RIPE NCC Annual Report 2005 |
 |
RIPE NCC
Document ID: ripe-377
Date: April 2006
Table of Contents
 
In April 1992, the RIPE NCC was formed by the RIPE community as the world’s
first Regional Internet Registry (RIR). Today, one of its original tasks remains
the provision of unique Internet resources and related services. Since its inception,
the RIPE NCC has proved capable of adapting to changing industry requirements
and the needs of its members. As a result, it has performed many activities
for the benefit of its members, the RIPE community and the Internet community
as a whole.
RIPE NCC membership growth continued in 2005, with a 10% increase in the number
of members. It is worth noting that, despite this large growth in members, the
RIPE NCC’s expenditure has not increased for the last four years. Improved
operational efficiency has allowed the RIPE NCC to maintain a high quality of
service, serving an ever-growing user base, while keeping expenses down.
Over the last three years, the RIPE NCC, in collaboration with a range of
industry partners including the other RIRs, has been extensively involved in
the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). I am happy to report that
the result of the WSIS in November 2005 had a positive outcome for the RIRs
and their communities. The role of governments inside the area of Internet governance
was defined, along with a clear decision for governments not to become involved
in the daily operational and technical matters of the Internet. This result,
while recognising the importance of full involvement of all stakeholders, allows
for the continued successful operation of the Internet and was a successful
outcome for the Internet community.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome AfriNIC as an officially
recognised RIR for the African Internet community. Its establishment was a noteworthy
achievement in the industry in 2005. It was another positive example of RIR
and community cooperation, and represented the culmination of a number of years’
work by all the RIRs, the Internet community in Africa and a range of industry
partners and stakeholders. Finally, I would like to thank the RIPE NCC membership
and the RIPE community for its continued support of the organisation. Coordination
and collaboration between the many organisations that play a role in Internet
administration and development is vital for maintaining the strength and stability
of the Internet. I am pleased to say that, with the support of its members and
the RIPE community, the RIPE NCC continues to play a leading role in these efforts
and contributes to the growth of the powerful, global tool that the Internet
has become.
 
2005 was an exciting and challenging year for the RIPE NCC. It was a year in
which the self-regulatory Regional Internet Registry (RIR) system was called
into question at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS); something
that could have had a huge impact on the way the RIPE NCC functions.
In November 2005, the conclusion of the second phase of the WSIS reinforced
the long-established, policy development processes of the RIRs. It recognised
that the RIR processes fully support open participation by the Internet community,
allowing for fair, equitable and representative Internet number resource allocation
policies.
Building on its leading role in the technical coordination of IP networking,
the RIPE NCC also organised and participated in a range of meetings with a growing
community of stakeholders, industry bodies and government representatives. These
meetings included members of the European Commission and government representatives
from throughout the RIPE NCC service region.
During these meetings, the RIPE NCC focused on explaining the principles and
success of the self-regulatory structures of the RIRs in order to secure continued
support for the existing registry process. In addition, the RIPE NCC contributed
to a range of papers that were published in cooperation with industry partners
and stakeholders. These documents were intended to promote a greater understanding
of existing Internet governance mechanisms by explaining the cooperation that
is fundamental to the stability of the Internet.
The formalisation of the RIPE Policy Development Process (PDP) also took place
in 2005. This was a major achievement for the RIPE community, which called for
formal documentation of the existing processes for developing IP address space
policies. The RIPE NCC, as requested by the RIPE community, offered full administrative
and technical support. The success of the formalised RIPE PDP is just one example
of the effective coordination between the RIPE NCC and the RIPE community.
Throughout 2005, and in the lead up to the WSIS, it was encouraging to see
the strong support given to the RIPE NCC and the RIR structure by the membership
as well as the community. An example of this support came early in the year
when the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO)
published its common position on the future of IPv6 management, a statement
that concluded with explicit support for the current RIR system. ETNO is an
association whose members are the largest consumers of IP addresses in Europe.
The positive responses from RIPE NCC members and the Internet community proved
how important it is for the RIPE NCC to monitor and react to proposals or activities
that could impact IP address administration and management. In all these activities,
the RIPE NCC’s goal is to represent the needs of its members and the RIPE
community.
Operational relations with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN) have also improved further over 2005. The RIPE NCC was pleased
to note improved staffing within the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
While the RIPE NCC stated its support for ICANN, both in its own right and as
part of the Number Resource Organization (NRO), it still strives to solidify
the relationship between ICANN and the NRO through the development of contracts
detailing IANA service levels and the levels of financial contribution from
the RIRs.
 The
Year Ahead
Looking ahead to 2006, the RIPE NCC will continue in its efforts to develop
relationships with policy makers in the public and private sectors and to win
the continued confidence of these stakeholders. The RIPE NCC will monitor the
developments that emerge from the WSIS outcome in order to respond effectively,
on behalf of our members and the RIPE community, to any relevant issues, particularly
with regards to the Internet Governance Forum. These responses will be coordinated
with our industry partners and other stakeholders, continuing the collaborative
efforts that proved successful during the WSIS process and beyond.
The RIPE NCC held its first Roundtable Meeting in March 2005, in order to
discuss Internet management issues with governments, regulators and industry
partners. By holding more Roundtable Meetings, publishing more papers and continuing
to organise Regional Meetings, the RIPE NCC will be more accessible than ever
before to our colleagues in the public and private sectors. The RIPE NCC will
also incorporate feedback received from the RIPE NCC 2005 Membership Survey
and focus efforts on building productive relationships, providing opportunities
for discussing IP address administration and management issues.
During 2006, the RIPE NCC will improve the consistency of the processes for
distributing Internet number resources to members as well as strengthening the
robustness of this system. We will also focus on IT security activities to further
secure internal IT infrastructure and services. The RIPE NCC will develop and
deploy security systems to enable the introduction of new activities should
they be necessary in the future, such as support for routing security. As always,
the RIPE NCC is committed to working alongside its members and the Internet
community to develop a thorough understanding of the needs, implications and
technical deployment regarding all activities.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the RIPE NCC members for
their ongoing support of the RIPE NCC and call for their continued participation
in the long-established processes that have made the RIR system successful over
the years. In the constantly evolving Internet landscape, the RIPE NCC continues
to focus its efforts on meeting the needs of its members and the Internet community.
