[db-wg] IPv6 Whois update

Colleagues,

As you may have seen on the list, there were a few reachability
problems with the new IPv6 Whois service.  We believe these are
configuration related, and have a workaround allowing queries to
WHOIS.RIPE.NET to work while we research it further.  If you have
network issues with this service please e-mail <ripe-dbm at ripe.net>.


We also have heard some problems people are having with their Whois
clients giving them errors querying the RIPE Whois server.  These can
occur in the case that:

- The Whois client has IPv6 support.
- The host computer does not have working IPv6 support.

The client will:

1. Get the AAAA record for WHOIS.RIPE.NET.
2. Try to connect to the IPv6 address.
3. Fail because there is no IPv6 stack/address/router/etc.

If you are experiencing this problem, you may be able to fix it by
enabling IPv6 on your host (so that the IPv6 queries work), disabling
IPv6 *completely* on your host (so that no AAAA records are returned),
or by using another Whois client.  The RIPE Whois client will work in
this case, and is available from our FTP site:

ftp://ftp.ripe.net/tools/ripe-whois-latest.tar.gz

    
-- 
Shane Kerr
RIPE NCC