Abstract:
This document describes the guidelines for IPv4 address allocation
and assignment in the AfriNIC service region (Africa and Part of
the Indian Ocean) .They have been developed through an open, bottom
up policy development process of AfriNIC's Policy Working Group.
Introduction:
AfriNIC (The African Network Information Center)
is a non-for-profit independent organisation serving as one of the
five Regional Internet Registries (RIR's). Its service region incorporates
the African continent and part of the Indian Ocean (Seychelles,
Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros). AfriNIC is responsible for the
allocation of IP (Internet Protocol) address space, AS (Autonomous
System) Numbers and management of reverse domain names within the
region.
Scope :
This document describes policies for the responsible
management of unique IPv4 address space in the AfriNIC region. The
policies in this document apply to all IPv4 allocations and assignments
within the AfriNIC service region and must be implemented by all
AfriNIC's Local Internet Registries.
This document does not describe policies related
to IPv6, AS numbers, private addresses and in-addr.arpa domains.
These policies can be found at:
http://www.afrinic.net/policy.htm
It does not describe conditions of AfriNIC membership
decribed at:
http://www.afrinic.net/membership/membership.htm
nor does it examine the policies of the other Regional
Internet Registries.
IPv4 address space
For the purpose of this document, IPv4 addresses
are 32-bit binary numbers (used as identifiers in the IPv4 protocol)
and are usually in three types:
a. Public/global IP addresses that are assigned
to be globally unique according to the goals described in section
6 of this document.
b. Private IPv4 address space is set aside for
use in private IPv4 networks. Anyone may use these addresses in
their private networks without registration. Hosts with private
IPv4 addresses cannot be reached from the internet unless enabled
through NAT (Network Address Translation). Note that some Internet
services may not work properly under NAT. See RFC 2993 for engineering
/ technical implications of using NAT. RFC1918 also describes the
blocks set aside for private use.
c. IP ranges reserved for experiments: These are
described in RFC3330 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3330.txt). Some
ranges are also reserved for multicast.
Hierarchy of address space
distribution:
IP addresses are distributed in an hierarchical
structure in which IANA (The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority)
allocates address space to AfriNIC, to be redistributed throughout
the African region. AfriNIC allocates address space to Local Internet
Registries (LIRs) and also delegates to them the authority to make
assignments and sub-allocations. LIRs sub-allocate and assign address
space to their customers in accordance with the policies and procedures
described in this document.
Definitions
The following terms and their definitions are of
particular importance to the understanding of the goals, environment,
and policies described in this document.
5.1 Internet Registry (IR)
----------------------------
An Internet Registry (IR) is an organization that
is responsible for distributing IP address space to its customers
and for registering those addresses. IRs are classified according
to their primary function and territorial scope within the hierarchical
structure.
5.2 Regional Internet Registry (RIR).
-----------------------------------------
Earlier, Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) were
established under the authority and initiatives of the internet
communities in their respective regions. Currently, the ICANN authorises
establishment of RIRs to serve and represent large geographical
regions.
The primary role of RIRs is to manage and distribute
public Internet address space within their respective regions.
Currently, there are four RIRs: APNIC,
ARIN,LACNIC,RIPE
NCC. AfriNIC is the fifth
5.3 Local Internet Registry (LIR)
----------------------------- ------
A Local Internet Registry (LIR) is an IR that receives
allocations from an RIR and primarily assigns address space to 'end-users'.
LIRs are generally ISPs. Their customers are other ISPs and possibly
end-users. LIRs must be members of AfriNIC.
5.4 Allocation
---------------
To "allocate" means to distribute address space
to LIRs for the purpose of subsequent distribution.
5.5 Sub-Allocation
--------------------
To "sub-allocate" means to distribute address space
(by LIRs) to ISPs for the purpose of subsequent distribution.
5.6 Assignment
-----------------
An assignment is an IP block given by an LIR to
the end-users for their own usage. To "assign" means to delegate
address space to an ISP or End User for specific use within the
Internet infrastructure they operate. Assignments must only be made
for specific purposes documented by specific organisations and are
not to be sub-assigned to other parties.