After thirteen years of successful operations, the RIPE NCC is in a solid position
to fulfil these requirements.
 
The RIPE Network Coordination Centre (NCC) is an independent, not-for-profit
membership organisation. It has a membership base of 4,210 (at 1 December, 2005)
members in 65 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
The RIPE NCC supports the development of the Internet through technical coordination
of the Internet infrastructure in its service region and beyond. It is
an open and transparent, neutral and impartial, bottom-up, self-governing
organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, employing around 90
staff. A concise overview of the RIPE NCC is given in the RIPE NCC Information
Sheet, available at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripencc/about/infosheet.pdf
Membership
Anyone can become a member of the RIPE NCC. The membership consists mainly
of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunication organisations and large
corporations. There is a one-time, sign-up fee for new members. Each member
is then assigned to one of five billing categories based on the services it
uses.
In all of its activities, the RIPE NCC observes strict neutrality and impartiality
in regard to individual members. More information about becoming a member
is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/membership/
The RIPE NCC’s Role as a Regional Internet Registry
The most prominent activity of the RIPE NCC is to act as the Regional Internet
Registry (RIR) in its service region. RIRs provide Internet resources,
such as Internet Protocol version (IPv ) and Internet Protocol version
6 (IPv6) address space as well as Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs), to
their members. An overview of countries in the RIPE NCC service region
can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/membership/maps/index.html
RIPE NCC Services and Activities
The RIPE NCC also provides services for the benefit of the Internet community
as a whole, such as the development, operation and maintenance of the
RIPE Whois Database. The database provides contact details and registration
and assignment information about networks in the RIPE NCC service region.
More information about the RIPE Whois Database can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/index.html
Other RIPE NCC activities and services include:
- Administrative support for RIPE Working Groups and the Internet community
- Outreach activities such as RIPE Meetings, Regional Meetings and Roundtable
Meetings
- Operating one of the world’s root name servers
- Deployment of a neutral measuring network, providing public and authoritative
statistics on the operation of the Internet
- The operation of a routing database
RIPE NCC activities and services are described in the RIPE NCC Activity Plan,
available at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ap.html
Setting and Evaluating RIPE NCC Activities
All RIPE NCC activities, and the services it offers, are defined, performed,
discussed and evaluated in an open manner. The RIPE NCC obtains input and feedback
from the RIPE NCC Executive Board, the RIPE NCC Services Working Group and RIPE
NCC members via feedback surveys, RIPE Meetings and RIPE NCC General Meetings.
The RIPE NCC Executive Board approves the RIPE NCC Activity Plan each year,
incorporating any feedback given by members during the RIPE NCC General Meeting
held every autumn.
Structural Overview
The RIPE NCC consists of the members, an Executive Board and RIPE NCC staff
members.
Members:
- Are responsible for nominating and electing candidates to the RIPE NCC
Executive Board
- Are responsible for approving the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme each year
- Approve the Financial Report each year
- Provide input to, and feedback on, the RIPE NCC’s Activity Plan and
Budget
- Give general input on the activities and services of the RIPE NCC through
participation in public mailing lists and at RIPE Meetings
- As part of the wider community, develop Internet policy, in particular
IP address policies
- Use the services provided by the RIPE NCC
 The
RIPE NCC Executive Board:
- Is elected by the RIPE NCC members at RIPE NCC General Meetings
- Is responsible for appointing the RIPE NCC management, for the overall
financial situation of the RIPE NCC and for keeping records that allow the
current financial situation to be evaluated
- Represents the members and guides the RIPE NCC management
- Approve the RIPE NCC Activity Plan and Budget
The RIPE NCC staff:
- Perform the activities of the RIPE NCC
- Provide administrative support to the RIPE Working Groups and the Internet
community
- Provide services for RIPE NCC members
RIPE NCC’s Involvement with the NRO and the ASO
The RIPE NCC, along with the other RIRs, forms part of the Number Resource
Organization (NRO). The NRO’s main aims are to protect the unallocated
Internet number resource pool, to promote and protect the bottom-up policy
development process and to act as a focal point for the Internet community
to input into the RIR system. In 2005, the RIPE NCC held the Chair of
the NRO, with Axel Pawlik acting as Chairman. More details about the NRO
can be found on page 22. The NRO also performs the function of the Address
Supporting Organization (ASO), one of three supporting organisations called
for in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
bylaws. The ASO reviews and develops
recommendations on Internet policy relating to the system of IP addresses and
advises the ICANN Board on these matters. More information about the RIPE NCC’s
participation in the ASO can be found here.
 World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
Over the last few years, the RIPE NCC has been actively involved in the many
phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), including the
final summit in Tunisia in November 2005.
The RIPE NCC participated in WSIS in its own right and in cooperation with
the other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) as the Number Resource Organization
(NRO). The commitment of time and resources to WSIS was significant, reflecting
the importance of the process to the future of the Internet and the potential
impact on the addressing system.
In a forum of diverse stakeholders, myths and misconceptions about the Internet
addressing system were a real concern. The outcome of the WSIS could have had
a serious impact on the open, bottom-up, industry self-regulatory processes
that have underpinned the Internet since its inception. The RIRs and the NRO
worked hard to ensure that all communications were focused and timely and that
the needs of RIR members and the Internet community as a whole were well represented.
During WSIS, the NRO joined together with the Internet Society (ISOC), Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet Engineering
Taskforce (IETF) and several other organisations to form the ‘Internet
Pavilion’ at the Summit’s ‘ICT all’ exhibition. The
pavilion helped spread understanding of the current system to government, civil
society, and industry delegates, as well as to the international media.
The RIPE NCC participated in WSIS and related activities as part of its continued
efforts to support its membership and the RIPE community and represent their
interests to Internet industry groups and governments. The main goal of these
activities remains the promotion of the selfregulatory structure common to all
RIR communities in managing Internet address resources.
The outcome of the WSIS in 2005 recognised the processes and services provided
by the RIRs to the Internet community. It affirmed that neither competitive
nor parallel registry systems were needed, recognising that RIR processes fully
support the open participation of the Internet community, allowing for fair,
equitable, and representative resource allocation policies. It also recognised
that these processes will continue to balance the priorities for Internet resource
management at global, regional and local levels, ensuring the stability and
integrity of the Internet's global addressing and routing structures.
