[db-wg] new "via" attributes in aut-num Class

Dear working group,

As some of you might know I've been working on extending the RPSL syntax
to make life easier for certain scenario's, such as operating a Route Server. 

The purpose of the new attributes and the patch is to make life easier for Route
Server operators whom have to deal with participants who have been assigned
a 32 bit ASN. There currently is no way to relay information between non-adjacent
ASNs, and 32 bit ASNs do not fit into standard BGP communities when coupled
with an action code. Often Route server operators overload BGP communities to
assess which participant should receive what prefixes, the "via" feature addresses
exactly that concern. 

I have submitted the following draft to the IETF: 

	http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-snijders-rpsl-via

And I have submitted a patch for the RIPE whois server to support the feature. 

	https://github.com/job/whois

The extension should be backward compatible with minimal impact on existing
tools and processes, following Section 10.2 of RFC2622. RPSL parsers which
do not understand the new attributes are expected to just ignore it. 

I am looking for feedback from this community, and especially the community's
blessing to allow RIPE NCC to adopt the patch. 

Kind regards,

Job
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 841 bytes
Desc: Message signed with OpenPGP using GPGMail
URL: <https://lists.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/db-wg/attachments/20130814/a653d2e4/attachment.sig>