[Atlas-anchors-pilot] Atlas Anchors pilot vs "RIPE NCC" box

[Vesna Manojlovic]

Dear Atlas Anchor potential hosts,

before we send you more hardware specifications,
we feel like some clarifications of the whole "pilot" are needed:

this year we are only running a *pilot* for the Atlas Anchor service.

Atlas Anchors will have only 2 functions: Atlas targets and Atlas probes.

At the same time, we are evaluating the feasibility of adding other
services to the same box. From our research in this phase, we expect
to learn if and how we can do that in a safe and reliable way.
Based on that knowledge we will gradually migrate the Anchor boxes
into the multi-service node : "RIPE NCC box" (working title):
a powerful HW box, owned by the host but operated by RIPE NCC,
that can support multiple services, for example k-root member-instance, 
DNSmon measurements, local RPKI repository, maybe NRTM of whois 
Database, and other possible ideas.

There are some concerns about the suitability of virtual environment
for a measurements platform. Our engineering team is working on testing
this, and in addition to them we have a student doing his graduation
project on this, finishing in December 2012. Based on the results of
his study, and based on experiences from the first deployed boxes, we
are going to move in a certain direction with this project, but that we
will only know in January 2013.

For the Atlas Anchor *pilot* we would like to start with 10 pilot hosts
just after the RIPE65, install one or two boxes, and slowly & gradually
add more boxes between October and December, up to 10.

In January we want to start adding 10 more boxes, possibly with the
changed specifications, and finalize all the processes around it, within
3 first months of 2013.

We are planning to make the Atlas Anchors production service and
membership service, at the end of 1st quarter 2013, with the established
ordering process, provisioning via the portal, clear Terms & Conditions etc.

Later in 2013 we are going to make the "RIPE NCC box" into a production
service and additional membership service.

Also, based on the feedback that we already got, we are also going to
look at offering the *one-service-box*... but only _next year_, after
the Atlas Anchors pilot (more about that in another message).

Thank you for your input,
we are taking it into consideration,
and please continue giving us your feedback, on this list or in person
-- we are listening.

(next 2-3 messages are about HW specs & purchasing procedures & survey..)

Regards,
Vesna