Outreach to Governments and Regulators
The RIPE NCC also continued to build on its position as a neutral and credible
organisation in the sphere of IP address administration and management. During
2005, the RIPE NCC developed closer relations with a growing community of stakeholders,
industry bodies and government representatives. The RIPE NCC’s outreach
efforts in 2005 were focused on creating increased dialogue between the public
and private sectors to create a common understanding of the issues, roles and
responsibilities relevant to IP address administration and management.
As a part of the RIPE NCC’s efforts to include governments and other
stakeholders in the technical coordination of Internet resource management,
the RIPE NCC held two meetings with the European Commission. The meetings allowed
the RIPE NCC to discuss the technical and administration structures of the Internet,
particularly in light of the WSIS process. These discussions aimed to provide
the European Commission with an understanding of RIPE NCC activities and the
open, inclusive Policy Development Process of the RIPE community.
The RIPE NCC opened dialogue with governments and regulators within the RIPE
NCC service region by organising two Roundtable Meetings in 2005. The meetings
targeted governments and regulators and focused on issues relevant to the public
sector, such as IPv and IPv6 address allocation policies, Internet routing and
the feasibility of competitive IP addressing registries.
 The
first Roundtable Meeting was held in March 2005 and brought together government
representatives from 1 different countries. The positive feedback received
during this meeting led to the RIPE NCC facilitating a Roundtable Meeting
on IP Addressing held by the NRO in cooperation with the ICANN Governmental
Advisory Committee (GAC). This meeting was held in July 2005, and attracted
0 participants from 2 countries.
Throughout 2005, RIPE NCC representatives attended other meetings relevant
to Internet governance issues. The RIPE NCC also published a range of statements
and informational papers to communicate the effectiveness of the RIR system
and win continued support for this structure. In recognition of the RIPE NCC’s
efforts to ensure that the interests of the RIR communities regarding IP address
space distribution continue to be represented and understood, the Internet Services
Providers’ Association (ISPA) nominated the RIPE NCC for an Internet Hero
award. The RIPE NCC was nominated as a result of its external relations activities.
The Address Supporting Organization
The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) is one of three supporting organisations
called for in the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
bylaws. The purpose of the ASO is to review and develop recommendations on IP
address policy and to advise the ICANN Board on these matters.
In October 200 , the Number Resource Organization (NRO), on behalf of the
RIRs, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICANN on the ASO. This
MoU also outlines a policy process that promotes industry self-regulation of
the unallocated number resource pool (IPv , IPv6 and AS Numbers). In 2005, the
RIPE NCC, together with the other RIRs, finalised the process for an ASO governed
by the new MoU.
ASO Address Council (AC) members are appointed through nomination and election
processes in each of the RIR regions. In 2005, the ASO AC elected Hans Petter
Holen (Visma, Norway) as Chair of ASO Address Council for 2005. Mr. Holen was
appointed to the AC by the RIPE NCC service region, along with Sabine Jaume-Rajaonia
(RENATER, France) and Wilfried Woeber (Vienna University, Austria). Wilfried
Woeber is the RIR appointed member to the ASO AC.
The secretariat function rotates between the RIRs on an annual basis. In 2005,
LACNIC perfomed this function. More information about the RIPE NCC and
the ASO is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/info/resource-admin/aso.html
In 2005, the total number of members increased by 10% to 4,210 members. As
a result of mergers and closures, the net membership growth for 2005 was 386
members.
Membership growth increased slightly in the ten countries with the most members
in the RIPE NCC service region. New members from Russia made up 17 % of the
total number of new members in 2005. In the RIPE NCC service region, Russia
is now the country with the most members, with 545 members, followed by the
UK with 521 members.
The most prominent activity performed by the RIPE NCC is provision and registration
of unique Internet resources and related services (IPv4 , IPv6 and AS Number
resources) in the RIPE NCC service region. The overall goal is to ensure the
fair distribution of Internet resources while maintaining accurate registration
data.
The RIPE NCC processed a total of 16,378 requests for resources and related
services in 2005. Although this is an 11.4% decrease compared with 2004, the
number of requests in 2004 was high because of the additional requests generated
by Early Registrations Transfer (ERX). The initial response times for resource
requests and membership applications continued to remain stable during 2005.
The time taken to complete requests has reduced during the year and the RIPE
NCC is committed to further improving its service levels.
A number of request forms and their supporting notes were updated over the
course of the year, improving the wording without changing the actual
content, making them easier to use. These changes were part of an ongoing
project to improve the wording of all RIPE NCC request forms and supporting
notes. An overview of all address space managed by the RIPE NCC is available
at:
https://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ripe-ncc-managed-address-space.html
 IPv4
Allocation
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allocated three /8s to the
RIPE NCC in 2005.
The RIPE NCC allocated address space equal to a /7, /8, /10, /11, /14 and
a /16 (over 57 million IPv4 addresses) during 2005. This represents 3.4
/8s and is an increase of 49.8%
compared with 2000 . This is mostly due to an increase in the number of
large allocations to providers of “always on” Internet connections.
For more information see:
https://www.ripe.net/info/info-services/addressing.html
IPv6 Allocation
The IANA allocated address space equal to a /16, /18, and a /21 to the RIPE
NCC in 2005.
The RIPE NCC made 94 /32 IPv6 allocations in 2005. This is a decrease of 36.05%
compared with 2000 , when 147 /32 allocations were made. Since it started allocating
IPv6 address space in 1999, the RIPE NCC has made 448 IPv6 allocations. By the
end of 2005, 54 of the 55 /35 allocations that were made under the provisional
IPv6 policy had been expanded to a /32 (the current minimum allocation size).
The RIPE NCC also made four allocations that were larger than the minimum
/32 prefix length. These included two /19 allocations, one /22 and one
/31. Four /48 assignments were made to Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
during 2005. For more information see:
https://www.ripe.net/info/info-services/addressing.html
 Autonomous
System Numbers (ASN) Assignments
The RIPE NCC assigned 1,819 AS Numbers during 2005. This is an increase of
22.1%, compared with the 1,490 AS Numbers that were assigned during 2000
.This increase is largely due to assignments to networks in countries
where there has been strong membership growth. The
IANA allocated one new block of 1,024 AS Numbers to the RIPE NCC in February
and another in September 2005.
