RIPE NCC Activities & Expenditure 1999
Crain, van Draanen, Karrenberg, Kuehne
____________________________________________________
RIPE NCC Activities & Expenditure 1999
John Crain
Kees van Draanen
Daniel Karrenberg
Mirjam Kuehne
RIPE NCC
Version 1.0
Document: ripe-186
Updates: ripe-162
See also: ripe-187
1. Scope & Process
This memorandum describes the activities to be per-
formed by the RIPE NCC and the associated expendi-
ture during the year 1999. The companion document
"RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 1999" (ripe-187) describes
how the necessary revenue is generated.
There are formally well defined stages in the cre-
ation of this document: It is drafted by the RIPE
NCC based on input from RIPE and the users of NCC
services. Subsequently it is proposed to the mem-
bership by the executive board of the RIPE NCC. The
membership discusses it and approves the final ver-
sion.
Status
This version of the document has been produced by
the RIPE NCC menagement. It is presented by the
executive board for approval by the membership at
the Annual General Meeting on October 15th 1998.
Comments from the RIPE community to the authors and
the board are encouraged.
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Changes
The document itself will not be changed once the
process described above is completed. However the
last several years of NCC operations experience have
shown that revisions are needed during the course of
the year. In today's Internet environment it is
impossible to plan ahead for more than 15 months as
the formal process requires. Any amendments will be
made within the formal structure of the RIPE NCC and
thus require approval by the RIPE NCC executive
board.
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2. Principles for NCC Activities
The RIPE NCC performs activities for the benefit of
the Internet service providers (ISPs) in Europe and
the surrounding areas; primarily activities that the
ISPs need to organise as a group, although they may
be competing with each other in other areas.
The RIPE NCC must therefore observe strict neutral-
ity and impartiality with respect to individual ser-
vice providers. In particular it refrains from
activities that are clearly in the domain of the
ISPs themselves.
Activities are defined, performed, discussed and
evaluated in an open manner. Results of activities
such as software tools are made available to the
public. Budgets as well as actual income and expen-
diture are published. Individual data will be kept
in confidence where required. For example the
amounts of address space allocated and assigned are
published as are database entries of individual
assignments including the relevant contact data;
however the information supporting individual
assignment requests is kept in strict confidence.
While an activity may result in services being pro-
vided to an individual ISP, performing the activity
as a whole must benefit the European ISPs as a
group. For example address space registration ser-
vices are provided to ISPs individually, but the
activity as such benefits all ISPs by distributing
address space according to common standards as well
as maintaining a neutral and accessible registry.
It is because of this distinction that this document
is structured around activities, rather than ser-
vices.
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3. Activity Areas
Since 1996 all NCC activities have been grouped into
four main categories. This section provides a gen-
eral description of these categories. The budget
itself and the plans for 1999 will be discussed in
the following section. Detailed descriptions of all
1999 activities can be found in the appendices.
Registration Activities
This represents activities related to the NCC's role
as Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe and
the surrounding areas. It includes handling of
requests for assignment and allocation of IP address
space, management of reverse domain name space asso-
ciated with this address space, as well as the
auditing and quality control necessary to ensure
fair and expedient processing of requests. Also
included in this area are training of Local Internet
Registries, production of documentation related to
Internet registration as well as specific activities
to ensure a proper and expedient start of new local
IRs.
Services performed in this area are only accessible
to formally established local IRs contributing to
the funding of the NCC.
Coordination Activities
The activities grouped in this area are quite
diverse. Their common purpose is to support the
coherent operation of the Internet in the European
area. An important activity is the provision of
access to the RIPE database which provides informa-
tion about address space and routing policies
together with the appropriate contact points.
Developing and publishing the RIPE database software
is also part of this area, as is the provision of
information services for ISPs and the general public
via the Internet. Operational coordination also
falls into this category, as does the production and
publication of software tools for such efforts.
In order to be effective, the services performed in
this area have to be accessible to the general
Internet public. Contributors to the funding of the
NCC will receive precedence over other users when
special support is needed.
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Administration Activities
This area covers all general administrative over-
heads which cannot be clearly attributed to a spe-
cific activity in one of the other areas. It
includes all activities necessary to operate as an
organisation as well as the resources needed for
charging, billing and the general financial adminis-
tration. It also includes the costs associated with
organising the RIPE meetings and administrative sup-
port for RIPE.
New Activities
This area represents those activities that are
either entirely unforeseen or that have started
recently and cannot be fully specified as a regular
activity at the time of this writing. The existence
of this area gives the NCC the flexibility to react
quickly to the rapidly changing needs in today's
Internet. Activities in this area are often sug-
gested by the appropriate RIPE working group.
If the activities turn out to need long term support
they may become a regular NCC activity funded by all
contributors later. If the activities are short
term but substantial or continued support by all
contributors is not appropriate, they may be contin-
ued as special projects for which funding is sought
separately among interested parties.
