[AfriNIC-rpd] IPv4 Soft Landing Policy

Fri May 14 18:20:01 UTC 2010

Douglas,

I'll hold off for now on expressing a position on the overall issue of 
whether rationing IPv4 space in this manner is an improvement over 
current AfriNIC policy.  There are good arguments on both sides, and the 
question of where to strike the balance depends a lot on the 
characteristics of the Internet market in Africa, which I don't 
understand all that well, being from outside the region.

The text looks good overall.  A few comments:

It's unclear to me what happens if there remain smaller blocks outside 
the last /8 at the point a (large) request cannot be met.  For example, 
AfriNIC might have a /17, /19, /22, and four /24s left, when it gets a 
request for a /16 that it cannot meet.  At that point, the policy says 
that "During the exhaustion phase, the following allocation and 
assignment policy for the last /8 IPv4 address will be used:", but 
doesn't specify whether addresses outside the last /8 will also be 
allocated in this way.  Perhaps it would be best to simply strike "the 
last /8", leaving something like "During the exhaustion phase, the 
following allocation and assignment policy for IPv4 address will be 
used".  That would also cover any reclaimed space from outside the last /8.

You might want to specify conditions for exiting the exhaustion phase 
someday (when sufficient space has been reclaimed and/or IPv4 demand has 
dwindled).

It's unclear to me how many times an existing LIR can come back for 
address space in the exhaustion phase.  The Summary section's mention of 
4 allocations seems to apply to everyone, but under Allocation Criteria 
for Existing LIRs it doesn't mention that like it does for New LIRs.

It appears that there is no time limit on how frequently a New LIR can 
come back for space.  You may well have them getting a /23, using it 
immediately, and coming right back for another block.  You might want to 
at least make sure that AfriNIC reserves the entire contiguous /21 for 
them, to avoid extra routes in the table.

And some minor nits:

I noticed an apparent contradiction in the definition of LIR: "A Local 
Internet Registry (LIR) is an Internet Registry (IR) that receives 
allocations from an RIR and primarily sub-allocates or assigns address 
space to 'end-users'. LIRs are generally ISPs. Their customers are other 
ISPs and possibly end-users."  Specifically, "primarily sub-allocates or 
assigns address space to 'end-users'" seems to conflict with "Their 
customers are other ISPs and possibly end-users."  It looks like you 
inherited that definition from AFPUB-2005-v4-001, but it might be 
worthwhile to clarify that while we're at it. :-)

You might want to have the definitions for "Existing LIR" and "New LIR" 
simply reference the LIR definition rather than repeating the "defined 
as being an organization that assigns address space to 'end-users'" 
part.  So, for example, "An existing LIR is an LIR that has already been 
assigned or allocated IPv4 address space by AfriNIC."

You should probably replace all instances of "LIR's" that are plural and 
not possessive with "LIRs".

