[AFRINIC-rpd] IPv4 Address Allocation and Assignment proposal

[Andrew Alston]

Hi Sunday, See inline.

>    4. An LIR must be an ISP? True or False?
>
> This is unclear, though my reading of the policy as proposed by SM would
> make this the case.

What is not clear about this one please?

It's not clear if the current policies (or SM's policy) actually demand that
an LIR be an ISP.  The definitions seem to define an LIR as an ISP, they do
not however define an ISP as an LIR.  Meaning that you could potentially be
an LIR, not be an ISP but be defined as such in AfriNIC's policies.  It's a
little messy with the current wording to figure this out.

>    5. What additional demands do ISPs place on the RIR, which LIRs do not?
>
> None that I can see - LIR/ISP in  this context are synonymous with each
> other

so ... Q4 must be Yes eh?

Not necessarily, the demands are synonymous, if an LIR can be an LIR without
being an ISP though is still unclear.

>
>    6. Why is PI space sooo cheap globally, compared to PA Space?
>
> This is a complicated question, but my belief is this.  Firstly, LIR's
have
> the option to recover costs from their clients who they are assigning to,
> and in many cases, LIR's treat IP's as profit centres and not cost
recovery
> when doing assignments.  End Users however do not really have the option
to
> "recover" cost, it is merely a cost of doing business.  This changes the
> model.  This also explains why LIR's pay higher initial fees and lower
> annual fees, whereas LIR's who are in effect sub-leasing space can recover
> space costs from client subscriptions.   This is my opinion on this
though,
> but I suspect there are other reasons.

So .. and organization such as google (>40% destination on the Internet) 
or Yahoo or Microsoft will still be seen as not recovering cost from 
their use of PI space?

Tough question.  I would suspect that Google could technically qualify to be
an end user though its hard to know if they have other reasons for being an
LIR.  If they are using the space purely for their own infrastructure, that
would be correct under current definitions.

>
>    7. Apart from the Research and Education, what other sector needs PI
> space, who cannot pay for the mass of IP addresses required, just like
ISPs?
>
> Any NPO who needs PI space could have similar financial constraints.
Since
> any organization that multi-homes (or has PI space for other reasons) may
> face constraints like these.  Keep in mind, an individual person who is
> multi-homed could be using PI space when it's not even a large company
(and
> I know of several private individuals who are multi-homed at home who do
> this, particularly consultants who rely on their connectivity that they
need
> backup, and at the same time have need for static ip addressing)


So ... individuals care get /24 PI space when all they need is just a 
few addresses? Isn't that wasteful?

No, they would still have to motivate for the space the way any other end
user has to, and demonstrate 50% utilization (I believe that's the current
criteria).  But interestingly enough, even I could do that if I look at my
house at the moment, since I have in excess of 100 IP capable devices in my
house.  You'd be shocked at how many IP addresses a house with multiple
people living in it can use (TV's, Phones, Hifi Systems, PC's, Servers, even
my fridge has an IP address so that I can remotely see certain things!)

>    8. Beyond aggregating, what else is done to PA space that is not done
to
> PI space?
>
> When LIRs assign space to a downstream they are required to register who
it
> is assigned to with AfriNIC, so while the space itself is aggregated in
BGP
> announcements, the registration of who has what space is the reverse, it
is
> deaggregated and split up and constantly updated in the database.

Ok ... so the more work by the LIRs justify the more money they charge 
the end-users. Can't we just use some protocol that can make their own 
registry of clients talk to that of AfriNIC whois? Something like EPP in 
the Names domain? I just don't get that part.

Hrm, I'm not sure I'd want every end user with a static assignment talking
to the AfriNIC database... Also, ISP's and LIR's don't need an excuse to
find ways to charge clients more money, they will do it irrespective (yes,
I'm cynical)

Andrew