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Ref:           ripe-135
Title:         RIPE NCC Quarterly Report Q1-1996
Author:        Daniel Karrenberg, Carol Orange
Date:          19 April 1996
Format:        PS=534649 TXT=83751
Obsoletes:     
Obsoleted by:  
Updates:       ripe-116
Updated by:
See also:     


Summary
-------


The Q1-1996 Quarterly

       In this report, we aim to inform the RIPE community
       in general and the RIPE NCC Contributors Committee
       in particular of our activities during the first
       quarter of 1996 and our plans for the next one.

       Due to the severe resource shortage we experienced
       in the last couple of years the series of quarterly
       reports had to be interrupted for two years.  This
       report represents a new start at the series with a
       revised and improved format.  We welcome any com-
       ments and suggestions to further improve the useful-
       less of these reports.


Management Summary

       The European Internet keeps growing.  66 new local
       Internet registries started operations during
       Q1-1996.  This is more than one per working day and
       again more than foreseen.  During Q1-1996 alone, we
       manually handled 9,173 messages and automatically
       handled 21,653 messages that were sent to the RIPE
       NCC role mailboxes.

       Registration services continued to operate normally,
       albeit with an increasing backlog due to factors
       including increased demand and some hostmaster staff
       leaving unexpectedly.  We have successfully hired
       very promising replacements for the hostmasters who
       left us.  We continued gathering hostcounts, provid-
       ing local registry courses and information services
       on the Internet.

       Significant activities during the quarter were the
       beta release of an improved RIPE database software
       package, implementation and initial deployment of
       the new request tracking system for part of the man-
       ually handled messages, continuing work on the a new
       WWW site as well as analysis and reduction of redun-
       dant routing information originated by European
       autonomous systems.  Also the long expected business
       manager has started.

       The financial situation is very healthy with 60% of
       this year's planned expenditure already received in
       revenue.

       During Q1-1996 we have further consolidated current
       activities.  We also consider it significant that
       after a long time we succeeded to start a new tech-
       nical activity, reacting quickly to a requirement
       from the RIPE community.  We made plans for re-
       structuring of the systems and software area within
       the NCC and obtained authorisation from TERENA to
       hire staff to strengthen this area as well as one
       additional hostmaster in registration services.

       During Q2-1996 significant activities will include
       training of new hostmaster staff, more training
       courses for local Internet registries, development
       and deployment of hierarchical authorisation for the
       RIPE database, completion of the ripe-104++ document
       on local IR policies, launching of the new WWW site
       and the (re)start of more technical activities.

       Strategically we observe that the Internet is cur-
       rently changing too quickly for stringent 12 month
       planning cycles.  We will make efforts to adapt more
       quickly to these changes.  We expect to propose
       changes to the 1996 NCC budget during the next quar-
       ter.

       Considering the rapidly changing environment it sup-
       ports and operates in, the RIPE NCC is healthy and
       functioning well.
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