[routing-wg] Need for "import-via:" and "export-via:" attributes in AUT-NUM object

Dear colleagues,

During the RIPE 67 Meeting in Athens last week, there was some 
discussion about the introduction of new "via" attributes to the AUT-NUM 
object.

The reasoning behind these attributes is explained in this draft RFC:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-snijders-rpsl-via-02

Although the proposal had received some support when discussed recently 
on the Database Working Group mailing list, there was some discussion 
during the RIPE 67 Routing Working Group session that the community 
field can be used to achieve the same result as these proposed "via" 
attributes. However, some people have commented that the community field 
cannot be used for this purpose with 32-bit AS Numbers. As a result, the 
RIPE NCC was asked to bring the issue back to this mailing list for 
further discussion.

We would appreciate any feedback, whether positive or negative, about 
the introduction of these new attributes.

Regards,

Denis Walker
Business Analyst
RIPE NCC Database Team