This policy proposal has been accepted and has been implemented
The new RIPE Document is: ripe-801
This policy proposal recommends setting the minimum assignment size to a /24 while still allowing for a smaller assignment if requested by the End User. This policy proposal also allows routing requirements to justify the request for more than a /24 for research purposes.
Based on feedback on the first version, the proposed new policy text has been simplified, as well as paragraph 3.1 for consistency.
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In the case where an End User requires number resources for research purposes, and where the research project details are made public upon registration of the number resources by the RIPE NCC, and where the End User commits to making public the results of their research project free of charge and free from disclosure constraints, then the requested number resources may be issued for a period of up to one calendar year.
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The utilisation rate of an assignment must be such that at least 50% of the total space applied for at the time of the assignment will be concurrently used at peak periods during the assignment.
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Number resources requested for research purposes may be issued for a period of up to one calendar year when both the following conditions are met:
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The default assignment size is a /24. Assignments smaller than a /24 can be made upon request. The utilisation rate of an assignment larger than a /24 must be such that at least 50% of the total space applied for at the time of the assignment will be concurrently used at peak periods during the assignment.
A request for more than a /24 for research purposes may be justified by routing requirements when both the following conditions are met:
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It is the RIPE NCC's understanding that this proposed policy will in the following ways change the current practice for IPv4 temporary assignments in terms of assignment size and approval criteria:
ASSIGNMENT SIZE
The proposed policy defines that, from the moment it comes into effect, the default size of IPv4 temporary assignments will be a /24, yet it will remain possible to specifically request smaller or larger assignments.
CRITERIA
The proposed policy allows the RIPE NCC to approve requests for temporary assignments larger than a /24 for research purposes justified by routing requirements, if less than 50% of the total space applied for at the time of the assignment will be used concurrently at peak periods.
In this case, the research project details must be made public upon registration of the number resources by the RIPE NCC, and the End User must commit to making the results of their research project public, free of charge and free from disclosure constraints, even if the assignment is requested for a duration shorter than six months.
The evaluation of requests for temporary assignments up to a /24 will be based on the documentation of their purpose as defined in paragraph 2.1 of this policy.
The RIPE NCC does not expect any relevant impact on the Registry and Addressing System. Even considering the extreme scenario where temporary /24 routes are created for the entire /13 reserved pool, the global routing table will grow temporarily only by a few thousand entries.
The RIPE NCC does not expect a substantial increase in the number of requests. While the criteria for evaluating the request’s purpose will remain the same as in the current policy, the issuance of an assignment of a default size might reduce the handling time for requests not exceeding a /24 since the size of the assignment will not be based on the utilisation rate.
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Once the policy has become active, the RIPE Policy “Temporary Internet Number Assignment Policies” (ripe-587) will be updated. As described in the proposed policy, the contents of section 3.3 of the policy document will be replaced, and a new version of the RIPE Document will be published reflecting this change.
With the information currently available, it is expected that implementation of the new specifications in the proposal would require around one month to update internal and external processes and documentation.