Implementation of RIPE Policy "Contractual Requirements for Provider Independent Resource Holders in the RIPE NCC Service Region" - Phase 3

Abstract

This is a procedure document that describes the steps to be taken for holders of independent Internet number resources who have not signed an End User Assignment Agreement with either a sponsoring Local Internet Registry (LIR) or the RIPE NCC regarding independent Internet number resources assigned to them before or during Phase 2 of the policy implementation of "Contractual Requirements for Provider Independent Resource Holders in the RIPE NCC Service Region".

1 Introduction

In October 2008, the RIPE community accepted the policy "Contractual Requirements for Provider Independent Resource Holders in the RIPE NCC Service Region", which states that a contractual relationship must be established between an End User and a sponsoring LIR or the RIPE NCC before the End User can receive independent Internet number resources (AS Numbers, PI address space, Anycast assignments or IPv6 Internet Exchange Point (IXP) address space). This policy also states that it applies to all independent Internet number resources previously assigned to an End User by the RIPE NCC or by a RIPE NCC Local Internet Registry (LIR).

In order to fulfill its mandate of manager of Internet number resources and to implement this policy, the RIPE NCC requires End Users to have a contractual relationship in place with either a sponsoring LIR or directly with the RIPE NCC.

The procedures listed in this document are subject to RIPE Policies.

2 Procedure

In Phase 3 of the policy implementation, the RIPE NCC will contact all holders of independent Internet number resources for whom the required documentation was not submitted by a sponsoring LIR or who have not signed a RIPE NCC End User Assignment Agreement during Phase 2 of the policy implementation. This means holders of resources that are marked as one of the following at the end of Phase 2 of the policy implementation will be contacted:

• Not My End User
• My End User (but the LIR has not submitted the required documentation by the end of Phase 2)

Also, holders of independent Internet number resources for which no selection was made during Phase 2 of the policy implementation will be contacted in Phase 3.

This means that holders of independent Internet number resources that are listed under an LIR that is closed will be contacted as well. This is necessary because the management of the independent Internet number resources listed under these LIRs was transferred to the RIPE NCC after the closure of the LIRs.

The RIPE NCC will contact the resource holders based on their contact details registered in the RIPE Database. Different levels of contact details (“admin-c”, “tech-c”, “mnt-by”, etc.) will be used to ensure reasonable attempts are made to reach the resource holder. The contact method is by email.

The RIPE NCC will contact resource holders in batches to ensure the provided feedback can be processed in a timely manner. The visibility of the resources in the global routing table and the results from the previous batches will be taken into account for planning and prioritising the next batch runs.

The RIPE NCC will provide the resource holders with a link to a web interface where they can give feedback and updates regarding the status of the independent Internet number resources assigned to them. In order to implement this policy, the RIPE NCC must know whether the resource holders still exist and can be reached using the contact information registered in the RIPE Database. This makes it necessary to monitor the activity on the webpages and keep logs of the activities in order to prioritise future batch runs if resource holders fail to provide the required feedback or do not react at all within the given time period(s). End Users will also be able to contact the RIPE NCC directly by email in case they need assistance during this process.

Resource holders will have to respond to the points listed below:

a) Still a contact person for the resource?

The contacted persons can inform the RIPE NCC if they are the responsible contact for the resource.

b) Email address for future contact?

The resource holder/contact person can provide a main contact email address and will also be asked to update the contact details in the RIPE Database accordingly.

c) Confirmation that the resource is used for the resource holder's network infrastructure.

Independent Internet number resources can only be used for the network infrastructure of the organisation the resources are assigned to.

d) Resource used by another organisation?

If the resources are in use by another organisation, the contact persons can provide more information about the organisation currently using the resource, including their contact details.

e) Resource holders who (now) operate an LIR can provide their LIR's RegID.

It is possible that an organisation later became an LIR after independent Internet number resources were assigned to them. In such cases, the resources can be moved to the resource holder's registry and approved as resources used for the LIR's network infrastructure.

f) Information on whether the resource holder has already entered, or will soon enter, a contractual relationship with a sponsoring LIR and provide the LIR's details.

Resource holders are free to choose which LIR they will sign an agreement with.

Please note that resource holders can also check with their ISPs whether they operate an LIR so they can also sign an End User Assignment Agreement with their ISP if they should operate a LIR.

3 Timeframes

Should the End User not react within three months and several attempts by the RIPE NCC to contact the resource holder, including reminders by email and using different contact details registered in the RIPE Database related to the resource, the RIPE NCC will:

• Change the maintainers on the End User's records to the status “deregistered maintainer”; and
• Add a warning statement to the relevant records in the RIPE Database mentioning the upcoming deregistration of the resources; and
• Withdraw the reverse delegation; and
• Contact the upstream to investigate possible hijacking of resources; and
• Delete all relevant objects in the RIPE Database including aut-num/inetnum, domain and route objects

Should the End User confirm they will sign an agreement with a sponsoring LIR but the agreement was not provided within three months of the End User's confirmation, the RIPE NCC will also start the de-registration procedure as described above.