represent the interests of its
membership and the RIPE community to Internet industry groups. The
main goals of these outreach activities remain the promotion of the
open, bottom-up, industry self-regulatory structure common to all RIR
communities in managing Internet number resources as well as the
general technical coordination needed to support the stable operation
of the Internet.
The
RIPE NCC represents the interest of its members and the RIPE
community by actively participating in various industry-related
forums and meetings.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
increase the awareness of RIPE and the RIPE NCC with existing and
new players in the Internet community
-
To
ensure that the RIPE NCC continues to play an effective role in the
further formalisation of Internet administration
2.6.3
RIPE NCC E-Learning Centre
The
RIPE NCC provides a range of courses to members and non-members,
using a variety of teacher-based courses and additional training
strategies.
The RIPE NCC provides an E-Learning Centre. This
is a free resource allowing members and non-members to access online
modules on a variety of topics that are of interest to our community
2.6.4
Liaison and Outreach
2.6.4.1
Increasing Participation in the Policy Development Process
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC aims to increase the participation of RIPE NCC members and
the RIPE community in the Policy Development Process (PDP) and the
discussion that occurs on the RIPE NCC mailing lists. In broad terms,
this activity will ensure the sustainability of the PDP by educating
new participants of the community about how the process works and its
role in supporting the open, bottom-up, industry self-regulatory
structure common to all RIR communities. Outreach activities will
seek to widen the demographic make-up of current participants by
targeting CEOs and the senior management of ISPs as well as the
younger members of the RIPE community.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
ensure the sustainability of the RIPE Policy Development Process
-
To
explain the importance of the Policy Development Office in
facilitating the RIPE Policy Development Process
-
To
increase the diversity of voices participating in the RIPE Policy
Development Process
2.6.4.2
Regional Support
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC organises Regional Meetings that provide a focused effort to
proactively encourage feedback from RIPE NCC members and the RIPE
community. In addition, these meetings are intended to increase the
involvement of RIPE NCC members, the RIPE community and other
stakeholders in the open policy-making process.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
promote local contact with members
-
To
provide a forum for discussing issues relevant to a specific area of
the RIPE NCC service region
-
To
enable the RIPE NCC to continuously evaluate and address the
changing needs of RIPE NCC members
2.7
Information Dissemination
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC ensures timely and effective information dissemination of
relevant publications, announcements and web postings (via the RIPE
NCC web site) to the RIPE NCC membership, RIPE community, governments
and other stakeholders.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
build awareness of the RIPE NCC and its services
-
To
inform selected audiences about RIPE and RIPE NCC-related issues,
news and noteworthy events
-
To
support the efforts of the organisation in its representation of the
RIPE NCC membership, RIPE community and their interests to new
industry players and governments
2.8
RIR Coordination
The
RIPE NCC participates in coordination activities with the other RIRs.
These coordination activities include:
-
High-quality,
consistent services
-
The
consistent application of approved policy
-
Joint
technical and communication projects
-
Liaison
activities
-
The
presentation of a global view of IP address management
The
RIRs work together through the Number Resource Organization (NRO) to
act collectively on matters relating to the interests of the RIRs.
The NRO offers a single contact point that enables global partners to
reach the RIRs collectively. This means that a global, uniform view
supported by all five RIRs can be presented when necessary.
3.
Information Services
The
RIPE NCC provides a range of data and analysis on Internet
infrastructure, measurement and usage. The RIPE NCC continues to
integrate new and existing services into its service portfolio while
developing overviews that explain how these services can be used and
the benefits they offer.
3.1
Routing Information Service (RIS)
The
Routing Information Service (RIS) provides an integrated view of
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing information collected at
multiple locations worldwide. The service integrates multiple views,
provides information about the routing state at specific times in the
past and enables users of the service to monitor their Internet
address space.
The
data collected by the RIS is time-stamped, stored in a database and
is used as the raw data for a number of additional services provided
by the RIPE NCC, such as BGPlay and MyASN. The RIPE NCC investigates
and develops additional services based on analysis of this data and
feedback from the Internet community.
