First draft of the European Template for IP number requests

Anne,

> Comments on this draft are welcome and appreciated.  Please send your
> comments to the list (or to me if they are minor comments).
> 
> DRAFT December 1992
> RIPE NCC
> 
> GUIDELINES ON HOW TO COMPLETE THE IP NUMBER REQUEST FORM 
> --------------------------------------------------------
[...]
 
> Part A:  
> ------
> 
> The information supplied for this section together with the assigned network
> numbers will be entered into a database of European network numbers and their
> contact information which is accessible by the whole Internet community.
> 
> netname: 
> 	 Please complete with an appropriate network name for the network 
> 	 to be numbered which is short and meaningful.  This name is not
> 	 related to any host name.  It is used mainly for administrative
> 	 purposes like consistency checking of the Internet Registry.  You 
> 	 will very likely not see this name appear anywhere, but on forms
> 	 like this.

One problem that often arises is confusion with the DNS. A sentence explaining
that both naming schemes have absolutely nothing in common should be added.
Just telling them about hostnames is not enough (tm) .

>          Format: Please complete only with capital letters.  Network names
> 	 should NOT start with anything other than a capital letter. Dashes
> 	 can be used as shown below.  A "-NET" suffix is quite a common naming
> 	 format. 

... and is totally redundant. In fact, we would discourage people to have some
kind of 'LAN' or 'NET' in their network names. This is mainly because - as
to my knowledge - there is a restriction on the length of these names which
allows them to be only up to 12 characters long. If we no longer have to cope
with this - as I don't see it mentioned here - some sort of suffix may be ok.

>          example -  netname: TBIT-NET
> 
> descr:  
[...]
 
> country:
> 	 Please give the ISO 3166 two letter country code which is appropriate 
> 	 for the organisation.  We know this gives problems for networks 
> 	 crossing national boundaries, so choose the most appropriate country,
> 	 based on the location of the admin contact. If you do not know the 
> 	 ISO code for your country, please complete with the full name of the
>  	 country.

The local IR could mention the local ISO3166 code here, or we could attach a
list of all (European) codes to the explanatory section.
 
> 	 Format: ISO 3166 two letter country code in CAPITAL LETTERS
> 
>          Example - country: IE
> 
> admin-c:
> 	 Please complete with the name or NIC handle of the person who is 
> 	 the administrative contact for the network.  The NIC handle (if
> 	 known) is preferred.  
> 
>          Format:  <firstname> <initials> <lastname> or the NIC handle if 
> 	 known.
> 
>          Example - admin-c: John E Doe

This is a very detail and may better be discussed elsewhere, but if you prefer
"John E Doe" to "John E. Doe", this should more clearly be pointed out.
The requestor should be guided to leave out titles like 'Dr.' here, too.

> tech-c:
[...]

> PERSON TEMPLATE NOTES
> 
> Please ensure that you complete as many person templates as there are
> different persons specified in the network template unless the data
> about those persons is already in the RIPE database. 
 
[...]
 
> address: 
> 	 Please complete with the full postal address.  Include everything 
> 	 necessary for paper mail to be delivered. 
> 
>          Format:  multiple lines of text.  City and post code on a single
> 	 line.  Country on the last line. 
> 
>          Example - address: Terabit Labs Inc. 
>           	   address: Industrial Estate North
>          	   address: North Perpendicular Road 12
>           	   address: NN-1234 Northtown
> 	           address: Repubic of Northern Nowhere  

This may also be more appropriate on the db-wg list, but I remember some
rumors, that the 'country' attribute would be added to the person object ...

> phone:  

[...]
 
