Introduction

This document describes the

procedures for the delegation of authority of zones in the 193.in-addr.arpa domain. As of March 16th 1993 the RIPE NCC has been delegated the authority for the 193.in-addr.arpa domain from the root. Due to the fact that in the 193.x.y address space blocks of 256 class C network numbers are further delegated to local registries , the possibility exists to also delegate the zone for these blocks in the 193.in-addr.arpa domain. This document describes some guidelines and procedures for this type of delegation and the delegation of reverse zones for individual class C networks in 193.x.y.

A bit more explained

1.0 Definition

1.1 Reverse delegation: The process by which the authority for certain reverse DNS zones is assigned to a specific set of DNS servers.

1.2 Early registration: IPv4 address space assigned or allocated before the establishment of the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs).

2.0 Introduction

The RIPE NCC provides the necessary support to enable resolution of IPv4 and IPv6 address space into domain names. This service is implemented under the in-addr.arpa and ip6.arpa sub-domains described in [1] and [2].

3.0 Reverse Delegation in the RIPE NCC Service Region

The RIPE NCC provides reverse delegations for IPv4 and IPv6 address space that is registered by the RIPE NCC.

The RIPE NCC also provides systems to control reverse delegation of early registrations that have been transferred to the RIPE Database.

Address space holders may delegate authority to another party.

4.0 Procedures

The procedures related to reverse delegation and information about the requirements the RIPE NCC enforces are published at:

http://www.ripe.net/reverse/ Link: http://www.ripe.net/reverse/

5.0 References

[1] [RFC 3172] "Management Guidelines & Operational Requirements for the Address and Routing Parameter Area Domain ("arpa")"

Procedures for the delegation of direct subdomains of 193.in-addr.arpa

1. A secondary nameserver at ns.ripe.net is mandatory for all blocks of class C network numbers delegated in the 193.in-addr.arpa domain.

2. Because of the increasing importance of correct reverse address mapping, for all delegated blocks a good set of secondaries must be defined. There should be at least 2 nameservers for all blocks delegated, excluding the RIPE NCC secondary.

3. The delegation of a class C block in the 193.in-addr.arpa domain can be requested by sending in a domain object for the RIPE database to <hostmaster@ripe.net> with all necessary contact and nameserver information. The RIPE NCC will then forward all
current reverse zones inside this block to the registry, and after addition of these by the registry, the NCC will check the working of the reverse server. Once everything is setup properly, the NCC will delegate the block, and submit the database object for inclusion in the database. An example domain object can be found at the end of this document.

4. All reverse servers for blocks must be reachable from the whole of the Internet. In short, all servers must meet similar connectivity requirements as top-level domain servers.

5. Running the reverse server for class C blocks does not imply that one controls that part of the reverse domain, it only implies that one administers that part of the reverse domain.

6. Before adding individual nets, the administrator of a reverse domain must check wether all servers to be added for these nets are indeed setup properly.

7. There are some serious implications when a customer of a service provider that uses address space out of the service provider class C blocks, moves to another service provider. The previous service provider cannot force its ex-customer to change network
addresses, and will have to continue to provide the appropriate delegation records for reverse mapping of these addresses, even though it they are no longer belonging to a customer.

8. The registration of the reverse zones for individual class C networks will usually be done by the registry administering the class C block this network has been assigned from. The registry will make the necessary changes to the zone, and update the network objects in the RIPE database for these networks, to reflect the correct "rev-srv" fields. In case the RIPE NCC receives a request for the reverse zone of an individual class C network out
of a block that has been delegated, the request will be forwarded to the zone contact for this reverse block.

9. The NCC advises the following timers and counters for direct subdomains of 193.in-addr.arpa: 8 hours refresh (28800 seconds), 2 hours retry (7200 seconds), 7 days expire (604800 seconds) and 1 day Time To Live (86400 seconds). The retry counter should be
lowered where connectivity is unstable.

Above procedures are defined to ensure the necessary high availability for the 193 reverse domains, and to minimize confusion. The NCC will ensure fast repsonse times for addition requests, and will in principle update the 193.in-addr.arpa domain at least once per working day.

Example domain object to request a block delegation

domain: 202.193.in-addr.arpa
descr: Pan European Organisations class C block
admin-c: Daniel Karrenberg
tech-c: Marten Terpstra
zone-c: Marten Terpstra
nserver: ns.eu.net
nserver: sunic.sunet.se
nserver: ns.ripe.net
changed: marten@ripe.net 930319
source: RIPE

Procedures for the delegation of individual network zones by the RIPE NCC.

The registration of the reverse zones for individual class C networks will usually be done by the registry administering the class C block this network has been assigned from. In case the zone corresponding to the class C block has not been delegated, the RIPE NCC will automatically add the reverse nameserver as specified in the "rev-srv" attribute of the RIPE database object for this network, using the following procedures:

1. Because of the increasing importance of correct reverse address mapping, for all delegated networks a good set of secondaries must be defined. There should be at least two nameservers for all networks delegated.

2. The "rev-srv" field should ONLY contain one fully qualified domain name of a nameserver which is authoritative for the reverse zone for this network.

3. If a network has or is going to have any external connectivity, it is strongly recommended that it has at least one reverse nameserver that can be reached from all of the Internet.

4. The checking and addition of the reverse zones for single networks is completely automated at the RIPE NCC. Although we do our best to check the setup of the nameservers, these does not receive the same level of scrutiny as nameservers for blocks of class C network numbers. It is the responsibility of the network contacts to ensure proper operation.

5. Any problems regarding the reverse zones in 193.in-addr.arpa should be directed to <hostmaster@ripe.net>.

The NCC also suggests that similar procedures are set up for the delegation of reverse zones for individual class C networks from the registries to individual organisations.

6.0 Attribution

This document is compiled from policies developed by the RIPE community.

The following people actively contributed to this policy by making proposals through the RIPE Policy Development Process:

Olaf Kolkman
Leo Vegoda