[routing-wg] Syntax Change to Aut-num Object in the RIPE Database

Dear colleagues,

We would like to give you a heads-up about a proposal, currently being 
considered, to add two new attributes to the aut-num object in the RIPE 
Database: "import-via:" and "export-via:".

In this email we are not concerned with the details of this specific 
change so much as the fact that a change is being considered. We know 
that these objects are very important for routing and many of them are 
updated daily in the RIPE Database. We also know that many scripts exist 
for auto-generating these objects and processing the contents. Although 
the RFC for RPSL clearly states that scripts should be written to ignore 
attributes they don't recognise, we don't know if all scripts are 
written this way.

The RIPE NCC is considering the best ways to get information about any 
changes to routing object syntax in the RIPE Database out to the people 
who need to know. We would welcome any feedback on this issue from the 
community.

Regards,

Denis Walker
Business Analyst
RIPE NCC Database Team