Early Registration Transfer (ERX)
The RIPE NCC started Early Registration Transfers (ERX) in August 2002, when
it transferred AS Number registrations from the ARIN database to the RIPE Database.
IPv4 registration transfers began in December 2002. The RIPE NCC completed the
ERX project in 2005. The last transfer involved the former Class C registrations.
In total, 45 /8s were processed. The transfer of the final /8 (192/8) was completed
in April 2005. A total of 16,877 registrations were transferred during 2000
– 2005, with 3,185 of these in 2005.
More information about ERX can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/projects/erx/
RIPE NCC E-Learning Centre
In November 2005, the RIPE NCC E-Learning Centre was launched. Available to
members and stakeholders from the public and private sectors, the RIPE
NCC E-Learning Centre enables users to “learn in their own space,
at their own pace”. The online courses aim to supplement the training
courses provided by the RIPE NCC. The first module in the RIPE NCC E-Learning
Centre introduced users to the RIPE Whois Database. Further modules will
be developed based on feedback from users. More information about the
RIPE NCC E-Learning Centre can be found at:
https://e-learning.ripe.net
RIPE NCC Training Courses
During 2005, the RIPE NCC offered three different types of training courses:
- The Local Internet Registry (LIR) Training Course trains members on how
to request Internet resources and how to interact with the RIPE NCC. This
course was restructured to include practical examples and was relaunched in
June 2005.
- The Routing Registry (RR) Training Course is aimed at experienced network
operators and explains the features of Routing Policy Specification Language
(RPSL), the RR and related tools. The course includes interactive practical
exercises and demonstrations of tools.
- The DNSSEC Training Course is aimed at experienced Domain Name System (DNS)
operators and explains how to implement DNSSEC in an operational environment.
It also includes information about the DNSSEC preparations completed by the
RIPE NCC. The course will change in 2006 to focus more on reverse DNS procedures
and other RIPE NCC DNS services.
 All
RIPE NCC training courses are regularly updated to include new policies
and modifications to processes or software, and to ensure the information
presented in the training courses is kept current. During 2005, courses
were held in 1 countries throughout the RIPE NCC service region.
In total, about 800 Local Internet Registry (LIR) staff members were trained.
A custom-made, one day RIPE NCC seminar that covered all three training
courses was held alongside the RIPE NCC Regional Meeting in Moscow, 15-16
September 2005. The RIPE NCC also gave training courses at venues provided
by host companies. For more information about RIPE NCC Training Services,
see:
http://www.ripe.net/training/
The RIPE NCC Local Internet Registry (LIR) Portal is the web-based gateway
that enables RIPE NCC members to interact with the RIPE NCC.
Using the LIR Portal, members can:
- Update information, such as contact information or protected records in
the public whois database
- Request resources or assignment approval, either through request forms
or "wizards”
- Access information and tools, such as RIPE NCC Training Services and online
registration for RIPE Meetings and Regional Meetings
In 2005, the RIPE NCC received over 3,000 requests, 23.2% of the total requests,
for allocations and assignments via the LIR Portal. All other requests were
made by e-mail. Requests made through the LIR Portal provide the RIPE NCC with
more relevant information up-front than requests made via e-mail. LIR Portal
requests can be processed in approximately half the time of those sent by e-mail.
The LIR Portal is available to all RIPE NCC members and all members are encouraged
to use it to communicate with the RIPE NCC whenever possible. Over 90%
of LIRs have LIR Portal accounts. For more information see:
https://lirportal.ripe.net/
 
The RIPE NCC implements the Internet address distribution policies developed
by community consensus in the RIPE Working Groups which hold open discussions
on public mailing lists and at RIPE Meetings. In 2005, the RIPE Policy Development
Process (PDP) was formalised.
More information is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/pdp.html
Twelve policy proposals were made during the year. More details about these
proposals can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies/proposals/
The RIPE Document Store lists recent changes to all RIPE Documents. This list
is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/updates.html
Throughout 2005, the RIPE NCC carried out liaison activities and continued
to offer support to all members in its service region. The key purpose of these
activities is to communicate effectively with members about issues that affect
them. Liaison activities also enable members to provide feedback, so the RIPE
NCC can continuously evaluate and address the changing needs of its members.
The 2005 RIPE NCC Membership Survey
The 2005 RIPE NCC Membership Survey, conducted independently by KPMG, played
an important role in the RIPE NCC's efforts in continuing to meet members' needs.
The goal of the survey was to give all members the opportunity to voice their
opinions and provide input on the RIPE NCC and the services it offers.
All individual responses were sent directly to KPMG to ensure confidentiality.
The response rate to the survey was encouraging, with responses coming from
279 respondents in more than 50 countries. The overall outcome of the survey
was generally positive, with members recognising the significant improvement
in the RIPE NCC’s services since the last survey that was carried out
in 2002.
Improvements noted by respondents included:
- Better online documentation
- Improved resource request forms
- A simplified system for reverse DNS
- Enhanced support for RIPE Meeting attendees
Improvements to the RIPE NCC’s finance and administration were
also noted, such as:
- Revised “Standard Service Agreements” and “Terms &
Conditions” documents
- The introduction of additional billing categories
- A new online payment system
 Full
details of the 2005 RIPE NCC Membership Survey can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/membership/survey2005/results/
RIPE NCC Regional Meetings
The RIPE NCC hosts Regional Meetings in order to actively include all parts
of the RIPE NCC service region in its activities. One of the core aims of the
meetings is to get direct feedback from the membership about region-specific
issues. The meetings bring RIPE NCC members from a specific region closer to
the RIPE NCC community and encourage their participation in RIPE Meetings, RIPE
Working Groups and the policy-making process.
In 2005, the RIPE NCC held a Regional Meeting in Moscow, in September, which
attracted 100 attendees. This was the second time a meeting had been held in
Moscow. The success of the June 200 Regional Meeting in Moscow prompted a return
to the region.
More information about RIPE NCC Regional Meetings is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/meetings/regional/
RIPE Whois Database
The RIPE NCC operates and maintains the RIPE Whois Database. The database
contains information about IPv and IPv6 address allocations and assignments
and AS Number assignments, as well as information about the organisations, contacts
and DNS reverse delegations relating to them.
It also contains an Internet Routing Registry. More information about the
RIPE Whois Database can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/index.html
During 2005, and as a result of discussions in the RIPE Database Working Group,
the RIPE NCC made improvements to the whois database:
- Information about who to contact when reporting e-mail abuse was made easier
to access.