These activities are executed under the guidance of
the RIPE working groups. It is assumed that repre-
sentatives of the contributors participate actively
in these working groups.
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4. Growth Plan and Budget
The number of local Internet registries is still
increasing, as forecast, at a rate of approximately
one per calender day. The projections for 1999 are
as follows:
+-----------+-------------+-----------------------------------------+
| | Observed | Projected |
|Registries | Q1 Q2 | Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 |
| | 1998 1998 | 1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 1999 |
+-----------+-------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Large | 71 73 | 73 73 81 81 81 81 |
| Medium | 191 194 | 194 194 242 242 242 242 |
| Small | 749 814 | 905 871 918 1009 1100 1191 |
+-----------+-------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Total | 1011 1081 | 1172 1138 1241 1332 1423 1514 |
+-----------+-------------+-----------------------------------------+
We expect the linear growth of approximately one new
local IR per calender day to continue during the
year 1999. We also expect that approximately 125
small registries will not have paid their 1998 fees
even after several reminders and will thus have to
be closed sometime during Q4/98.
This brings the relative growth in 1999 to 33%,
again the lowest in the NCC's history. However it
is still large in absolute terms. Experience has
shown that there is little room for improved effi-
ciency, especially in registration services. The
function of the RIPE is essentially a "third line"
support function which deals with the difficult
problems and has to provide adequate training to the
local IR staff who typically provide the "second
line". This necessitates adequate growth of the
RIPE NCC in all areas.
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Professionalism & Legitimacy
During 1998 the RIPE NCC has continued to provide
its services in a reliable and professional way.
Since January 1998 we are also standing on our own
as an association after the successful separation
from TERENA. The Internet has continued to permeate
more and more areas of every economy and society in
the RIPE region. As this happens and especially
during 1998 the administration of the Internet has
become subject of considerable debate. The RIPE NCC
has so far stood up well to the public scrutiny.
However it is clear that in the future we will have
to defend our legitimacy and its processes not only
vis-a-vis the membership but also to the world at
large including governments, industry and end-users.
This means that we will need to achieve even more
professionalism and quality in 1999 than in previous
years. It also means that we have to actively pro-
ject the message of legitimacy and professionalism
to the public at large. Therefore the RIPE NCC
needs to increase its communications efforts and
have professional staff that deals with the media.
The requirement for quality management in all parts
of the organisation will increase over the coming
years and is a necessary ingredient for the profe-
sionalism required.
Growth & Stability
The stability of the NCC is of vital importance to
the community in general and the membership in par-
ticular. Reliable registration and coordination
services are essential for the functioning of the
Internet. Resilience and stability however are not
free, they cost resources. At the end of 1998 the
RIPE NCC will have reached a point in its life-cycle
that requires a measurable increment in the adminis-
trative area and in organisational costs. A failure
to meet this demand would de-stabilise the NCC in
the long run.
New and Improved Services
Finally The RIPE NCC will start IPv6 address space
registration services. We expect to provide our
share of the operational funding for the new IANA.
We will develop new training courses both in the
routing registry area and for local IR operations.
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Budget
Based on the growth projection, the required activi-
ties the operating costs during 1999 are budgeted as
follows. The definition of the activity areas can
be found in the previous section. Notes on the indi-
vidual areas can be found below.
+---------------+------------+------------+-----------+
| | Budget | Budget | Growth |
|Activity Area | 1998 % | 1999 % | abs % |
+---------------+------------+------------+-----------+
| Registration | 1516 44 | 2011 42 | 495 33 |
|Administration | 663 19 | 1230 26 | 567 86 |
| Coordination | 972 28 | 1175 25 | 203 21 |
| New | 306 9 | 321 7 | 15 5 |
+---------------+------------+------------+-----------+
| TOTAL (kECU) | 3457 100 | 4737 100 | 1280 37 |
+---------------+------------+------------+-----------+
Registration Activities
We will continue to provide the high level of
responsiveness we were able to achieve in 1998. In
August 1998 the number of opened registration ser-
vices tickets already exceeded the 1997 total.
Increased automation helps to provide a clear struc-
ture to the communications between the NCC and the
local IRs. Requests are now automatically checked
for completeness and syntactic correctness. This
eliminates almost all of the purely clerical work of
the RIPE NCC hostmasters. It also saves time as the
local IR staff get an immediate feedback on the most
common problems.
Experience shows that there are little economies of
scale left in the registration services area. The
RIPE NCC hostmasters now mostly deal with the most
difficult cases or support relatively inexperienced
local IR staff during their initial learning curve.
They also provide training courses for local IRs.
This is very much a "third line" support activity.
It also requires a high level of scrutiny because of
the absolute requirement for fairness and impartial-
ity in registration services decisions.