The goals of the RIS
are to:
-
Collect
BGP information at multiple locations worldwide and make this data
available to the community
-
Provide
tools to access the data and further enhance these tools based on
community feedback
-
Investigate
the behaviour of the routing system and report to the community
3.2
Active Measurement Services (AMS)
The
RIPE NCC's active measurement services are based around the TTM
network, which also supports DNSMON. The data collected is made
available to the community for both operational and statistical
analysis, and the network itself is designed to be scalable so that
other services can be developed with and around it. The strategy
behind active measurement services is defined and evaluated in
consultation with the RIPE Test Traffic (TT) Working Group so that it
can be reviewed and adjusted to meet current and future user needs.
3.2.1
Test Traffic Measurements (TTM)
Description
of Activity:
The
Test Traffic Measurements (TTM) Service provides impartial
measurements of the end-to-end performance characteristics of the
inter-provider Internet. This is achieved by installing test-boxes at
participating sites. These test-boxes send measurement traffic to
each other. From this traffic, packet-losses, delays and other
parameters are determined according to the metrics developed by the
IETF IP Performance Working Group (IPPM WG). Additional services to
test-box hosts include Ad-Hoc Testing, which allows users to generate
arbitrary measurements from across the TTM network, and alarms, which
can be configured to generate alerts based on the output of TTM
network measurements.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
collect independent measurements of performance-related quantities
of the Internet, particularly between the networks operated by users
of the TTM service
-
To
provide useful trend analysis and to refine the system based on user
feedback
3.2.2
DNS Monitoring (DNSMON)
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC DNS Monitoring Service (DNSMON) provides a comprehensive,
objective and up-to-date overview of the quality of the service
offered by certain DNS root, Top-Level Domain (TLD) and ENUM tier-1
name servers. DNSMON measures DNS performance between sites that
take part in the TTM service and those where DNS servers are
installed. The high number of probes and the method of presenting the
results are unique. The information is updated every hour.
The
measurements are presented at various levels of granularity, allowing
users to switch between general representations and more detailed
views specific to particular domains, servers and probes for freely
selectable time frames.
The
RIPE NCC provides DNS Monitoring as a free service to the Internet
community. For interested parties, TLD operators in particular, value
added services such as monitoring of specific name servers and access
to the DNSMON helpdesk are provided on a cost recovery basis.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide high-quality monitoring of important DNS servers
-
To
allow users to view historical data, enabling a quick analysis of
both past and present DNS issues
3.2.3
Additional Active Measurements
Description
of Activity:
In
consultation with the RIPE Test Traffic Working Group, the RIPE NCC
investigates and discusses development plans for using the Active
Measurements Network to make additional active measurements.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
respond to requests from the Internet community to investigate the
possibilities for making additional active measurements
-
To
monitor the latest research and technical developments related to
the Active Measurements Network and the measurements that can be
made using this network
3.3
Reporting and Statistics Collection
The
RIPE NCC provides authoritative data and reports on the development
of the Internet and the consumption rate of Internet number
resources. As part of this activity, the RIPE NCC also raises
awareness of issues related to the consumption of Internet number
resources. The purpose of this activity is to provide useful,
up-to-date information relevant to a range of interested parties,
including:
A
range of statistics are gathered and incorporated in order to improve
cross-checks and cross-referencing as well as to unify the
presentation of statistics and to improve their accessibility.
The
RIPE NCC also develops metrics that can be used to objectively
measure the quality of Internet number resource registration data and
the results of efforts to improve data accuracy.
3.3.1
Hostcount
Description
of Activity:
The
RIPE NCC region Hostcount has been performed monthly since 1992 to
indicate the growth in the RIPE NCC service region.
The
Hostcount provides statistics on the number of hosts connected to the
Internet in Europe and surrounding areas. The statistics are gathered
in collaboration with a range of organisations doing local counts per
country Top-Level Domain.
Goal
of Activity:
-
To
provide the Internet community with an up-to-date view of the number
of hosts connected to the Internet in the RIPE NCC service region
-
To
increase the accuracy and usability of the Hostcount, and to develop
the Hostcount in consultation with the Internet community
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