-Scott

On Wed 5/12/2010 10:18 AM, Douglas Onyango wrote:
> Hello all,
> I am presenting the latest version of the proposal for your review in 
> preparation for the the face-to-face meeting that is a couple of weeks 
> away.
> Your input in required
>
> ==================================================================
> Your Name: Douglas Onyango
> Your Organisation: Delta IT Solutions
> Policy Afected: AFPUB-2005-v4-001
> Date: 27-11-09
>
> Proposal: IPv4 Soft Landing Policy
>
> Incentive
> ------------
> In order to ensure a smooth transition from IPv4 to IPv6, the lifespan 
> of IPv4 can be increased in order to give network operators more time 
> to make the transition. This document proposes a strategy for 
> allocation and maintenance of AfriNIC's final /8 block of IPv4 from IANA.
>
> Background
> ---------------
> Following the much anticipated IPv4 pool exhaustion, a global policy, 
> "Global Policy for the Allocation of the Remaining IPv4 Address 
> Space", has been ratified. The policy ensures that IANA reserves one 
> (1) IPv4 /8 address block for each RIR. Details of the Global Policy 
> for the Allocation of the Remaining IPv4 Address Space can be found 
> at: http://www.afrinic.net/docs/policies/afpol-v4gp200802.html.
> This policy (IPv4 Soft Landing) applies to the management of address 
> space that will be available to AfriNIC under this Global Policy
> The purpose of this document is to ensure that this last block is used 
> in a manner that is acceptable by the AfriNIC community.
> Policy Documents to be affected:
> --------------
>
> (a) IPv4 Allocation Policy 
> http://www.afrinic.net/docs/policies/afpol-v4200407-000.htm
> (b) Proposal to Change the Allocation & Assignment Period to 12 months 
> http://www.afrinic.net/docs/policies/afpol-af200611.htm
> Definitions
> --------------
> (a) Local Internet Registry (LIR)
>
> A Local Internet Registry (LIR) is an Internet Registry (IR) that 
> receives allocations from an RIR and primarily sub-allocates or 
> assigns address space to 'end-users'. LIRs are generally ISPs. Their 
> customers are other ISPs and possibly end-users. LIRs must be members 
> of an RIR like AfriNIC; which serves the Africa Region and part of the 
> Indian Ocean (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles).
>
> (b) Existing LIR�s An existing LIR is defined as being an organization 
> that assigns address space to 'end-users' and who has already been 
> assigned or allocated IPv4 address space by AfriNIC.
>
> (c) New LIR�s A new LIR is defined as being an organization that 
> assigns address
>    space to 'end-users' and who is a member of AfriNIC but has not 
> been assigned or
>    allocated any IPv4 address space prior to the Exhaustion phase.
>
> Summary
> ------------
> This proposal describes how AfriNIC shall allocate and manage IPv4 
> resources from the last /8 block of IPv4 address allocated by IANA at 
> the time of total depletion of the IANA IPv4 address free pool.
> (i) Current Phase:
>
> During this phase, AfriNIC will continue allocating IPv4 addresses to 
> the LIR's using the current allocation policy 
> http://www.afrinic.net/docs/policies/afpol-v4200407-000.htm. This 
> phase will continue until a request for IPv4 address space from any 
> LIR to AfriNIC either cannot be fulfilled with the IPv4 address space 
> available in the AfriNIC pool (with the exception of the last 
> allocated /8 address block from IANA) or can be fulfilled but leaving 
> the AfriNIC IPv4 address pool empty (with the exception of the last 
> allocated /8 address block from IANA).This will be the last IPv4 
> address space request that AfriNIC will accept from any LIR in the 
> Current Phase, AfriNIC, will declare that the Exhaustion Phase has 
> begun at this point.
> (ii) Exhaustion Phase:
>
> During the exhaustion phase, the following allocation and assignment 
> policy for the last /8 IPv4 address will be used:
> a) Instead of the /22 block (1024) addresses allocated in the current 
> policy, the new minimum allocation size of /24 (256 addresses) will be 
> allocated to any LIR that qualifies for IPv4 resources -  /23 (512) 
> will be the maximum allocation size possible and  even though LIRs may 
> request for more than this, LIRs will not be  able to get more a /23 
> in a single allocation  - they also will not get more than 4 
> allocations once the Exhaustion phase has began.
>
> b) Together with the v4 allocation, AfriNIC shall allocate an IPv6 
> address block in compliance with the current IPv6 allocation policy 
> (http://www.afrinic.net/docs/policies/afpol-v6200407-000.htm) to the 
> LIR (in case it doesn't have any).
> The current allocation and assignment period of 12 months shall be 
> changed to 8 months. This will help to ensure that LIRs request only 
> for resources they need in the short to medium term, and promote 
> fairness in the equitable distribution of the last IPv4 address pool.
> Allocation Criteria
> ---------------------
> a) Existing LIR's
>
> At the time of the first IPv4 allocation made during the exhaustion 
> phase, AfriNIC shall also allocate an IPv6 address block in compliance 
> with the current IPv6 allocation policy 
> (http://www.afrinic.net/docs/policies/afpol-v6200407-000.htm) to the 
> LIR. In order to receive additional IPv4 allocations in the exhaustion 
> phase, the existing LIR must have used at least 90% of all previous 
> allocations.
> b) New LIR's
>
> Each New LIR will receive IPv4 addresses which they can use for 
> supporting legacy IPv4 services to ensure their full presence on the 
> IPv4 Internet during the transition to IPv6. The following will apply:
> Upon application, a New LIR may receive a maximum of four (4) address 
> blocks according to the allocation size in effect at the time of 
> allocation in the AfriNIC region. However, the address blocks shall be 
> issued one at a time.
> In order to receive additional IPv4 allocations, the New LIR should 
> have used at least 90% of the previous allocations from the exhaustion 
> phase.
> New LIRs may apply for and receive this allocation once they meet the 
> criteria to receive IPv4 address space according to the policy in 
> effect at the time.
> IPv4 Address Space Reserve
> ---------------------------------
> A /12 IPv4 address block will be in reserve out of the last /8 pool. 
> This /12 IPv4 address block shall be preserved by AfriNIC for some 
> future uses, as yet unforeseen. The Internet is innovative and we 
> cannot predict with certainty what might happen. Therefore, it is 
> prudent to keep this block in reserve, just in case some future 
> requirement creates a demand for IPv4 addresses.
>
> When AfriNIC can no longer meet any more requests for address space 
> from the  last /8 pool because the pool is either empty or has no more 
> contiguous blocks, the board will based on the demand and other 
> factors at the time exercise the prerogative to replenish the 
> exhaustion pool from the reserve pool in a manner that is in the best 
> interest of the community.
>
> AfriNIC resources are for the AfriNIC geographical region. None of 
> these resources can be used outside of the AfriNIC region. All LIR's 
> requesting resources must have operations in Africa and all of the 
> allocations shall be used to support the LIR's African Operations.
> ==================================================================
>
> Regards,
> Douglas Onyango +256(0712)981329
> Life is the educators practical joke in which you spend the first half 
> learning, and the second half learning that everything you learned in 
> the first was wrong.
>
>
>
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