5.7 PA (Provider Aggregatable) IP space:
------------------------------------
PA space is what has been allocated to LIRs from
which they can assign or sub-allocate to end-users / downstream
networks as non-portable block. If the end-user / downstream network
changes provider, the address space assigned or sub-allocated by
the previous service provider (LIR) should be returned and the network
renumbered.
5.8 PI (Provider Independent) IP space:
-----------------------------------
PI (or portable) space cannot be aggregated and
can only be assigned by RIR through an LIR. PI space is expensive
to route and might not be globally routable. Sub-allocations cannot
be made from this type of address space by the end user or LIR.
Goals of the Internet Registry System
6.1 Goals:
-------
It is AfriNIC's primary duty, as a custodian of
a public resource, to ensure that for all Ipv4 allocations and assignments,
the following goals are met:
Uniqueness:
----------
In order that each host on the public internet
can be uniquely identified, each public unicast IPv4 address must
be globally unique.
Registration:
------------
Every assignment and allocation of public Internet
address space must be registered in the AfriNIC whois database.
This is necessary to ensure uniqueness and to provide information
for Internet trouble shooting at all levels.
Aggregation:
------------
Distributing Ipv4 addresses in a hierachical manner
permits the aggregation of routing information. This helps to ensure
proper operation of internet routing, and to limit the expansion
of Internet routing tables (RFC2519).
Conservation:
-------------
To maximize the lifetime of the public Internet
address space resource, addresses must be distributed according
to actual need and on the basis of immediate use. Therefore, stockpiling
of address space and maintaining reservations must, in general,
be avoided.
6.2 Conflict of goals
-----------------
The goals of conservation and aggregation often
conflict with each other. Some or all of the goals may occasionally
be in conflict with the interests of individual IRs or end-users.
Therefore, IRs evaluating requests for allocations and assignments
must carefully analyze all relevant considerations and must seek
to balance the needs of the applicant with the needs of the Internet
community as a whole. These policies are intended to help IRs balance
these needs fairly. Documenting the decision making process for
each allocation or assignment helps ensure the process remains transparent
and honest.
6.3 Documentation
-------------
In order to properly evaluate requests, an RIR
must carefully examine all relevant documentation relating to the
networks in question. Such documentation may include network engineering
plans, subnetting plans, descriptions of network topology, and descriptions
of network routing plans. All documentation should conform to a
consistent standard and any estimates and predictions that are documented
must be realistic and justifiable.
6.4 Fairness
--------
All policies and practices relating to the use
of public address space will apply fairly and equitably to all existing
and potential members of AfriNIC regardless of their location, nationality,
size,or any other factor.
Registration Requirements
a) All communication with AfriNIC will be in English.
b) All allocations and assignments will be registered
in an AfriNIC database. Any unregistered assignemnts / allocations
/ sub-allocaion will be considered invalid. The registration data
(name, IP block/range, contacts, status, etc..) must be correct
at all times. This is necessary to support network operations.
Allocation policies and guidelines
8.1 Introduction
------------
AfrINIC allocates ranges of IPv4 addresses to Local
Internet Registries (LIRs). LIRs reassign or sub-allocate that space
to their customers.
An Allocation is a range of IPv4 addresses from
which sub-allocations and assignments are made. All LIR's assigning
address space allocated from AfriNIC are also advised to adopt a
set of policies that are consistent with the policies described
in this document.
Determination of IP address space allocation size
is the responsibility of AfriNIC staff. In an effort to ensure that
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) is implemented and utilized
as efficiently as possible, AfriNIC will issue blocks of addresses
on appropriate"CIDR-supported" bit boundaries. (CIDR - "Classless
Inter-Domain Routing", is exlained in RFC1517-1959, http://www.ietf.org/rfc.htm).
If an LIR plans to exchange or transfer address
space, it needs to contact AfriNIC so that the changes are properly
registered. The LIR remains responsible for all the allocations
registered in the AfriNIC database until they have been transferred
to another LIR or returned to AfriNIC. LIR's must ensure that all
policies are applied.
8.2 First Allocation
----------------
a) AfriNIC's minimum allocation is /22 or 1024
IPv4 addresses.
b) The organisation must be an AfriNIC member in
good standing, and
c) Must show an existing efficient utilization
of IP addresses from their upstream provider. Justification may
be based on a combination of immediate need and existing usage,
in which case, the existing assignments must be renumbered into
the LIR's new allocation.