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In 1999 both work flow and quality management will
have to keep step with the expected growth and
ensure that peaks in the load lead neither to unac-
ceptable delays nor to a reduction in quality. The
impartiality and neutrality of the RIPE NCC has to
be maintained at all times.
Early in the year we will start providing IPv6
address space registration services. The liaison
activities with other regional registries and IANA
will also to be intensified. We will diversify and
improve the training facilities offered to both new
and existing local IRs. Existing course materials
will be reviewed and new courses will be developed.
In total the budget for registration activities
remains the highest of all areas in 1999 at 2011kECU
1999 and growth roughly keeps in step with the
growth of the number of registries.
Administration Activities
The administration area shows the largest growth in
1999 and will become the second largest budget line.
It is worthy of note however that this line encom-
passes more than the "admin" budget line found in
other organisations: it includes activities like the
organisation of the steadily growing RIPE meetings
and the production of internal software used by all
other activities.
The relatively high cost increase in 1999 is a
direct result of both growth and professionalisa-
tion. The administration area activities have to
meet the needs of a growing international organisa-
tion. The RIPE NCC is at a stage in its life-cycle
where some noticeable increments are needed. The
personnel administration has to care for more and
more international staff helping them to settle in
the Netherlands quickly and be productive. Hiring
from outside the EU is becoming increasingly diffi-
cult, but remains essential to maintain diverse
international staff drawn from all parts of the RIPE
area. The RIPE meetings are getting bigger requir-
ing significantly more resources to organise well.
The financial administration for a large interna-
tional organisation needs considerable resources.
In particular the area of accounts receivable, deal-
ing with invoicing and tracking payments from 1500
members in more than 80 countries, is expected to
require additional resources.
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Maintaining a stable, growing, innovative and inter-
national organisation has a price in itself. Suffi-
cient resources are necessary to ensure the required
stability.
Coordination Activities
Coordination activities in 1999 will focus on the
implementation and deployment of the new RIPE
database software. Database consistency, security
and exchange will be addressed with more resources
than before. The database software itself is near-
ing the end of its useful life and will be replaced.
Progress in the past months has not been as expected
due to a number of factors including the re-organi-
sation of the NCC which included the establishment
of a separate group for database activities. The
scarcity of qualified personnel and services has
also slowed progress. Due to developments at the
other regional registries a window of opportunity
for harmonisation now exists in the database area.
Considerable effort is needed to take full advantage
of this.
During Q4/98 and all of 1999 the database efforts
will be substantially increased in both the new
implementation as well as support and short-term
enhancements of the current version. Also data con-
sistency will be addressed more thoroughly.
Considerable resources are needed to ensure that the
RIPE NCC is adequately represented in the new IANA
corporation and its "Address Supporting Organisa-
tion". This also includes providing our fair share
of the operational funding to the new IANA. Due to
the increased activities in the Internet administra-
tion area at both the regional and global level
increased resources are necessary to ensure that the
RIPE NCC membership's position is adequately repre-
sented.
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New activities
We will focus on the deployment phase of the test
traffic measurement project and retain sufficient
room for unforeseen new activities. The test traf-
fic measurement project is not yet mature enough to
be offered as a service. The budgeted resources
provide for an expansion of the measurement network
from currently 20 to 40 test stations early in 1999
as well as for the operation this network and publi-
cation of results. We expect the measurement net-
work to grow beyond 40 test stations during 1999;
however the additional stations will have to be paid
for by the participants. We will also further
develop the service and prepare a decision to offer
it as a service, either a standard service within
the standard service fee or as an additional service
charged separately.
Summary
The total growth of the operating costs (37%) is
only slightly higher than the growth of registries
(33%). We strongly believe that this growth is nec-
essary for the success and stability of the RIPE
NCC. This plan represents good value for money for
the RIPE NCC membership.
5. Challenges
The main challenge for the NCC -as for the Internet-
remains to manage its growth while remaining stable,
reliable and innovative at the same time. We have
planned the growth of the NCC as carefully and real-
istically as possible while maintaining enough flex-
ibility to react to the changing environment. This
plan represents a good basis in material resources
but the success of the NCC will depend on finding
and keeping the people who make it happen.
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Appendices
All activities will be described in appendices
grouped activity by area. The descriptions list
related activities as well as links to the relevant
RIPE working groups. Wherever an activity is start-
ing or increasing significantly during the year this
is indicated. Finally special budgeting considera-
tions are listed where appropriate.
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Appendix R - Registration Activities
This represents activities related to the NCC's role
as Regional Internet Registry (IR) for Europe and
the surrounding areas. Services performed in this
area are only accessible to formally established
Local IRs contributing to the funding of the NCC.
R1 Regional Internet Registry
The RIPE NCC provides Internet registration ser-
vices for Europe and surrounding areas; it acts as
a Regional Internet Registry.
