ripe-48 RIPE Internet Network Numbers Template D.Karrenberg Aug 1992 To whom it may concern, The RIPE Network Coordination Centre now handles all requests for IP network numbers from European organisations. Our aim is to provide a rapid and efficient service to all European organisations. As this is a recent initiative, procedures for handling network number requests are in the process of being established. Therefore we apologise in advance for any duplication of effort that may be required by you due to new forms and templates. As the European NIC, we require different information to that required by the US and for it to be presented in a format which is both easy for you to complete and for us to process. Before your application can be processed any further, you will need to complete the enclosed templates and return them to the appropriate organisation responsible for issuing IP network numbers. In most cases this will be your IP service provider or the RIPE NCC. Before completion of the template, please be sure to read the following text and examples carefully which will guide you. A new classless IP addressing scheme called CIDR has recently been adopted to cope with routing table growth and address space exhaustion problems in the Internet. Under this scheme it is beneficial for everyone to get their network numbers allocated via their respective IP service providers. Your IP service provider is the organisation providing external connectivity to your network. If you are planning to connect your network to other networks outside your organisation in the foreseeable future we strongly urge you to get numbers allocated from your current or prospective IP service provider. Alternatively, if this is not likely, then you will be allocated a number from a different part of the address space by the RIPE NCC. Please pay careful attention to this matter. Class A and B network numbers are a scarce resource and some justification in terms of expected network size and structure will be needed before such a number can be allocated. Class A numbers will only be assigned to networks which technically need more than 65000 hosts to be on one network number. A detailed technical justification is needed, review takes place on a global scale and the allocation process can take several months. Similarly due to class B scarcity, a reasonable number of class C numbers will be assigned over class B. If you can engineer your network to use multiple class C numbers, it is strongly advised. Please note that this is contrary to earlier recommendations where it was recommended to use Bs over multiple Cs due to routing table size constraints. A one page document detailing the information needed by the NCC to evaluate requests for class B numbers is available from the NCC if it is not enclosed with this letter; this document also includes a list of recommended reading about CIDR and address allocation in general. Appended to this letter is a blank template for IP number registration, which we would be extremely grateful if you complete and return to the appropriate organisation responsible for issuing IP network numbers. In most cases this will be your IP service provider. It may of course also be the RIPE NCC. If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact the NCC. Please note that all queries should, if possible, be made through e-mail and sent to . If you do not have access to electronic mail, then we prefer to communicate by fax rather than by ordinary mail. You can reach us at: Kruislaan 409 Phone: +31 20 592 5065 NL-1098 SJ Amsterdam Telefax: +31 20 592 5090 The Netherlands If we do not hear from you in the near future we will assume that you have contacted your IP service provider. Yours sincerely, The RIPE NCC staff Recommended Reading List for Address Allocation and CIDR 1. rfc 1338.txt - CIDR Addressing Scheme 2. draft-rekhter-ipaddress-guide-02.txt - Global Address Requirement 3. rfc1347.ps (postscript format) - Further Reading 4. rfc1347.txt (ascii format) The documents you require are all contained within the RIPE document store. Reference 1, 3 and 4 can be found in the rfc/ directory. Reference 2 can be found in the internet-drafts/ directory. The RIPE document store can be accessed in a number of ways: 1. on the Internet type: telnet info.ripe.net 2. using the IXI network type: pad 020430459300031 3. via the Public Data Network type: pad 0204129004331 4. on the Internet via anonymous FTP from host ftp.ripe.net Additional Hints for Organisations Requesting Class B Network Numbers Please understand that the criteria for allocating Class B network addresses are extremely strict. This is due to the global scarcity of these network numbers. Out of necessity then, the NCC has to closely examine each and every request we receive for a class B network address. As a result the allocation process will take longer. Organisations can however speed up the process by providing the NCC with as much information as possible on their initial request to enable us to make a decision without having to request more information. Specifically, we require information about the number of hosts in your network at the following points in time: - now - one year from now - two years from now - any other significant milestone The number of hosts estimates should be substantiated with other data about the network and/or organisation like number of employees, geographical distribution, type of hosts. The clearer you can document that your estimates are carefully derived, the easier it is for us to justify allocation of a class B address. Besides a sufficient number of hosts we must determine that your network cannot be engineered using a number of contiguous class C networks. If your network consists of a large number of physical networks with relatively small numbers of hosts on each, you will have to consider subnetting class C networks. A large number of subnetworks alone is not sufficient justification for allocation of a class B network number. We realise that a number of engineering decisions can be based on administrative convenience. Unfortunately the remaining class B address space is too small to take these considerations into account. The clearer your explanation is, as to why your network *cannot* be engineered using a block of class C network numbers, the easier it is for us to justify allocation of a class B network address. All the above mentioned points apply even more strongly to cases where multiple class B network numbers are requested. Assignments of multiple class B network numbers will only occur when the RIPE NCC is satisfied with a detailed justification in