The verification of previous efficient utilisation
is based on assignments (and sub-allocations) registered in the
RIPE, ARIN, LACNIC and APNIC databases and only these registered
assignments will be considered valid.
8.3. Slow start mechanism for first allocations
------------------------------------------
AfriNIC shall apply a slow start mechanism to all
new LIRs. With respect to allocations made by AfriNIC, the first
allocation an LIR receives will be the size of the minimum practical
allocation described in Section 8.2 (a) unless otherwise justified.
The slow start policy is used by all RIR's to prevent
allocations of large blocks of address space that may then remain
substantially unassigned. AfriNIC implements the slow start mechanism
in a consistent and fair manner for every LIR, and will apply the
same principles and standards to every applicant for address space.
8.4 Additional Allocation
----------------------
An LIR may receive an additional allocation when
about 80% of all the address space currently allocated to it has
been used in valid assignments and/or sub-allocations. A new allocation
can also be made if single assignment or sub-allocation requires
more addresses than those currently held by the LIR.
Reservations are not considered as valid assignments
or sub-allocations. It may be useful for internal aggregation to
keep some IP blocks free for future growth. These internal reservations
are however not counted as valid usage and must be assigned or sub-allocated
before requesting for an additional allocation.
AfriNIC will always try to allocate contiguous
address ranges, allowing the LIR to minimise the number of route
announcements it makes. However, it will not always be possible
to allocate a range contiguous with the LIR's previous allocation.
8.5 Sub-Allocations
---------------
The minimum size of a sub-allocation is /24. It
allows a reasonable number of small assignments to be made by a
downstream ISP. An LIR may not sub-allocate IPv4 space above its
suballocation window
(see section 10.0 for sub-allocation windows).
LIR's may make sub-allocations to multiple downstream
ISP's. (Downstream ISP's efficiently using a sub-allocation qualify
to receive a /22 allocation should they want to become an LIR).
The LIR is responsible for ensuring that address
space allocated to it, and subsequently, the address space that
it sub-allocates, is used in accordance with the community's policies
and guidelines.
LIRs are advised to make use of the slow-start
mechanism when making sub-allocations to downstream ISPs. Here,
the LIR ensures that the space sub-allocated is efficiently used
and the LIR can also monitor and determine the ability of the downstream
ISP to operate within the policies set by the community.
Sub-allocations form part of an LIR's aggregatable
space. Therefore, an LIR should ensure that IP space is not retained
by the downstream ISP if the reseller ceases to obtain connectivity
from the LIR's network (sub-allocations are non-portable).
Assignment policies and guidelines
LIR's must request approval from AfriNIC approval
for all sub-allocations above their Sub-Allocation Window (see section
10.0 for SAW policy).
The following guidelines are intended to help LIRs
and end-users in their search for equitable compromises:
9.1 Documentation
-------------
The information required by AfriNIC to justify
an end-user's IP address requirements include addressing needs,
network infrastructure and future plans. Such information is required
when an LIR is requesting IP space for their end-users at the time
of sending in the request. In order to ensure that previous sub-allocation
are not duplicated, the current address space usage is also required.
This information is essential in making the appropriate sub-allocation
approvals, and the level of detail will depend on the size of the
request and complexity of the network. The LIR should ensure that
the necessary information is completed before making a sub-allocation
request to AfriNIC. Request forms are available at
http://www.afrinic.net/policy.htm#templates
When making sub-allocation from their SAW, LIR's
should also ensure
that such information is given by the end-user.
9.2 Network infrastructure (of LIR) vs End-User
networks
---------------------------------------------------------------
IP addresses used solely for connecting an end-user
to a service provider (e.g., point-to-point links) are considered
as part of the service provider's infrastructure. Such addresses
should only be registered as part of the service provider's infrastructure.
When an end user has a network using public address space, this
space must be registered with the contacts of the end-user. If the
end-user is an individual rather than an organisation, the space
may be registered
with the contact information of the service provider but with the
end-user referenced in the AfriNIC whois database object.
9.3 Utilisation
-----------
Immediate utilisation of assignments should be
at least 25% of the assigned space. After one year, unless special
circumstances are defined, it should be at least 50%.
