[db-wg] whois lookup limits

At 06:00 PM 28-06-05 +0200, Shane Kerr wrote:

Many thanks for the fast reply!

-Hank

>Hank,
>
>Hank Nussbacher wrote:
>>What are the current limits on whois lookups and how does one get a 
>>specific IP changed?  I have someone getting "ERROR:202: access control 
>>limit reached for x.x.x.x"
>We have a standard reply to questions about rate limits:
>
>=========================================================================
>
>If you have not been permanently denied access, if you wait the limit
>will lift itself.  Every 12 hours the count is reduced to 0.5 times the
>previous level, plus all of the queries made in that period.  If you
>repeatedly query after you have been denied you WILL be permanently
>denied.
>
>The limit is ONLY in effect for person or role data.  This is because of
>the privacy restrictions on said data - it contains information such as
>e-mail and phone contact that may be sensitive.  In order to query the
>database without viewing such data, please use the "nonrecursive" option
>to the query.  This will return only the actual records, rather than
>also returning the contact information.  This is specified with the "-r"
>flag.
>
>If you need the data you may retrieve it from the RIPE FTP site, at the
>following URL:
>
>ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ripe/dbase/ripe.db.gz
>
>You can also get portions of the database by object type in the
>following directory:
>
>ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ripe/dbase/split/
>
>For instance, to get a list of aut-num objects you would retrieve:
>
>ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ripe/dbase/split/ripe.db.aut-num.gz
>
>If you have a legitimate need for massive queries to the Whois database,
>you may wish to run a Near Real-Time Mirror.  Please contact us at
><mailto:ripe-dbm at ripe.net><ripe-dbm at ripe.net> for more information about 
>this option if you think
>it applies to you.
>
>=========================================================================
>
>Some bits missing from this:
>    * We track everything based on client IP address, which means NAT and 
> firewalls and things like that can cause confusion (which is why we tell 
> you what IP address we are blocking in our reply).
>    * The default limit is a count of 5000 private (PERSON or ROLE) objects.
>    * The actual limit can be changed for any given CIDR range, and we do 
> that occasionally for users with special needs who sign an AUP.
>    * Permanent denial only happens after 32767 temporary denials, which 
> basically means someone running an out-of-control script, or someone 
> running a web page that forwards queries to the RIPE server (you can get 
> a special proxy AUP for this second case).
>As always, e-mail <mailto:ripe-dbm at ripe.net><ripe-dbm at ripe.net> if you get 
>blocked, need an AUP, or have any other questions about the RIPE Whois 
>Database.
>
>The rate limiting is a bit odd and hard to understand, but it has worked 
>pretty good for the last 4 years. At some point we are planning on 
>changing it to a simple linear decay (rather than "halving after 12 
>hours"), but it is a low priority.
>
>--
>Shane Kerr
>Software Engineering Department Manager
>RIPE NCC
>
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>This Mail Was Scanned By Mail-seCure System
>at the Tel-Aviv University CC.