The overall goal of this activity is to provide
fair, impartial and stable distribution of Inter-
net numbers, especially address space in Europe and
the surrounding areas. The specific goals for the
distribution of address space are uniqueness of
addresses, conservation of the remaining IPv4
address space, aggregation of routing information
and registration of network management informa-
tion.
To determine the resources needed we assume a con-
stant linear growth of approximately one new LIR per
calender day. This is the growth we have been
observing during the 1997 and 1998. Increased
automation helps to provide a clear structure to the
communications between the NCC and the local IRs.
Requests are now automatically checked for complete-
ness and syntactic correctness. This eliminates
almost all of the purely clerical work of the RIPE
NCC hostmasters. It also saves time as the local IR
staff get an immediate feedback on the most common
problems.
Experience shows that there are little economies of
scale left in the registration services area. The
RIPE NCC hostmasters now mostly deal with the most
difficult cases or support relatively inexperienced
local IR staff during their initial learning curve.
They also provide training courses for local IRs.
This is very much a "third line" support activity.
It also requires a high level of scrutiny because of
the absolute requirement for fairness and impartial-
ity in registration services decisions.
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In 1999 both work flow and quality management will
have to keep step with the expected growth and
ensure that peaks in the load lead neither to unac-
ceptable delays nor to a reduction in quality. The
impartiality and neutrality of the RIPE NCC has to
be maintained at all times.
We assume no significant shifts in the resources
needed to perform activities R.1.1 - R.1.5 reliably.
The basic procedures did not change.
Common to all of registration activities is liaison
with the RIPE Local IR WG about general application
of procedures and policies.
R1.1 First Address Space Assignment
Description:
The RIPE NCC will give special attention to
requests from LIRs for their first address
space. It will help to make the first assign-
ment and allocate an aggregatable range of
addresses for further assignments.
Goal:
This will help Local IRs to successfully
process their first request and to have a bet-
ter understanding of the procedures for fur-
ther requests. It will also help to build a
good working relationship between the RIPE
NCC and the Local IR. Furthermore it will
enable neutral and impartial treatment of all
Local IR's.
Related Activities:
R1.8
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R1.2 Assignment Approval
Description:
Some IP address requests require approval from
the RIPE NCC, specially when they are above a
threshold size. The RIPE NCC will evaluate
these IP address requests. Sometimes local
IRs will also request the opinion of the
NCC about assignments even when it is not
strictly required. The RIPE NCC will further-
more give recommendation and guidelines
for future requests.
Goal:
This activity will ensure uniform application
of policies and assignment criteria by all
Local IRs and will help to make a Local IR
familiar with request evaluation. It will sup-
port Local IRs in their operations and help
them to process increasing request sizes. It
will also enable fair operations of all Local
IRs.
Related Activities:
R1.7, R1.8
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R1.3 PI Assignment
Description:
The RIPE NCC will process all requests for PI
(provider independent) address space submitted
by Local IRs.
Goal:
This activity will prevent fragmentation of the
local IR's allocated address space by making
the PI assignment from an address pool managed
by the RIPE NCC. This will promote aggregation
of routing information.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
R1.4 Address Allocation
Description:
The RIPE NCC will allocate address space to
Local IRs for further assignment to end users.
This activity will also contain auditing of
assignments made from previous allocations.
Tools to support the allocation process and to
ensure best aggregation possible will be
enhanced.
During 1998 the amount of these requests has
decreased further, a positive development.
Goal:
This activity will help to ensure fair dis-
tribution of address space. It will also
support the efficient use of address space in
order to conserve the remaining IPv4 address
space and to aggregate routing information.
Related Activities:
R1.7, R1.8
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R1.5 AS Number Assignments
Description:
The RIPE NCC will assign AS numbers according
to global and local policies. It will register
these numbers and the associated routing poli-
cies.
In 1999 this activity will require some extra
resources because the format for specifying
routing policies is expected to change to the
one developed by the IETF rps working group.
Documentation and training materials will be
updated and an additional training course
developed.
Goal:
This activity ensures uniqueness of AS numbers
and helps in collecting data for the Routing
Registry. Also this activity helps to prevent
unnecessary increases the number of autonomous
systems which are visible in global Internet
routing.
Related Activities:
C1.6
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R1.6 Reverse DNS Delegation
Description:
The RIPE NCC will delegate reverse DNS zones
for the address ranges allocated or assigned
via the RIPE NCC. In order to provide this
service the RIPE NCC will provide reliable name
servers and try to avoid pollution of the DNS
in the zones delegated to the RIPE NCC.
Therefore the RIPE NCC will check all
zones under its responsibility for proper
set-up and functioning.
This process has been more fully automated in
1998. This frees up resources in 1999 to check
and improve the quality of the reverse zones, a
process which requires cooperation from local
DNS operators.
