LACNIC Staff's Interpretation of the Proposal
Applicability:
This proposal modifies section 2.3.2.19 and 4.3 of the Policy Manual and creates a new 3.4 section.
Modifications to the current text
The policy for the inclusion of the origin ASN in the WHOIS database is currently part of two sections of the Policy Manual:
- 2.3.2.19: Inclusion of the origin ASN in the WHOIS response when available
- 4.3: Inclusion of the origin ASN in the WHOIS response when available
In both sections, the text is as follows:
When available, LACNIC shall include in its WHOIS results the origin ASN of all prefixes directly assigned by LACNIC.
Block holders may enter the origin ASN of their blocks through LACNIC's resource administration system. Members shall be responsible for providing this information.
When a block’s origin ASN is not specified, the WHOIS response shall explicitly state this fact.
The proposal seeks to eliminate these two sections and create a new one with the following text:
3.4. Inclusion of the origin ASN in the WHOIS response when available
Provided that this information is available, LACNIC shall include the origin ASN of the queried prefixes in its WHOIS responses.
The origin ASN of the assigned block may be extracted from the RPKI repository, considering the origin specified in the ROA as the origin ASN.
If a block’s origin ASN is not specified, the WHOIS response shall explicitly state this fact.
LACNIC Staff Comments:
(Comments are observations intended to highlight the changes introduced by the proposal with regard to the current text of the Policy Manual.)
In the event that this proposal is approved, we suggest introducing an editorial change to the proposed title to clarify that "origin" refers to the "origin of the queried blocks."
Recommendations
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Official References:
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Other RIRs: The similarity of this policy with the procedures in force in other RIRs is not relevant to this discussion.
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The goal of this policy proposal is to unify the origin ASN information visualized in WHOIS results, thus avoiding confusion among the community when interpreting the information displayed by the system.
Rationale (Describe the problem you intend to solve)Because of the implementation of this policy, the MiLacnic platform offers members a section where they can define the origin ASN of a range of IP addresses assigned directly by LACNIC.
This section is purely descriptive, and members are responsible for updating the information when there is a change in their routing announcements. If the ROAs have been updated but this section has not, confusion may be generated, as the WHOIS will display a different origin ASN than the one specified in the ROA.
Another con is that the origin ASN can only be defined for the parent (main) block, i.e., the block assigned directly by LACNIC. Registering origin ASNs is not allowed when a block is announced by more than one ASN.
Because RPKI is currently quite widespread, and thanks to the implementation of the IRR based on the RPKI repository, I find this section to be obsolete, confusing and impractical for members to have to update and maintain two sections for the same purpose. Therefore, through this new proposal, my suggestion is to modify this section.
Current text2.3.2.19. Inclusion of origin ASN in WHOIS results when available
When available, LACNIC shall include in its WHOIS results the origin ASN of all prefixes directly assigned by LACNIC.
Block holders may enter the origin ASN of their blocks through LACNIC's resource administration system. Members shall be responsible for providing this information.
When a block’s origin ASN is not specified, the WHOIS response shall explicitly state this fact.
New text3.4. Inclusion of origin ASN in WHOIS responses when available
Provided that this information is available, LACNIC shall include the origin ASN of the queried prefixes in its WHOIS responses.
The origin ASN of the assigned block may be extracted from the RPKI repository, considering the origin specified in the ROA as the origin ASN.
If a block’s origin ASN is not specified, the WHOIS response shall explicitly state this fact.
Additional informationThe current policy is available in two different sections of the Policy Manual:
- 2.3.2.19. Inclusion of the origin ASN in the WHOIS response when available
- 4.3. Inclusion of the origin ASN in the WHOIS response when available
In order to avoid confusion and potential contradictions in future modifications of the manual, I suggest unifying the two in a single section and moving it to section 3.4, a section dedicated to ASNs.
Timetable-
References-
Presented at:LACNIC35 (11/05/2021)