terms of the criteria mentioned. Finally, please understand that we are not working against you, but with the whole Internet community to achieve a fair distribution of the remaining address space. If you have any questions about the procedure or the information needed, please do not hesitate to contact the RIPE NCC for further guidance. Notes on RIPE Templates The format of the template below is such that indented text is by way of example. A clean blank template is included for you to complete and return to us. Please be careful to follow the format information contained within the examples. If you are unsure about any of the fields, please leave them blank. Please send the completed template to either your network provider or to the RIPE NCC, whichever is appropriate. NETWORK TEMPLATE NOTES inetnum: Please state class of request. Capital letter to indicate class followed by a "-" followed by request. inetnum: C-request number: Please indicate how many network numbers you are asking for. number: 3 class C netname: appropriate network name if there is one. Format: capitals, numerals and "-" only starting with capital letter. netname: TBIT-BUG descr: Postal address is not needed, as this can be found via the contacts, but a description of the organisation. The country is given in the country field below. Format: free text, one line per entry, multiple lines in sequence. descr: Terabit Labs Inc. descr: Network Bugs Feeding Facility descr: Northtown country: Format: ISO3166 two letter code. We know this gives problems for networks crossing national boundaries. Choose most appropriate country in this case, probably the location of the admin contact. country: IE admin-c: The Administrator is the contact peson. If the person name is ambiguous, use the nic handle. Format: admin-c: John E. Doe tech-c: Name of technical contact person.There can be multiple technical contacts. Format: as in admin-c. connect: If you have an IP Service Provider, please let it for them to complete this, otherwise complete with LOCAL. If you are unsure, please leave blank. connect: LOCAL changed: Who and when changed this last. Format: YYMMDD. changed: johndoe@terabit-labs.nn 900401 source: Source of the information. This will always be RIPE. source: RIPE 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. person: Full name. This must be identical to the admin-c and tech-c attributes or the nic-hdl. Format: person: John E. Doe address: 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. address: Terabit Labs Inc. address: Industrial Estate North address: North Perpendicular Road 12 address: NN-1234 Northtown phone: Telephone number. Multiple numbers one line per number in the desired order (secretariats etc.) Format: International + .If no direct inward dialling is available, please append "ext." and extension number. phone: +31 20 12334676 phone: +44 123 987654 ext. 4711 fax-no: Telefax number. Format the same as the telephone number above. fax-no: +31 20 12334677 e-mail: Electronic mail address. Format: Valid domain address please (if possible no ! %, ::) e-mail: johndoe@terabit-labs.nn nic-hdl: NIC handle. An identifier used by the US NIC to unambiguously refer to Internet people. Format: NIC format. Optional but strongly suggested for those who have a NIC handle. nic-hdl: JD0401 changed: Who and when changed this last. Format: YYMMDD: changed: johndoe@terabit-labs.nn 920913 source: Source of the information. This should always be RIPE. source: RIPE RIPE Template for Internet Number Requests inetnum: __________________________________________________________ number: __________________________________________________________ netname: __________________________________________________________ descr: __________________________________________________________ descr: __________________________________________________________ country: __________________________________________________________ admin-c: __________________________________________________________ tech-c: __________________________________________________________ connect: __________________________________________________________ changed: __________________________________________________________ ___________: __________________________________________________________ ___________: __________________________________________________________ source: RIPE NB. The information given above will be submitted to a database of network objects and persons accessible by the all of the Internet community. See the RIPE NCC `Network Management Database' leaflet for more information about the database. The information given below will NOT be submitted to this database and is confidential information. Do you plan to connect to the Internet? Can you give an estimate of the number of hosts and subnets? Hosts Subnets Initially: Within one year: Within two years: Hosts means pieces of equipment needing a unique IP address consisting of (sub)net and host part. Subnet means physical parts of the network which need a unique (sub)net number. Can you give us a description of your (planned) network size and structure? Please submit a description of your network plans. It is particularly important to include details here if you are applying for a Class B address. Please also note the special hints for organisations requesting class B addresses. If they have not been included in this package you can request them from the NCC. RIPE Template for Contact Persons person: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ phone: __________________________________________________________ fax-no: __________________________________________________________ e-mail: __________________________________________________________ nic-hdl: __________________________________________________________ changed: __________________________________________________________ source: RIPE person: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ address: __________________________________________________________ phone: __________________________________________________________ fax-no: __________________________________________________________ e-mail: __________________________________________________________ nic-hdl: __________________________________________________________ changed: __________________________________________________________ source: RIPE Please note that you will have to include a separate person template for each person referenced as a contact unless the information about the person in the RIPE database is still valid. The information given above will be entered into a database of European network contacts which is accessible by the whole Internet community.