[ppml] [GLOBAL-V6] How to get a IPv6 /32 the cheap way: go to AFRINIC

Jeroen Massar jeroen at unfix.org
Wed Jun 27 10:51:15 EDT 2007


Adiel A. Akplogan wrote:
[..]
>> Wow, so you make a new 'company' in 911 land and say "I am going to
>> allocate a
>> single /48" and you get a FULL /32 even when you will never ever ever
>> use it
>> or even are going to think about using it?
> 
> I think you have missed the point a) which says "be an LIR". So you must
> already be an LIR (and go through the LIR setup process) to get IPv6
> allocation from AfrINIC.

Is it that difficult to become an LIR then? Last time I checked it
simply means having a registered company in a country and paying the
bills. For the rest, nothing policy wise will stop one from becoming one.

>> The first "organization" which is using this to waste space seems to be:
>>
>> inet6num:       2001:42d0::/32
>> netname:        AfriNIC-IPv6-1
>> descr:          AfriNIC
>> descr:          RIR
>> country:        MU
>>
>> Gee, the RIR itself. How many people are using the AFRINIC network?
>> 10-50? Are
>> they really *ever* going to need more than a /48? Are they ever going
>> to have
>> a need for 65536 of those /48's?
> 
> You can not take AfriNIC own allocation case to illustrate your
> assertion here

Why not? It is clearly the first block that has been using this policy.

Some other people mentioned that you might have been using the "Critical
Infrastructure" policy, but clearly you are not, otherwise you would
have mentioned that, but you did not.

Also even that policy mentions that a /32 is the maximum size and not
the default, meaning that one still has to justify that address space.

> We have allocated that bloc to our own Infrastructure (which has three
> locations to be connected together) so each with its own /48.
> Further to that we have other IPv6 Internal projects which will
> probably require several /48.

So you allocate 65536 /48's because you have *three* offices and maybe
some "big projects". I don't see why those big projects require the need
for individual /48's. Reminder: a /48 is 65536 /64's and in total that
contains several millions of /128's to be used for addressing.

Under that premise, is every website hosted by a virtual hoster also
getting their own /48? That will be a huge waste of address space when
you justify it like that. I sincerely hope that that is not the
justification that AfriNIC is using, as when that is the case it is
really disproportionate to the rest of the world.

> As RIR I think we are in the position to evaluate our own need
> before making an allocation and if it was made be sure that is
> after careful evaluation.

I wonder how 'careful' this evaluation was and I am seriously doubting
any further 'evaluation'. Seeing that three (small) offices and some
unspecified projects

A /45 (8 /48's) would have been correctly justified by the above, but a
/32 (65536 /48's) is really not.

That you want a globally routable prefix and your own chunk of space is
fine, but don't waste (not waist) the address space.

>> Really this is just a waste of address space. Yes there is "enough",
>> but being> sooo obviously wasteful just to be able to have a nice
>> slot in the routing tables is a bit over done.
> 
> I don't see  the waist.

You don't see a waste of 65500 /48's which can otherwise really be used
by the new PI policy which your membership has voted on and setup? wow.

Why does that PI policy exist when one is going to give out /32's for
small sites anyway? And yes AfriNIC is a small site. Now if you had more
than 200 offices and thousands of employees or what about real customers
who are people and users themselves, then a /32 might be justified, but
in this case, far from.

[..]
>> RIR's should be giving out address space based on "need" and that need
>> must justified, giving out /32's as "those fit in the routing slots" is
>> a really really bad idea.
> 
> That is what we do. You can not have such affirmation based on a single
> case.

Thus you admit that the justification was wrong, but just because you
made a mistake once (which you can still easily turn back btw as the
prefix is not in use yet, or just chunk it down to a /45) it can't
really be called a mistake?

>> In short: if you want a nice /32 without issues: setup a small shop in
>> Africa and presto!
> 
> You won't get it like that.

Clearly you can, otherwise that /32 you have now would not be there
would it not?

Greets,
 Jeroen


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