technical resources

PNWGP Internet Routing Registry Database Use Policy

EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2002

The following text outlines the Pacific Northwest Gigapop's (PNWGP) policy regarding client usage of an Internet Routing Registry (IRR) database. This policy went into effect on 1 October 2002. This policy only applies to transit clients of the Pacific Northwest Gigapop that are using the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).

Effective 1 October 2002, PNWGP will require all clients receiving transit to the Commodity Internet and Internet2 to have all of their routes registered in a publicly available Internet Routing Registry.

• ALL routes that BGP clients of the PNWGP wish to be announced to AS101 transit providers ( the Internet, and Internet2 ) MUST be registered in an Internet Routing Registry.
• PNWGP uses the RADB, so the IRR that your organization selects must be the RADB, or an IRR that the RADB project is mirroring.
• ALL BGP clients of the PNWGP must inform the PNWGP Network Operations Center of the name of the Internet Routing registry object that the PNWGP should incorporate into our macro. If the client network is not itself providing transit to another BGP network, the name of this object is likely only your Autonomous System number. However in the event that the client of PNWGP is providing transit to other autonomous systems, then an AS-SET object will need to be provided.
• Client changes to either their IRR object or routes that are described within the object will be processed on the following schedule:
  • Changes in a client's IRR object, such as renaming or replacement, will be processed within one business day from when the change request is acknowledged by the PNWGP Network Operations Center.
  • Filter updates from IRR data will take place every business day, as needed. PNWGP resynchronizes our data daily from the IRR sources.
• Failure to register your routes or your clients' routes may result in your Internet connectivity being impaired until the routes are registered and all of the PNWGP upstream providers update their filters (this is usually a daily event, early in the morning).
• General information about Internet Routing Registries, including some tutorials, can be found at:

  http://www.radb.net/

• If you have any questions about this policy, please forward them to the PNWGP NOC at noc@pnw-gigapop.net or 206-934-5580.

Background

In the past, the Pacific Northwest Gigapop did not require that its clients use an Internet Routing Registry database (IRR) to advise us of the networks that the client intended to advertise via BGP to AS101.

It has always been advised that PNWGP clients register their routes in an IRR, such as the RADB ( http://www.radb.net/ ) to ensure that their routes were honored by all of the PNWGP upstream providers. The PNWGP receives transit from a number of upstream providers, and typically 50% of the AS101 transit providers did not require that an IRR be used to inform them of the routes that the PNWGP would be announcing. However, in the coming months those transit providers that were not using an IRR to generate their filters will no longer be providing service to the PNWGP [See Note 1]. As a result of the PNWGP's decision to change upstream providers, we must now require all of our transit clients to register their routes with an IRR, since all four of the future AS101 transit providers also have this requirement [See Note 2].

The Pacific Northwest Gigapop has been using the RADB as our Internet Routing Registry for some time, and we are happy with the service that Merit is providing. Please note that the RADB is not your only option, as there are many other publicly queriable IRR servers available. However, since the PNWGP will be referencing the data that our clients register in their IRR, this data must be available on the RADB server. The RADB project mirrors many of the other main IRR servers, and has a list of those that are mirrored located at http://www.radb.net/mirrorlist.html When selecting an IRR to use, you MUST make sure that the RADB mirrors the IRR that you select, or your data will not be usable.

[Note 1]
Please note that the PNWGP's decision to switch transit providers is NOT connected to the use of an Internet Routing Registry for BGP filter generation. PNWGP has regularly scheduled reviews of all of our transit providers and all potential new providers. These reviews incorporate many factors, such as provider network stability, congestion, support levels, routing policy, and, more recently, their ability to survive the current economic conditions that are plaguing the telecommunications industry. It just happens that in the current round of evaluations, all parties selected require that their clients make use of an Internet Routing Registry to define the client's BGP policy.

[Note 2]
Strictly speaking, Abilene does not yet have this requirement, but it is looming on the horizon.