Goal:
This activity will be necessary to ensure
proper address-to-name mapping for addresses
allocated to the RIPE NCC.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R1.7 Consistency & Auditing
Description:
The RIPE NCC will actively check the qual-
ity and validity of registry data. This
will also include the production of statistics
on address space usage.
In order to ensure a fair address space distri-
bution, the RIPE NCC will regularly check that
assignment guidelines are applied equally.
This activity is separated from the other reg-
istration activities because it needs to be
defined and executed somewhat independently
from the day-to-day processing of requests.
Of course consistency checking and auditing
will still be performed within other activities
as well. This particular activity is to pro-
vide the parts that have to be done indepen-
dently of processing individual requests.
Goal:
This activity will promote consistent and fair
application of assignment criteria w.r.t. con-
servation of address space and aggregation of
routing information. This activity will also
help to identify parts of the procedures them-
selves that cause problems. These observations
will be reported back to the RIPE Local IR
working group for further investigation and
improvement of the procedures.
Related Activities:
all registration activities
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R1.8 Registration Activities Quality Management
Description:
Because of the size of registration activities
and the continuing growth it is important to
systematically monitor the quality of reg-
istration activities within the NCC. This
becomes even more important as the quality and
fairness of industry self-regulation activities
in the Internet environment comes under
increased scrutiny from many directions includ-
ing governments and consumers.
The NCC will continuously develop quality mea-
sures for registration activities and monitor
them. Part of this activity will be to give
careful attention to customer questions and
suggestions. This will also include propos-
als for possible automation and other
improvements of internal procedures. Eventu-
ally this activity may lead to seeking a formal
quality management certification.
Of course quality control will still be per-
formed within other registration activities as
well. This particular activity is to provide
the parts that have to be done independently of
processing individual requests. This will also
be managed and executed separately from
day-to-day request processing.
Goal:
This activity will help to maintain a high
quality of services provided. This will
increase the credibility and legitimacy of the
industry self-regulation process.
Related Activities:
All registration activities and related
administrative support activities.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R2 Initial Contact for new Local IRs
The initial support for newly established registries
is independent from other registration activities.
It is not initiated by a request sent to the RIPE
NCC but is part of the process to open a Local IR.
During this phase additional clarification and
explanation is involved to make the new Local IR
familiar with all procedures necessary to operate an
Internet registry.
R2.1 Initial Contact & Registry Setup
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide initial support to
Local IRs during their start up phase. It will
support and provide information to potential
Local IRs.
Goal:
This activity will support new Local IRs during
their start up phase, so that they feel com-
fortable with tools, procedures and guidelines.
It will also give potential Local IRs enough
information so that they can make an informed
choice as to whether become a Local IR or not.
Related Activities:
R2.2
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R2.2 Training Courses
Description:
The RIPE NCC will develop and deliver Training
Courses for Local IRs. The course material
will include IP address assignment and alloca-
tion procedures and policies, delegation of
reverse domains and how to you use the
RIPE database.
In 1999 the RIPE NCC will perform a major revi-
sion of the course materials. We will also
develop additional courses such as a
'refresher' for already experienced local IR
personnel as needed.
Goal:
The goal of this activity is to make new Local
IRs familiar with procedures and policies as
well as to keep established Local IRs up to
date with new guidelines and developments.
This will facilitate smooth operations between
the RIPE NCC and the Local IRs. By establish-
ing a consistent application of policies we
will also enable fair distribution of
address space among the community.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Local IR WG
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R3 Liaison & Coordination
Description:
In order to execute its activities the RIPE NCC
has to act as liaison and coordinate with a
variety of organisations as well as track the
activities of others. Examples of such organi-
sations are IANA, IETF, RIPE, NANOG, ARIN, and
APNIC. It is often difficult to attribute
liaison and coordination resources to specific
activities. Therefore it is an activity in its
own right.
Goal:
To keep the necessary liaison and coordination
relationships with other relevant organisa-
tions.
Budgeting:
Costs for this activity are split evenly
between the registration and coordination bud-
get lines.
____________________________________________________
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Appendix C - Coordination Activities
The activities grouped in this area are quite
diverse. Their common purpose is to support the
coherent operation of the Internet in Europe and the
surrounding areas.
In order to be effective, the services performed in
this area must be accessible to users of the Inter-
net and the general public. RIPE NCC members how-
ever, will receive precedence when special support
is required.
C1 RIPE Database Maintenance and Development
Description:
The RIPE NCC will assure the reliability of the
RIPE database and extend its functionality as
needed. The quality of data will be improved,
both by improving consistency and providing
reliable security mechanisms. C1 activities
include the NCC work related to the RIPE
database software and the quality of registry
data.