> PART B
> ------
> 
> Information supplied below helps us to evaluate and process your request.  
> It will be kept in strict CONFIDENCE and NOT entered into the RIPE Network 
> Management Database.
> 
> req-typ: 
>          This refers to the "request type".   Please specify the quantity and
 
> 	 class of your request for network numbers.
> 
> 	 Format: quantity of numbers requested followed by class of request.
> 
> 	 Example - req-typ:  1 class C
> 
> 	 In making the application, please be guided by the following 
> 	 EXAMPLES of number of hosts which relate to the quantity of 
>          network numbers requested:
> 
> 	  1 class C number (up to 255 hosts)
> 	  2 class C numbers (up to 510 hosts) 	
> 	  4 class C numbers (up to 1020 hosts)
> 	  8 class C numbers (up to 2040 hosts)
> 	 16 class C numbers (up to 4080 hosts)
> 	 32 class C numbers (up to 8160 hosts)

The numbers should read 254 * n and the info-sheet should explain why.

Nice to see this 32-C-block here ...

> 	 a single class B number (class B requests may be referred to the 
>          RIPE NCC for adjudication)
>          other (please specify)

This could make requestors switch over to contacting RIPE NCC direct for
class B requests. I think we do not want this happen, so better say it
unambigously.

> provider: 
[...]
 
> host-0:
> 	 Please state the number of machines in your organisation that 
> 	 currently require a unique IP network number (hosts).

The term 'host' often causes confusion here, which may be a local language
problem. Hosts are often thought of as > x m^3 big :-)
An explanatory text should explicitly tell people to take also into account
PCs (terminal servers ...) and the like.

>          Format: complete with a number.  
> 
> 	 Example - host-0: 100
>           
> host-1: 
[...]
 
> sub-0:  
> 	 Please state the number of subnets required for the current network.  
> 	 A subnet refers to the physical parts of the network which need a
> 	 unique (sub)net number.
 	  
It is a very good idea to ask for this information, as it is really missing
to date and we have to call the requestor for it every now and then.
It could also prevent people from just copying the host numbers from the req-typ
field into the host-? fields, which may happen if the host number seems to be
the only figure of interest. ["How many hosts do I need to have for receiving
a class B address?"]

> 	 Format: complete with a number.
> 
> 	 Example - sub-0: 10
> 
> sub-1:  
> 	 Estimate the number of subnets in one years time.
> 
> 	 Format: as above. 
> 
> sub-2:  
> 	 Estimate the number of subnets in two years time.   
> 
> 	 Format: as above.

Somewhere in the information package (here or in (c)) requestors should be
guided to not forget transit networks when calculating their needs.
And, in close relation with that, people should be asked to give an overview
of the size of the different subnets, e.g. 17 subnets, 10 with < 20 hosts,
the rest with up to 120 machines. This is often the case when large
companies (e.g. insurance comp.) have some central administration and a number
of regional offices.

> ip-prov: 
[...]
 
> use-net: 
> 	 Please answer the question - has your organisation already obtained 
> 	 an IP network number or numbers? If so,  please give the network 
> 	 number(s). If not, then please complete with <no>.   
> 
>     	 Format: complete with the network number only - four numbers
>          separated by dots, as shown below. 
> 
>          Example - use-net: 193.87.45.0 
>  		or
> 	 Example - use-net: <no>

For easier error detection/consistency checking the network name could
additionally be mentioned, if possible, i.e. if known.

> iso-net: 

[...]
 
> Part D:
> ------
> 
> If you are applying for more than 2 Class C network numbers then 
> on a separate page, please submit a description of your network plans.  
> The more numbers you are requesting, the more detailed your technical 
> description will need to be.  Furthermore, the more detail you provide, 
> the quicker we will be able to process your application.  
> 
> Please read the supporting documentation (currently under preparation) 
> which will guide you.  It is particularly important to read this document 
> if you are applying for a class B network number, as it provides a number 
> of helpful hints.  It is available from: <supporting-ipdocs at wherever.net> 
> 
> Please consider the following in your description: 

It is always a good idea to ask requestors for B addresses what subnet mask
they want to apply.
 
> Current network layout:  
> Future network plans:    

just my 2 cents ...

regards,
  Peter