- The default output to whois queries was changed to remove information that
could confuse users.
Changes to the default output format are rare. The last change occured in
2001. Other changes, such as the addition of an attribute that contains
an e-mail address that can be used to report abuse, were also made. Full
details of these changes can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/news/abuse-implemented-20050421.html
Several minor changes were also made to support DNS Security (DNSSEC):
- A new attribute to store the delegation signer information for domains
was added
- A time limit was introduced for updates sent to the database and signed
with PGP or X.509 to prevent an unauthorised person from sending the same
update later
More information about DNSSEC is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/news/
Whois Database Software
The software used for the RIPE Whois Database is published under an open source
software license. This means that anyone can download it to use for their
own purposes. In 2005, the RIPE NCC put public Concurrent Versions Systems
(CVS) and Bugzilla servers online so that developers and other interested
parties could use the latest version of the source code. They could also
submit and track problems with the software. The RIPE NCC also released
a new version of the software. More details can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/news/whois-3.3.0.html
Whois Database Service and Support
In 2005, the RIPE Whois Database server was moved from a single server to
a group of three servers. One server updates the database, while the two others
answer queries to the database. This has made the service faster and more reliable.
The RIPE Database Reference Manual was also split into two separate manuals:
one for queries and one for updates. The RIPE Whois Database Query Reference
Manual was completed during 2005. Work to complete the RIPE Whois Database
Update Reference Manual is ongoing. The RIPE Whois Database Query Reference
Manual is available in the RIPE Document store at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/db-query-manual.html
The RIPE NCC also supports all RIPE Database users by providing an e-mail
helpdesk. The helpdesk can be contacted at:
ripe-dbm@ripe.net.
Improving Data Integrity
During 2005, the RIPE NCC continued to work on improving the quality of the
data it publishes in the RIPE Whois Database and in various statistical overviews.
Key areas of work included:
- Completion of Early Registration Transfer (ERX)
- Improvement to the way data is stored in the RIPE NCC’s internal
systems
- Updates of contact information for address space used by Local Internet
Registries (LIRs) that have closed
Cross Registry Information Service Protocol (CRISP)
The most common way to get information from the RIPE Whois Database is by
using the whois protocol. This has a number of limitations. CRISP is an
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Working Group created to design
a protocol that addresses these limitations. More information can be found
in the working group charter at:
http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/crisp-charter.html
The CRISP Working Group also created the Internet Registry Information Service
(IRIS) protocol. It supports different types of registry information,
such as domain information and IP address information. The protocol required
new software to be installed on the RIPE NCC servers, and new client software
for users. In 2005, the RIPE NCC put a prototype IRIS server online. It
contains the same information that is held in the RIPE Whois Database
and is accessible using the IRIS protocol. This means that the information
is presented in a slightly different format. A web page was created for
users to query the IRIS server. There is a client for users who want to
query directly from their machine and a software library to help
software developers write their own client.
You can find more information about the RIPE NCC IRIS server at:
http://www.ripe.net/db/iris-pilot/index.html
As part of the technical support for allocated address space, the RIPE NCC
provides primary and secondary Domain Name System (DNS) services for reverse
domains. The RIPE NCC also provides a secondary DNS service for country code
Top Level Domains (ccTLDs).
Other aspects of the DNS service include the operation of one of the world’s
root name servers (K-root), running the Tier-0 registry and the DNS service
for the e164.arpa domain to support ENUM. To improve scalability and ease configuration
management of reverse DNS, and to prepare for DNSSEC deployment, the RIPE NCC
restructured its DNS service. Three servers were installed: one for distributing
primary reverse DNS, one for secondary reverse DNS and one for secondary reverse
for ccTLDs and secondary DNS services for other domains.
In August 2005, the forward zones were signed. In October 2005, the first
reverse zones were signed (89/8 and 90/8). Secure delegations for these zones
have been possible since October. During the last months of 2005, the RIPE NCC
signed zones at a rate of around three per week.
Reverse Delegation
The RIPE NCC provides reverse domain delegations for allocated IPv and IPv6
address space. Together with the operation of the DNS root server, these continue
to be the primary DNS activities carried out by the RIPE NCC. The RIPE Whois
Database, the authoritative source for reverse zones, supports the management
of reverse DNS. It also allows Local Internet Registries (LIRs) to maintain
their reverse delegations themselves by updating information in the RIPE Whois
Database.
In October 2005, the RIPE NCC began DNSSEC deployment in the reverse DNS tree
by signing reverse zones. It also began supporting secure delegations
in these zones. The first reverse zones to be signed were 89/8 and 90/8.
More details about reverse delegation are available at:
http://www.ripe.net/reverse/
Secondary DNS
The provision of secondary DNS service ensures the reliability and robustness
of the general DNS infrastructure and forms an important part of the overall
DNS service. The RIPE NCC provides the secondary DNS service for the reverse
zones of other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) and to some ccTLD organisations,
mainly those in developing countries, upon request. The RIPE NCC offers this
service free of charge. At the end of 2005, the RIPE NCC was providing a stable
secondary DNS service to 100 ccTLDs.
 K-root
The RIPE NCC operates one of the world’s root name servers. These root
name servers are a crucial part of the Internet DNS infrastructure. The RIPE
NCC has operated the K-root server since 1997, when the first server was installed
at the London Internet Exchange (LINX). Currently, K-root consists of five globally
available nodes and 12 nodes with local availability, all operated by the RIPE
NCC.
The five global nodes are located at:
- London, United Kingdom
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Tokyo, Japan
- Miami, United States
- Delhi, India
After completing this phase of anycast deployment, the RIPE NCC began research
into better understanding the impact of the anycast network on the service
that the RIPE NCC provides and the strategy for expanding the K-root anycast
network in the future. More information about K-root can be found at:
http://k.root-servers.org
ENUM
The RIPE NCC runs the Tier-0 registry and provides DNS service for the e164.arpa
domain on behalf of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
ENUM is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard, as described
in RFC2916, to map telephone numbers according to the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) standard E.164 , into the Domain Name System (DNS). The e164.arpa
domain is the root of the ENUM namespace in the global DNS. The RIPE NCC
follows the IAB instructions to provide the DNS name service for e164.arpa.