Goal:
The RIPE database is the core software on which
the Regional IP Registry and the RIPE Routing
Registry are based. Reliability and good func-
tionality of the RIPE database is essential for
the NCC and local IRs. This set of activities
is designed to continue consistent support and
provide a reliable service both in the short
and long term, as well as to continue develop-
ments according to the needs of the RIPE commu-
nity.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database WG
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C1.1 User Support and Software Maintenance
Description:
The RIPE NCC will manage the <ripe-
dbm@ripe.net> role mailbox, and address user
questions in a timely fashion. The NCC will
also perform basic software maintenance activi-
ties including bug fixes and minor modifica-
tions. At the same time, the RIPE NCC will pro-
vide robust portable releases with fixed bugs
and new features. It will also work on main-
taining and improving user documentation.
Goal:
This activity is intended to provide a timely
response to user enquiries. It will also help
assure the smooth running of the registry sys-
tem. By maintaining public releases, RIPE NCC
hopes to encourage all registries making use of
the software and acquiring the newest improve-
ments in a timely fashion. This encourages data
exchange and cooperation among registries.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database WG
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C1.2 New Database Features
Description:
The RIPE NCC will design and implement new
database features as requested by the user com-
munity. The NCC will perform the development
work based on the priorities established in
the appropriate working groups.
Goal:
The purpose of this activity is to provide new
functionality as the RIPE database user commu-
nity expresses the need for it.
Related Activities:
C1.1
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database WG
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C1.3 Database Security
Description:
The RIPE NCC will document, design, and imple-
ment security mechanisms for the RIPE Database.
The mechanisms will be designed to allow proper
authorisation (what is a user permitted to do),
authentication (is he/she who we think he/she
is?), signing and integrity (did the object
change somehow?).
The NCC will continue to deploy training
courses for members of the RIPE database commu-
nity in which they can learn how they can put
the new mechanisms to effective use.
The RIPE NCC will continue to work with the db-
sec Task Force to guide this activity.
Goal:
This activity is intended to provide mecha-
nisms which allow users to protect the data
they submit in the RIPE database, and which
allow those who query the data to treat it with
an appropriate degree of trust. The mechanisms
must be selected to be widely available. They
should not inconvenience those users who do not
wish to make use of them in any way.
Related Activities:
C1.1 C1.2
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database Security Task Force, RIPE
Database WG
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C1.4 Consistency & Accuracy
Description:
The RIPE NCC will continue working to prevent
inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the RIPE
Database contents using syntax checks, modify-
ing contact reference mechanisms, and educating
users.
In the meantime, the RIPE NCC will perform
database cleanup activities to improve the
quality of data already in the RIPE database.
This will include reporting problems to con-
tacts where possible, and providing tools which
enable users to clean up their data. The NCC
will also produce regular "State of the
Database Reports" in order to monitor the qual-
ity of data over time. Specifically the RIPE
NCC will concentrate on the consistency of data
in the routing registry.
Goal:
The value of the RIPE database for its users
depends on the quality of data in the database.
The quality of the data depends on the accuracy
of the data in each object as well as a consis-
tent reference mechanism, which leads to the
contact objects. The goal of this activity is
to monitor and improve the consistency and
accuracy of the data maintained in the RIPE
database.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database WG
____________________________________________________
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C1.5 Database Availability and Exchange
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide access to the RIPE
Database via whois servers, and by supporting
other sites in mirroring the data. Support will
be given to local IRs in setting up secondary
database servers, for example. Mean while, the
RIPE NCC will actively pursue and coordinate
data exchange both with other regional IP reg-
istries and other Routing Registries.
Goal:
This activity is intended to enable RIPE
database users to acquire the information they
need in a timely fashion, and to help those
outside the RIPE region acquire information in
the RIPE database as easily as possible. This
is essential for both the IP and the Routing
registries.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database WG
____________________________________________________
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C1.6 Routing Registry Tool Deployment and Training
Description:
The RIPE NCC will continue the incorporation
of RPSL extensions in the RIPE Database code
and implement the next transition steps from
ripe-181 to RPSL.
The RIPE NCC will work to create new RR tools
and in particular support the RA toolset. These
tools will be made available to members of the
RIPE community. The NCC will design and deploy
a training course to teach the RPSL language
and the use of the RR tools in configuring
routers and examining policies and routing in
the Internet.
Goal:
Based on RIPE work the IETF is developing a
new standard language for the Routing Registry:
RPSL. RPSL can be used to express a number of
routing policies, which are commonly used, but
cannot be described using ripe-181.
Meanwhile useful RR tools are currently being
developed elsewhere. In particular the RA
toolset can be used to define routing registry
objects, and to evaluate currently registered
objects in the process. There is also a tool
called "rtconfig", which allows router configu-
rations to be generated from the contents of
the routing registry. The goal of this activity
is to enable members of the RIPE community to
exploit RPSL and the new RR tools.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Routing WG
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C1.7 Redesign & Reimplement RIPE Database Code
Description:
The RIPE NCC will concentrate on the design and
schema of the new database. Later in the year
the implementation of the new database is
planned.
