Near Real-Time Mirroring in the RIPE database v3.0

Dear Colleagues,

Please find below the next in the series of documents concerning the new
database software (v3.0). Now it is about near real-time mirroring. 

We will appreciate your comments and suggestions,

Best regards,
 
Andrei Robachevsky
DB Group Manager
RIPE NCC


Near Real-Time Mirroring in the RIPE database v3.0
==================================================

1. Near Real Time Mirroring (NRTM) server listens on a separate port
(different from usual whoisd port - 43).

2. The following queries are supported by NRTM server:

-q sources

List all available sources. The format of the output is:

<source>:<NRTM protocol version>:<mirroring>:<first>-<last>

Where 

<source> - is the string that identifies the Database (e.g. RIPE)

<NRTM protocol version> identifies the version of mirroring protocol.

<mirroring> can take one of the following values:

Y/N/X - can mirror/cannot mirror/obscured

<first> is the lowest serial number available
<last> is the most recent serial number available

The following semantics apply:

Y:<first>-<last>  mirroring allowed, serials from range <first>-<last>
available
N:<first>-<last>  mirroring not allowed for administrative reasons. Ask
Database Administration for permission.
N:0-<last>        mirroring physically not possible (e.g. static
snapshot of serial <last>)
X:<msg>           no mirroring allowed. An explanation is given in
<msg>.


-g <source>:<NRTM protocol version>:<first>-<last>

Where

<source> - is the string that identifies the Database (e.g. RIPE)

<NRTM protocol version> identifies the version of mirroring protocol
(currently 1).

<first> is the lowest serial number requested .

<last> is the most recent serial number requested or the keyword LAST
which tells the server to send all updates upto the most recent serial
number available at the time of the query.

3. The following errors may occur when querying NRTM server.


%ERROR:1: Syntax error: <input>

The format of the query is incorrect.


%ERROR:2: Invalid range: Not within <first>-<last>

This happens when the requested range or part of it is outside the
serial numbers available at the server. <first> is the lowest serial
number available <last> is the most recent serial number available.


%ERROR:3: You are not authorized to mirror the database

For more information one may use -q sources query.


%ERROR:4: Unknown source

The Database identified by the <source> is not served by the server. Use
-q sources for a list of available sources.