9.4 Reservations not supported
--------------------------
End-users are not permitted to reserve address
space based on long term plans. This violates the goal of conservation
and fragments the address space when initial forecasts are not met.
If an LIR wants to assign address space for customers, it must make
the assignments from any unallocated or unassigned address space
it currently holds. For
the purposes evaluating allocation requests, space reserved by an
LIR for other customers is considered unused.
9.5 Validity of an assignment
-------------------------
Assignments remain valid as long as the original
criteria on which the assignment was based are still in place and
the assignment is registered in the AfriNIC database. An assignment
is therefore invalid if it is not registered in the database and
if the purpose for which it was registered has changed or no longer
holds.
9.6 Re-numbering
------------
This is replacing IP addresses on a one-to-one
basis. Valid assignments can be replaced with the same number of
addresses if the original assignment criteria are still met. The
addresses to be replaced must still be in use. When a renumbering
request exceeds the LIR's sub-allocation window, the request should
be sent to AfriNIC for
approval.
A period of three months is normally considered
sufficient to migrate a network to the new IP space. Once a network
has been renumbered, AfriNIC staff will remove the old assignment
from the AfriNIC database. In case the three months period is not
sufficient, the LIR should inform AfriNIC about the additional time
they might take to
completely renumber.
Sub-Allocation Window (SAW)
An sub-allocation window (SAW) refers to the maximum
number of IPv4 addresses that the LIR may sub-allocate to the end-users
without seeking approval from AfriNIC. The SAW size is expressed
in CIDR notatation.
AfriNIC will review sub-allocation made by the
LIR's using their SAW in to ensure that policies are followed correctly.
LIR's should also ensure that documentation for sub-allocation made
using the SAW be similar to that requested for larger requests.
Below are a few guidelines for the SAW:
10.1 All new LIRs have a SAW of zero. All sub-allocations
will need prior approval by AfriNIC.
10.2 The LIR cannot make any sub-allocation to
the end-user above their SAW in a 12 months period (1 year). At
the end of a calendar year from the approval of an SAW, the SAW
is refreshed for one more year. In case the LIR's SAW is exhausted
for a particular end-user, approval must be sought from AfriNIC
for any other sub-allocation to the same end-user.
10.3 LIR's are welcome to approach AfriNIC for a review of their
SAW. They may also seek a second opinion from AfriNIC even for a
sub-allocation that could be made with their SAW if they chose.
Before a SAW is raised, the following will be considered:
o All required documentation is normally presented.
o Previous sub-allocation assignments from this
sub-allocation are all registered in the database correctly.
o Current SAW has not been misused/abused.
10.4 New LIR's are advised to train their contacts
to handle address space assignments according to the policies and
procedures in this document. If, due to inexperienced contacts at
the LIR, errors due to poor judgement consistently happen, the SAW
may be lowered or removed to allow AfriNIC staff to assist in training
the LIR's staff in the AfriNIC community's policies
Record keeping by LIRs
LIR's must keep and maintain records of any documentation
regarding assignments and sub-allocations to end users. It is needed
for future reference when evaluating requests from the same organisation
and for any audits by AfriNIC. These documents should be kept electronically
for easier access. It's advisable that these records should include
but not be limited to:
o The original request.
o Supporting documentation.
o Related correspondence between LIR and end-user.
o Decision of the assignment, and reasons behind any unusual decision.
o Role of person that made the decision.
Abbreviations
AfriNIC African Network Information Centre
APNIC Asia Pacific Network Information Centre
ARIN American Registry for Internet Numbers
SAW Sub-allocation Window
IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
ICANN Internet Community for Assigned Names and Numbers
IP Internet Protocol
LACNIC Latin American and Caribbean Network Information Centre
LIR Local Internet Registry
PA Provider Aggregateable
PI Provider Independent
RIR Regional Internet Registry
Useful links
RFC documents: http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html
IANA web site: http://www.iana.org
| History |
| 09.02.2004 |
Initial draft posted on AfriNIC Policy Working group (policy-wg[at]afrinic.org the pre-cursor to rpd) by Ernest Byaruhanga. |
| 13.02.2004 |
Updated draft posted to policy-wg[at]afrinic.org. This is the first time the group is open to the community. Until now, it has been closed. |
|