Goal:
The RIPE Database is the very heart of the
European Internet Registry and many other RIPE
NCC activities. It has become an essential
resource for European ISPs. Thus the reliabil-
ity of the database software is essential.
Moreover due to the changing needs in the
Internet world, extensibility of the code is
essential. The aim of this activity is to re-
implement the RIPE Database software in order
to produce a stable software base, which can be
reliably extended for future needs.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Database WG
____________________________________________________
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C2 Information Services
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide services and techni-
cal infrastructure to facilitate exchange of
information within the RIPE community and RIPE
working groups in particular. The RIPE NCC will
introduce activities to continue developing and
improving on the external representation and
image of the organisation. This includes the
management of mailing lists, and provision of
the www.ripe.net web site. Moreover content of
the web and ftp sites will be maintained and
extended.
Goal:
The RIPE NCC is known to be a neutral source
of authoritative information on the Internet in
Europe and beyond. This activity is designed to
ensure that it continues to be a useful
resource to the ISPs and other interested par-
ties in Europe and beyond.
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C2.1 Mailing List Management
Description:
The RIPE NCC will maintain high quality mail-
ing lists for exchanging information among mem-
bers of the RIPE community. Effort will be
spent to prevent spam (unsolicited advertising)
on the lists, to improve the quality of the
address lists in order to minimise bounces, and
to support subscribers with problems. The pro-
cessing of mailing list traffic will be con-
stantly monitored.
Goal:
The mailing lists maintained by the RIPE NCC
have a history of constructive and concise dis-
cussions on issues of import to the RIPE commu-
nity. Mailing list maintainers are facing new
challenges ranging from unsolicited messages
(spam) to increased size and usage of lists.
This activity is intended to maintain the qual-
ity of the mailing lists in the face of
increased usage and new challenges. This serves
to facilitate discussion and consensus forming
in the RIPE community.
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C2.2 Maintenance of Information Services
Description:
The RIPE NCC will maintain an ftp and a WWW
server at ftp://ftp.ripe.net/ and
http://www.ripe.net/ respectively and the
accompanying <webmaster@ripe.net> role mailbox
to provide help and information to users. This
includes the following detailed activities: Re-
structure the information on the WWW server
providing the best structure of information for
ease of use to visitors of the site. The NCC
will also monitor the content of the servers to
be sure it is accurate and assure a consistent
and user friendly style.
Goal:
The purpose of this activity is to assure that
the information and services on the RIPE NCC
servers are up to date and working well and
that user needs are responded to in a timely
fashion.
Related Activities:
C2.3
RIPE Working Group Advising:
all
____________________________________________________
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C2.3 Extension of Information Services
Description:
The RIPE NCC web site will be extended to pro-
vide new website services such as automated
forms for IP requests and on-line payment mech-
anisms.
Goal:
This activity is intended to provide new tools
and services as needed, in particular for local
IRs.
Related Activities:
C2.2
RIPE Working Group Advising:
all
C2.4 External Communication
Description:
The RIPE NCC will publish an Annual Report and
distribute the report to its membership as well
as to any other interested parties. The RIPE
NCC will continue to report about its activi-
ties to its membership, the RIPE Community and
the general public both on the network and at
RIPE meetings. The RIPE NCC will monitor press
clippings as well as produce press releases,
when necessary, regarding issues concerning the
operations of the RIPE NCC.
Goal:
This activity will provide the RIPE NCC member-
ship and other interested parties with informa-
tion about the ongoing RIPE NCC activities.
Related Activities:
A1.1, A1.2
____________________________________________________
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C3 DNS Coordination
The RIPE NCC does not provide domain name registra-
tion services. It does however provide DNS coordina-
tion and support activities as well as registration
of reverse address mapping domain registrations
within the in-addr.arpa domain.
C3.1 European Root Name Servers
Description:
The RIPE NCC will support the operation of the
root name servers located in Europe and the
surrounding area. In particular it will operate
the server currently located at the LINX in
London (k.rootservers.net).
Goal:
Those few DNS name servers serving the "."
(root) zone are critical elements of the Inter-
net infrastructure that should be operated in a
neutral and professional way. The goal of this
activity is to ensure that this happens.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE DNS WG
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C3.2 Secondary DNS Service
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide secondary name ser-
vice and limited support to those country TLD
administrators that wish to use it. The RIPE
NCC will assist IANA in the administration of
those TLDs as described in RFC1591.
Goal:
Many users in Europe depend on DNS name
servers serving the zones of two letter ISO3166
country code top level domains. Name service
for these zones should be reliable. New coun-
tries should be supported to establish their
country code TLDs.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE DNS WG
C3.3 DNS Hostcount
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide monthly statistics
on the number of hosts connected to the Inter-
net in Europe and surrounding areas. The
statistics are gathered in collaboration with
numerous organisations doing local counts per
country TLD. Additional hostcount statistics
will be introduced to incorporate missing TLDs
in the RIPE NCC service region.