These instructions can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/enum/instructions.html
The RIPE NCC delegates domains for E.164 country codes to entities requesting
them (Tier-1 registries) after approval is given by the ITU Telecommunication
Standardization Sector - Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (ITU-T
TSB). The ITU-T TSB handles delegation requests following the ITU-T Study
Group 2 (ITU-T SG2) interim procedures. More information can be found
at:
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/inr/enum/procedures.html
In 2005, the RIPE NCC made ten delegations within the e164.arpa zone following
approval received from the ITU-T TSB. At the RIPE 51 Meeting in Amsterdam,
the RIPE NCC agreed to work on improving the quality of DNS in the e164.arpa
DNS tree. More details can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/enum/
During 2005, Deployment of Internet Security Infrastructure (DISI) focused
on the security of the Domain Name System (DNS) by deploying DNS Security (DNSSEC).
Early in 2005, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) finished the development
of the DNSSEC protocol by publishing RFC 4033 to RFC 4035.
The RIPE NCC established a taskforce to deploy DNSSEC on the forward zones
(ripe.net, ripencc.net and others) and reverse zones (193/8 and others) under
the RIPE NCC’s control. As part of this project, the DNS infrastructure
was upgraded to support DNSSEC, key maintenance infrastructure and procedures
were established and tools for the exchange of key information between child
and parent were developed and deployed. Key management policies and procedures
were developed in collaboration with the community.
Part of DISI’s mission is to provide white papers and tutorials that
help to ease the deployment of DNSSEC. In 2005, the RIPE NCC updated its
“DNSSEC HOWTO" tutorial to comply with the protocol description
and software. This document is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/disi
The RIPE NCC continued to maintain the Net::DNS::SEC module to provide DNSSEC
support for tool developers. This module is available at:
http://search.cpan.org/~olaf/
The RIS collects and stores Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing information.
It also offers tools that can be used to search and analyse this information.
The routing information and the tools can be used by anyone. The RIS has several
Remote Route Collectors (RRCs) located at different collection points around
the world. In 2005, two new RRCs were added, bringing the total number to 14.
Together, these RRCs facilitated over 500 peering sessions.
The online RIS database stores data over a three-month period. In addition,
all data collected since the project started in 1999 is available in a raw format.
Because of the number of RRC collection points and long-term data storage, the
RIS gives an overview of Internet routing from different locations over an extended
period of time.
In 2005, the RIS web-based tools were rewritten and now support IPv6 searches.
The central server was redesigned and split into two servers. This allowed
more routing data to be stored without slowing down the RIS database.
More information about the RIS, including links to tools and data, can
be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/projects/ris/
 Test
Traffic Measurements (TTM) Service
The TTM service is designed to reliably and impartially measure end-to-end
performance characteristics of the inter-provider Internet. This is achieved
by installing test-boxes at participating sites. These test-boxes send measurement
traffic to each other.
From this traffic, packet losses, delays and other parameters are determined
according to the metrics developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
IP Performance Working Group.
In 2005, the RIPE NCC continued to participate in this working group, with
one of its staff members acting as co-chair. The test-boxes are also used for
the RIPE NCC DNSMON service. A total of seven test-boxes were ordered during
2005; five new test-boxes were provided and two were replaced with new hardware.
The RIPE NCC continued to fine-tune the configuration of the test-boxes for
the ongoing task of improving the resilience of the TTM service. Monitoring
of test-boxes has also been improved.
New timekeeping software was also added to the TTM service. This feature improves
delay measurements. This feature was also considered necessary for the introduction
of bandwidth measurements. The possibility to routinely measure capacity and
available bandwidth between test-boxes using non-intrusive tools has been discussed
in the community during the last few years. While considerable progress had
been made in this field, there are currently no tools available that are suitable
to routinely undertake large numbers of measurements. Therefore, the RIPE NCC
decided to abandon the bandwidth measurement project.
Together with the RIPE Test Traffic Working Group, the RIPE NCC has been investigating
which other measurements can be done using the TTM infrastructure. This
resulted in two RIPE Policy Proposals (2005-10 and 2005-11) being submitted.
These proposals can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies/proposals/2005-10.html
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies/proposals/2005-11.html
Further information about the TTM service can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/ttm
DNS Monitoring (DNSMON)
DNSMON was developed between 2003 and 2005. DNSMON uses Test Traffic Management
(TTM) test-boxes to provide an objective and upto- date service overview of
DNS root servers and participating Top-Level Domain (TLD) name servers. The
measurements show the availability of root servers and are presented so that
the user can distinguish between server-side and client-side problems.
DNSMON has been available as a fully supported service since April 2005. There
are two levels of service:
A higher service level offered to TLD operators as part of the TTM service
(against a cost recovery fee)
A lower service level available for free to the entire Internet community
The main differences between the services are in the delay between data collection
and presentation and in the level of support offered by the helpdesk. Currently,
20 TLD operators are using the DNSMON service.
The service is described in more detail in RIPE Document ripe-342, available
at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/dnsmon.html
More details about DNSMON are available at:
http://dnsmon.ripe.net
During 2005, the RIPE NCC continued to collect statistics on Internet development.
The purpose of this is to provide authoritative data and reports to a wide range
of users, including network operators, RIPE Working Groups, industry bodies,
governments and the media.
Hostcount
Every month, the RIPE NCC coordinates the collection of data from the DNS
zones of TLDs in the RIPE NCC service region and publishes summary statistics
derived from this data. This activity has been performed since 1993, making
it one of the longest running data collection efforts on, and about, the
Internet. In 2005, the accuracy and usability of the Hostcount was reviewed.
A report, with suggestions for improvements, was presented to the community
at the RIPE 50 Meeting in Stockholm. Implementation of this proposal began
in 2005. The presentation can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/ripe-50/presentations/ripe50-serv-hostcount.pdf
ASN Missing in Action (ASN-MIA)
In 2005, the RIPE NCC conducted a study on the consumption of AS Numbers (ASNs).
It compared the ASN assignments by the five Regional Internet Registries
(RIRs) with the number of unique ASNs seen by routers on the Internet.
