[db-wg] RIPE Database Requirements Task Force BoF

Dear colleagues,

Ahead of today’s BoF, we would like to share with you a working document 
listing the RIPE Database purpose and other usage.

Please note that this is still a draft and that we are sharing it now 
only to facilitate the discussion during the BoF.

You can register to the BoF at (no Zoom account required):
https://ripe.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkd-yhrz4uHNDuOIBm8hGvcj8DSDK1Ybog

See you soon online!

Cheers,

--
Shane


*RIPE Database Purpose (draft)*

-- Provide registration information of Internet number resources
The RIPE Database contains various data sets for all Internet number 
resources administered by the RIPE NCC. This information is vital for 
the stability and growth of the global Internet system and allows users 
to find information for network troubleshooting and Internet coordination.

As the Internet grows in scale and importance, it is imperative that 
resource holders maintain their information in the database to avoid 
inaccurate information which can slow down communication and misdirects 
investigations.

All resource holders have agreed to adhere to the RIPE NCC policies 
which include keeping registration information up to date.


-- Facilitating communication about usage of the resources
The RIPE community has tasked the RIPE NCC to manage the RIPE Database 
as a public service, therefore the RIPE Internet Number Registry (RIPE 
INR) is designed to contain all of the needed information from the 
Internet number resources managed by the RIPE NCC within its service 
region. These details in the RIPE Database are maintained jointly by the 
RIPE NCC together with the resource holders and can easily be consulted 
at any time by community members.

The members, through the availability of the RIPE Database, are 
facilitated in their tasks of coordinating between network operators 
(network problem resolution, outage notification etc.). The accuracy and 
availability of the RIPE Database ensure the correct availability of 
information related to the resources and their holders and maintainers 
(RIPE INR) and the uniqueness of Internet number resources usage through 
registration.

The registry plays an important part in the operational coordination 
between Internet operators, because the design of the RIPE Database has 
to provide accurate registration information of the Internet number 
resources in order to meet a variety of operational requirements. 
Transparency and accountability of the administration of Internet number 
resources has always been very important, and the correct publication of 
the registry is an essential element of this transparency and 
accountability.


-- Publishing routing policies by network operators (RIPE IRR)
An important subset of the RIPE Database is the RIPE Routing Registry 
which holds information about routing on the Internet. The routing 
information is stored in routing policy information described in 
Autonomous System (AS) objects. The information in these AS objects 
shows how a particular network is routed on the internet. Announcing 
routing policies in the routing registry gives network operators an 
opportunity to configure their routers and filters accordingly.

The RIPE Routing Registry is a part of the Internet Routing Registry 
(IRR), a collection of databases that mirror each other. The IRR is a 
globally distributed routing information database purposed to ensure the 
stability and consistency of Internet-wide routing by sharing 
information between network operators.


-- Reverse Domain Name System (rDNS)
The DNS Reverse Mapping is a DNS based service to map IP addresses back 
to domain names.  The reverse DNS tree is structured to follow the 
address 'hierarchy' for both IPv4 (on octet boundaries) and IPv6 (on 
nibble boundaries). There is no formalised DNS mapping service for ASNs.

Since the DNS reverse mapping is closely tied to the address space, 
delegations usually go to the party registered as holder for that 
particular address space. Providing DNS reverse mapping management 
functions (which do not include DNS name service itself) can be seen as 
a genuine function of both an RIR and an LIR. The RIPE Database is used 
as a provisioning and documentation tool for reverse DNS for IP 
addresses under RIPE NCC management. This enables the use of the core 
address registry for provisioning authorisation purposes (reverse 
mapping follows inetnum: and inet6num:).

There are operational procedures, including technical checks, that guide 
the operation of the reverse DNS by the RIPE NCC. Those have been 
developed and maintained under guidance from the DNS and Database 
working groups. Other, non DNS specific, general rules apply to the 
objects used for provisioning reverse DNS to the database.


-- The RPKI Database
The Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) allows digital 
certificates to be associated to number resources, thereby providing 
resource holders with proof of holdership.

Each LIR operates its own Certificate Authority (CA) or CA hierarchy, 
which is signed by the RIPE NCC's CA. The RIPE NCC acts as a root CA for 
RPKI, and provides the option both to host CA services for each LIR, and 
also the option to delegate this authority to a CA operated by the LIR.

Although it has not traditionally been considered to be part of the RIPE 
Database, the portion of the RPKI hosted by the RIPE NCC relates to 
registration information for networks in the RIPE NCC service region. As 
such, it references and complements the RIPE Database.


-------------------
Other Usage
-------------------
-- Research into network operations and topology
The RIPE Database provides researchers insight into the existing state 
of the internet and allows them to explore ways in which it can be 
improved.


-- ENUM
The ENUM Tier 0 registry is run by the RIPE NCC in response to a request 
from the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). The RIPE Database is used as 
a provisioning tool for the technical part of the DNS delegations under 
E164.ARPA. Registrations are approved by the ITU-T TSB, other decisions 
(e.g. introduction of DNSSEC) are coming from the IAB. While the ENUM 
has been subject of a specialised RIPE working group (ENUM WG, topic 
later inherited by the DNS WG), policy making was and is not a matter of 
these WGs.

While ENUM is DNS based and not a genuine RIR function, when the task 
was assigned to the NCC, "domain:" objects were in much wider use in the 
RIPE Database - back then also several ccTLDs had used the RIPE Database 
as their "whois" repository.  The naming structure of E164.ARPA is 
remotely comparable to the DNS reverse tree and the RIPE NCC as a 
neutral party fit in the role of a technical operations provider.


-- Geolocation
The RIPE Database provides functionality that allows resource holders to 
provide information about where IP addresses are used. Users can query 
the database directly for this information, and in addition software 
tools exist which in turn query the database or download the information 
regularly from database dumps.


-- Enabling transfer of IP resources
The RIPE Database is used to identify official holders of Internet 
number resources and their contact information which may be used for 
transfer purposes.

The transfer of an Internet number resource from one party to another 
must abide by the RIPE Resource Transfer Policies and is not valid 
unless it is correctly reflected in the RIPE Database. The original 
resource holder remains responsible for an Internet number resource 
until the transfer to a receiving party is completed.