[ncc-services-wg] Re: [db-wg] Clean up of unreferenced person/role objects

Gert,

On Fri, Apr 20, 2007 at 11:57:15AM +0200, Gert Doering wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Apr 20, 2007 at 11:49:23AM +0200, Shane Kerr wrote:
> > This points out the failure of policy... what happens if objects
> > are not maintained properly? Right now, there is nothing that can
> > be done. What I would like to see done is the resources made
> > unavailable for use until the maintainer confirms that the objects
> > about them are correct.
> 
> Playing devil's advocate: how can the RIPE NCC make an IP address
> block "unavailable"?  Or an AS number?

How would *you* do it if someone asked you to set up a revokation
procedure?

I imagine it would look something like:

- Flag the resources as possibly abandonded internally at the NCC.
- Try to contact the maintainers (or LIR if possible).
- After a time, flag the resources as possibly abandoned externally.
- Try harder to contact the maintainers (contact peers to try to get
  contact information, for instance).
- Move the resources to an "abandoned" status, removing them from
  public databases.
- After a time, do a debogonizing effort on the resources.
- Mark the resources available for use again.

Mind you, this is just a possibility. There are costs and benefits at
each step (for example, publically flagging a resource as unmaintained
in the Whois gives hijackers an easy way to locate likely targets...
but looking at the routing table can do this too).

The RIPE NCC's policies and procedures have done a fairly good job of
handling the task of issuing new resources, and making sure that
active LIRs keep their information accurate. But when resources go to
non-LIRs, for both PI blocks and AS numbers, the system basically
fails completely.

Maybe this will all solve itself in 2 or 3 years, when we run out of
new IPv4 space. I imagine then there will be a lot of people hijacking
this space, so this problem may disappear.

--
Shane