A report was published as RIPE Document RIPE 5 and is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ripe-353.html
By 1 August 2005, 33,000 ASNs had been assigned by the RIRs. Currently, 284
± 43 ASNs are assigned by the RIRs each month. If this rate of assignment
continues, the pool of available ASNs could run out somewhere between 2013 and
2016. At the same time, the routing table is only growing by 183 ± 44
ASNs per month. There are two reasons for this disparity:
- ASNs are being requested based on future expansion plans, meaning some
are never actually used
- ASNs that are no longer in use are being retained by Local Internet Registries
(LIRs)
If all unused ASNs could be recovered, the available pool could last until
somewhere between 2025 and 2030. If they cannot be recovered, Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) need to think about deploying -byte ASNs.
The policy proposal for this is available at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies/proposals/2005-12.html
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RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens) is a collaborative forum open to all parties interested in wide area IP networks. The objective of RIPE is to ensure the
administrative and technical coordination necessary to enable the operation of the Internet. There are no membership requirements for participation
in RIPE. Activities are performed on a voluntary basis and decisions are formed by consensus.
The work of the RIPE community is carried out within a variety of working groups. Each of these RIPE Working Groups has one or more mailing
lists where relevant topics are discussed. The RIPE community provides the most important source of public input to the RIPE NCC and also plays
a significant role in the development of the annual RIPE NCC Activity Plan.
Policies regarding IP administration are created within RIPE,
primarily in the Address Policy Working Group. The RIPE NCC does
not set policies but ensures the consistent application of policies
within its service region. More information about RIPE is available
at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe
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Rob Blokzijl
RIPE Chair |
| RIPE Meeting Support
Although they are two distinct entities, RIPE and the RIPE NCC are interdependent in their operations. The RIPE NCC is committed to supporting
the bottom-up, industry self-regulatory structure developed by the RIPE community. It provides administrative support for RIPE and facilitates the
organisation of RIPE Meetings.
RIPE Meetings are open meetings where technical and policy issues affecting Internet administration and operations specific to IP networking are
discussed. Network operators meet at RIPE Meetings to discuss technical coordination matters. The RIPE Working Groups gather in dedicated
sessions at RIPE Meetings to discuss current challenges and to develop solutions.
To increase awareness and involve parts of the RIPE NCC membership and the RIPE community in RIPE Meetings, support is provided for those
who cannot attend. This includes webcasting selected sessions and the facilitation of feedback mechanisms such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and
Jabber. This allows RIPE NCC members and the Internet community not present at the meeting to follow, and contribute to, important discussions.
In 2004, Rob Blokzijl, RIPE Chair, proposed that two RIPE Meetings would be held in 2005 as opposed to three. Based on feedback from the
community, the schedule of bi-annual RIPE Meetings will continue. The RIPE NCC offers continued support to RIPE Working Groups to facilitate
discussion and progress during the periods between RIPE Meetings by facilitating mailing lists and providing newsletters and announcments. More
information about RIPE Meetings can be found at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/
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RIPE NCC and the Number Resource Organization (NRO)
The Number Resource Organization (NRO) was established in October 2003 and is made up of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). The NRO carries out the joint activities of the RIRs, including joint technical projects, liaison activities and policy coordination. Its main goals are to protect the unallocated Internet number resource pool, to promote and protect the bottom-up policy development process and to act as a focal point for Internet community input into the RIR system.
The NRO does not develop, approve or implement regional or global number resource policies. The RIRs administer and facilitate policy in their regions using established open policy development processes. With input from the RIRs via the NRO, the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) reviews and develops recommendations on global IP address policy ratification by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) Board of Directors.
The NRO Executive Council consists of the Chief Executive Officer of each RIR. Officer positions rotate annually. In 2005, the officers were: Chairman, Axel Pawlik (RIPE NCC); Secretary, Raúl Echeberría (LACNIC); Treasurer, Ray Plzak (ARIN); Members, Adiel Akplogan (AfriNic) and Paul Wilson (APNIC).
Over the course of 2005, much of the work of the NRO involved active participation in Internet governance forums, especially the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). The NRO presented regular statistical reports and coordinated engineering work including projects dealing with 6-to-4 reverse DNS services and common registry protocols. The NRO also facilitated globally coordinated policy developments through the various
regional communities.
To support the NRO’s activities, two groups, consisting of RIR staff, were established in 2004. The Communication Coordination Group (CCG) focuses on communication and public relations. The Engineering Coordination Group (ECG) ensures that engineering projects are globally coordinated. The CCG and the ECG ensure efficient and effective coordination between the five RIRs.
The NRO also continued to work together with a number of key organisations that are responsible for both day-to-day management and policy development in the Internet sphere. The purpose of these collaborative efforts was to promote a greater understanding of existing Internet
governance mechanisms and how these relate to the recommendations of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) Final Report and wider WSIS principles. More information about the NRO can be found at:
http://www.nro.net/
AfriNIC is the African, not-for-profit organisation proposed by the African community to manage Internet number resources in Africa. On 8 April
2005, AfriNIC became a fully recognised Regional Internet Registry (RIR). The RIPE NCC offered substantial support to AfriNIC during its set-up
as an RIR. This included hosting AfriNIC staff at the RIPE NCC offices so that they could gain hands-on experience of the various activities carried
out by an established RIR.
As part of the transition process, AfriNIC and the RIPE NCC co-evaluated resource requests between September 2004 and February 2005. In early
2005, all data and documentation relating to assignments in the African part of the RIPE NCC’s service region were transferred to AfriNIC. Essential
software tools to manage this data were supplied jointly by the RIPE NCC and ARIN.
On 21 February 2005, AfriNIC became fully operational as an RIR. The RIPE NCC ended the membership of all its members from the African continent on 31 December 2005. Termination of RIPE NCC membership was executed in accordance with the RIPE NCC Articles of Association.
The RIPE NCC Standard Service Agreement was also terminated for African countries on 31 December 2005. All claims for payment of outstanding
service fees and all membership data were permanently transferred to AfriNIC. The RIPE NCC kept historical data for archiving purposes.
To guarantee a stable and operational global RIR system, the RIPE NCC continues to take a close interest in AfriNIC and to offer AfriNIC its full
support.
For more information about AfriNIC, see:
http://www.afrinic.net
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General Information
All amounts are expressed in kEUR. Foreign currencies are converted
at the daily exchange rate at the date of transaction or valuation. The balance
sheet has been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention.
The accounting principles were in accordance with the previous accounting
year.