Goal:
The goal of this activity is to collect and
publish uniform time series data about the
growth of the Internet in the region. It con-
tinues a time series started in October 1990.
The information is considered very useful by
organisations operating in this region.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE DNS WG
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Appendix A - Administration Activities
This area covers the publication of regular reports
by the RIPE NCC. Administrative support for RIPE as
well as general administrative overheads which can-
not be clearly attributed to a specific activity are
also included in appendix A.
A1.1 External Reporting
Description:
The RIPE NCC will keep contributors and other
interested parties informed about its activi-
ties. This will take the form of constantly
updated statistics published on the NCC web
site and regular reporting to the RIPE NCC mem-
bership. The quarterly reports will be more
topical and smaller than those hitherto pub-
lished with the bulk of the statistical infor-
mation moved to the web site.
Goal:
This activity will provide NCC contributors and
other interested parties with open, detailed
information as to the RIPE NCC activities.
A1.2 RIPE Meeting
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide administrative and
technical support for the RIPE meetings. These
meetings are taking place three times a year.
Actual costs regarding venue, equipment hire,
and sponsorship and the charging of an atten-
dance fee will recoup catering.
Goal:
Support of an infrastructure whereby the RIPE
meetings can be held. Guidance and advice from
the RIPE WGs is invaluable to the NCC and
therefore the meetings are essential.
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A1.3 RIPE NCC Association Support
Description:
The RIPE NCC will provide administrative sup-
port for the RIPE NCC association, especially
for the functioning of the association's formal
bodies.
Goal:
Smooth operation of the legal framework of the
NCC and good representation of the members.
____________________________________________________
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Appendix N - New Activities
This area represents those activities that are
either unforeseen or cannot be fully specified at
the time of this writing. The existence of this area
gives the NCC the flexibility to react quickly to
the rapidly changing needs in today's Internet.
Activities in this area are often suggested by the
appropriate RIPE working group. By nature new activ-
ities are hard to specify in detail and priorities
can change quickly. Activities may be dropped or
added as necessary. Priorities and details will be
discussed intensively with the relevant RIPE working
groups. The activity descriptions below are there-
fore more of a subjective statement of direction
rather than a fixed plan of action. In particular
some of the ideas below have not yet been fully dis-
cussed in the relevant RIPE working groups.
N1 Unforeseen New Activities
Description:
The RIPE NCC will react to unforeseen urgent
requirements for new activities as necessary.
Goal:
In the past the NCC has been requested to
start a fair number of unforeseen activities at
short notice. Many of them have been successful
because this possibility has been designed into
the activity plans since the NCC's inception.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
any
____________________________________________________
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N2 Test Traffic Measurement
Description:
The RIPE NCC will compile a 'traffic test sta-
tion' to inject, absorb and measure test traf-
fic packets. The RIPE NCC will promote deploy-
ment of the station by interested parties as
well as collect the measurement data, verify,
process and make it publicly available in vari-
ous forms. Note that this data is different
from the routing data (N3) and needs to be col-
lected at different points.
There are many uses for such independently col-
lected and verified data. A near real time
stream of measurement data can help to diagnose
connectivity problems. Processed statistics can
be used to manage and demonstrate quality of
ISPs and the Internet as a whole.
The key to this is the independent and impar-
tial collection and publishing of the data.
Also essential is good documentation about what
is being measured and what is not.
This activity has been started during 1997 in
consultation with the relevant RIPE working
groups and in coordination with the IPPM WG of
the IETF. A prototype implementation and test
deployment is expected to occur in 1997. During
1999, a second series of test-boxes will be
installed. In the second half of the year we
will concentrate on plans for transition to a
regular activity which could possibly be funded
through its own charging system.
Goal:
This activity is intended to help diagnose
real time connectivity problems. Collection of
connectivity data needs to be done by a neutral
entity. The goal of this activity is to help
establish measures for Internet quality.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE EOF WG
____________________________________________________
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N3 Routing Information Service
Description:
This activity has been described in the 1997
activity plan. Due to time and resource con-
straints there has been very little progress.
In 1998 we do not plan to increase our efforts
here but rather concentrate on the test traffic
measurement activity. However we have no indi-
cations that the requirement for this activity
has ceased to exist. Therefore we keep it in
the plan with just enough resources allocated
to track any developments that might occur
elsewhere. Should circumstances change we will
step up this activity.
Goal:
The purpose of this activity is to provide
access to the routing state at strategic points
both in near real time and for selected times
in the past and to enable time series analysis
of this data.
RIPE Working Group Advising:
RIPE Routing WG
____________________________________________________
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