Changes to Out-of-Region Objects in the RIPE Database

The database no longer supports the creation of out-of-region route(6) and aut-num objects, and existing out-of-region objects have had their “source:” attribute changed to “RIPE-NONAUTH”.

These changes were implemented after years of discussion in the RIPE Database Working Group, which eventually reached consensus on the matter in February. This change will make it much easier for network operators to identify the legitimate holders of IP address space and solves a known problem related to prefix hijacking.

The background to these changes is provided in greater detail in a RIPE Labs article. The full implementation plan that was carried out by the RIPE NCC is also available. We are now closely monitoring the impact of this implementation on network operators and will report anything we find to the RIPE community.

We would like to thank everyone who provided input during the test and deployment phases and in the community discussions on this topic.