The financial year 2005 resulted in a surplus of 2,68 kEUR.
This positive result is due to a higher than expected income from membership
growth and the effective control of expenses. This surplus increases the RIPE
NCC reserves above the level that is equivalent to one year’s operating
expenses for the RIPE NCC. This target was set by the RIPE NCC Executive Board
and the RIPE NCC Management for the financial stability and the continuity
of the RIPE NCC. For 2006, the level of reserves has been budgeted to decrease
towards a level equivalent with one year’s operating expenses.
Revenues
Revenues were 3% below 2004 and 8% above the budgeted income for 2005. The
income from service fees in 2005 was less than in 2004 due to a substantial
decrease in fees, even though there was a positive effect from the increased
number of members.
The total membership increased to 4,210, a 10% growth compared to 2004 .
The total number of new members applying in 2005 was 684 . Due to closed
members and applicants that never became members, the net growth for 2005
was 386 members.
Compared to 2004 , income from the service fee includes the revenues received
from late payments for previous years and late payment charges. In previous
years, these items were listed as ‘Other Income’.
The RIPE Meeting fee income was less than 2004 , but well above budgeted
income. This is a result of the change from holding three RIPE Meetings
per year to two RIPE Meetings per year in 2005. The attendance at the two
RIPE Meetings in 2005 was substantially higher than expected. ‘Other
Income’ contains Test Traffic Management (TTM) Service fees, DNSMON
income and EU VAT reclamations from 2004 that were submitted in 2005, and
a revaluation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) accrual.
Expenditures
Total expenditure in 2005 was 3% less than total expenditure in 2004 . The
main reason for the decrease in expenditure was a decrease in ‘Miscellaneous
Costs’ caused by a repayment from the RIPE NCC Personnel Fund. Personnel
expenses increased slightly from 2004 , but were still well below the 2005
budget. For the full year, 90.6 FTEs were employed compared to 90.5 FTEs
for the year 2004 and 92.5 FTEs budgeted for 2005. The number of FTEs is
calculated on the basis of the number of days (as defined by social security
benchmarks) worked by employees.Operational expenses increased due to additional
postage expenses and the increased ICANN contribution for 2005.
RIPE Meeting expenses increased from the budget as a result of the high
number of attendees at both RIPE Meetings in 2005. Only one Regional Meeting
was held in 2005 compared with two in 2004 and budgeted for 2005.
Miscellaneous costs consist of bad debts and RIPE NCC Personnel Fund expenses.
Bad debts were 423 kEUR versus 361 kEUR in 2004. In 2005, the liability to
the Personnel Fund was -161 kEUR for 2005, substantially lower than 2004
, as a result of a decrease in the number of employees with indefinite contracts.
Financial expenses include bank charges and interest received on current
and deposit accounts. Due to the RIPE NCC’s new online payment system,
bank charges increased as credit card charges are now charged to the RIPE
NCC and are accounted as an expense. With the increased cash deposit level,
the interest received from deposit accounts increased over 2005.
General Information
All amounts are expressed in kEUR. Foreign currencies are converted at
the daily exchange rate at the date of transaction or valuation. Historic
costs have been used throughout unless otherwise stated.
Assets are valued at historical cost and are depreciated on a straight-line
basis, starting in the month after acquisition. Computers consist of hardware
and activated software. Hardware is written-off in three years while software
is written-off in two years. Infrastructure is writtenoff in three years
and office equipment in five years. All items under EUR 1,000 are expensed.
Current Assets
 Accounts
receivable decreased in comparison with 1 December 2004, due to the timely
sending of quarterly and half-yearly invoices and due to the decrease in
service fees for 2006. In 2005, in contrast to previous years, a re-statement
was made for all extra payments or over payments by members to the RIPE
NCC. This amounts to 163 kEUR and is reported as ‘creditors’.
Suspense accounts are stated as accounts receivable. Suspense accounts
are payments received from members where the origin of the payment is not
yet clear. Miscellaneous receivables include pre-payments for rent, equipment,
pension, health and deposits for securing RIPE Meeting venues. Other items
listed under miscellaneous receivables are interest receivable, fees to
be received, payments in transit and long-term receivables. In addition,
miscellaneous receivables for 2005 include a small inventory for the sale
of K-root equipment and TTM equipment.
Capital
Until 1998, surpluses were accumulated in the RIPE NCC reserves. In 1998,
the RIPE NCC agreed with the Dutch tax authorities on a tax ruling that
allows surpluses to be deposited tax-free into a Clearing House. All yearly
surpluses since 1998 have been allocated to the Clearing House. In 2004 ,
the Clearing House ruling with the tax authorities was revised so that the
Clearing House applied to all members as a group and not as individuals.
This was approved at the RIPE NCC General Meeting in May 2004 . Currently,
the maximum reserve in the Clearing House is limited to three times the
service fees received from the members.
 7kEUR
is restated from the creditors to the accounts receivable at 1 December
2005. This refers to credit notes receivable from creditors. The unearned
revenues consist of invoices sent in 2005 but pertaining to 2006. The substantial
decrease in service fees for the year 2006 has resulted in a moderate decrease
in unearned revenues, even though the membership grew considerably over
the year 2005, from 3,824 to 4,210 members. In 2004 , the RIPE NCC changed the
wage tax filing period from quarterly to monthly. Therefore, at year-end
2005, only the December payment was still due.
 Miscellaneous
Payables
The miscellaneous payables include accrued holiday allowance and accrued
vacation days. This amount is based on the number of outstanding vacation
days at 1 December 2005 and valued at the December 2005 salary. In comparison
to 2004 , miscellaneous payables exclude the unearned revenue for African
members. This was included in “Other Payables” in 2004 . At year-end
2004 , this amounted to 201 kEUR. In the course of 2005, the payments received
were transferred to the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for the African
region, AfriNIC.
Items
Not Shown in Balance Sheet
The RIPE NCC rents office space in two buildings and has two separate
rental agreements for these. Two bank guarantees have been issued for an
amount of 131 kEUR to cover a quarter of the rent of the office space. These
rental agreements were re-negotiated in 2005 and were extended until December
2008 and 2009.
Currently, the RIPE NCC has no liabilities or obligations towards the
Number Resource Organziation (NRO) and all items were settled at year-end
2005. There is no material interest in
the NRO that needs to be noted in the financial statements.
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