[sig-policy][prop-017-v001] FINAL CALL FOR COMMENTS
Final call for comments: [prop-017-v001]
"Recovery of unused address space"
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This is the final call for comments on policy proposal [prop-017-v001]
"Recovery of unused address space". Unused address space is defined as
address space which is both unrouted and not used for any private purpose.
This proposal was presented at APNIC 17 and consensus was
reached :
"to recover unused address space"
This proposal is now submitted to the sig-policy mailing list for an
eight week discussion period. At the end of that period, if consensus
appears to have been achieved, the Chair of the Policy SIG will
ask the Executive Council to endorse the proposal for implementation.
* Send all comments and questions to: <sig-policy at apnic dot net>
* Deadline for comments: 3 May 2004
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Proposal: Recovery of unused address space
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Author: APNIC Secretariat
Version 1.0
Summary
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Within the address space managed by APNIC, there is a large quantity of
"historical" address space which was allocated prior to the establishment of
any service agreement by APNIC. This address space is not subject to any
formal written agreement and policies regarding its usage may not be clear.
In many cases historical address blocks are unrouted and therefore likely to
be unused, and in many cases the original custodian of the address space is
not contactable. Such address space is increasingly the target for
hijacking or squatting, and may be used for illegal or antisocial purposes
such as hacking and spamming.
This document proposes to reclaim historical address space which has been
previously allocated or assigned, but which is determined to be unused.
After reclamation, such address space will be identifiable and therefore
less likely to be targetted for misuse, and it may eventually be reallocated
for active use as it is required by the Internet community.
Definitions
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Historical address space is defined as address space which is not covered by
a current agreement with APNIC (either by a membership or non-membership
services agreement).
Unrouted address space is defined as address space which has not been routed
on the Internet for some specified period of time, as determined by the
Routing Information Service (RIS) or other agreed means.
Unused address space is defined as address space which is both unrouted and
not used for any private purpose.
Background
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APNIC has assumed management of historical address space from various
sources, including the Early Registry Transfer (ERX) project, AUNIC, and
APNIC's own early registrations. ERX is providing the majority of this
space (originating from the early InterNIC and related registries), and is
due for completion during 2004.
It is clear that a significant amount of historical address space is not
used, and has not been used for a long time. Currently, around 36% of all
address space which has been allocated does not appear in the global routing
tables. Assuming much of this space is unused, then such space could be
made available for redistribution to other address space users, providing an
improvement in overall address space utilisation and an extension of the
useful life of the IPv4 address space as a whole.
IPv4 address space has always been allocated or assigned on an understanding
that it is for use in operational networks which are connected to the
Internet, and for some time (at least since RFC2050) this has been a clear
policy requirement. Although early allocation policies were not well
formulated, it has never been accepted that address space could be acquired
and kept indefinitely without being used.
Proposal
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It is now proposed that where address space has been allocated or assigned
but has not been used for a reasonable period of time, action should be
taken to recover that address space.
Under this proposal the following administrative steps would be taken:
1. A list of "top-level" historical address blocks will be obtained from
the APNIC allocation manager. This will contain all historical address
blocks directly allocated or assigned by APNIC itself, or by another
registry and later inherited by APNIC.
2. For every block in that list, the Routing Information Service (RIS)
will be consulted to determine whether the address block (or any
portion of it) has been routed ince the establishment of the system in
2002. Blocks which have not been routed will be added to a list of
unrouted blocks.
3. For every block which has not been routed, contact details will be
obtained from available sources, and notification will be sent by
available means of the intent to revoke unused address space.
Responses will be tracked using dedicated return email addresses and
APNIC's request tracking system.
4. Responses to these contacts will be handled as follows:
A. if response is received and address space holder agrees to return
address space, records will be updated accordingly, putting address
space into "reclaimed" status.
B. if response is received and address space holder does not agree to
return address space, records will be updated accordingly. The
handling of such blocks will be the subject of policies to be
developed in future.
C. if no response is received (or if only error responses or bounces
are received) then the address block concerned will remain on the
list for later action.
5. After all blocks have been processed, the process will pause for 2
months, then steps 2-4 above will be repeated.
6. After a period of 12 months, address blocks which are still unused
and for which no response has been received will be placed into
"reclaimed" status.
After this project is complete, tha process of monitoring the "used" status
of APNIC address blocks may be operationalised, so that this status
information is available for use in cases of membership closure, transfer or
dispute.
NIR considerations
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NIRs may choose to follow this process with regard to unused address space
which exists with address blocks allocated to them.
It is hoped that NIRs may also provide assistance to APNIC in contacting the
holders of unused historical address space which is located within their
respective economies.
Implementation
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It is proposed that this project should be announced and commenced 6 months
after approval.
______________________________________________________________________
APNIC Secretariat <secretariat at apnic dot net>
Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) Tel: +61-7-3858-3100
PO Box 2131 Milton, QLD 4064 Australia Fax: +61-7-3858-3199
Level 1, 33 Park Road, Milton, QLD http://www.apnic.net
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