[ARIN-consult] Community Consultation on Change to Whois Output for Certain /8 Records

[ARIN]

ARIN would like to solicit community input on a recent suggestion,
2013.4: Change Whois Output for Certain /8 records. The request asked
that ARIN suppress the RIR /8 output in a Whois query when a more
specific Direct Allocation (DA) or Direct Assignment (DS) record exists,
and instead, display the DA or DS record only.

Command-line Whois clients rely on ARIN's Whois to provide referral
server information where it exists, so that the IP address query can be
properly referred and resolved. This includes not only ISP Rwhois server
information, but also other RIRs' Whois server information.

Queries for IPv4 addresses within /8's that ARIN is fully authoritative
for are properly referred. For example, if you look up an IPv4 address
in an ARIN /8, ARIN's Whois will provide the direct registration record,
as well as referral server information. The Whois clients pick up on
this data, and refer queries as appropriate.

The issue is that queries of address records residing within /8s for
which another RIR is authoritative for (also referred to as "ERX space")
will not make the proper referral to limitations of the Rwhois
referrals. When you query for an IPv4 address in one of these ranges,
ARIN Whois currently provides two answers:

    *   the /8 record of the authoritative RIR; and
    *   the direct allocation or direct assignment record for the ARIN 
client

This behavior breaks the referral mechanism of Whois clients.

ARIN has two choices regarding the behavior described above and would
like the community¹s feedback on which one is the best course of action,
seeking input on the two proposed solutions below:

    *   Change today's behavior so that if a DA or DS record exists in
ARIN's Whois, ARIN will publish only the DA or DS record. If the query
does not produce a DA or DS record, ARIN will publish the /8 record of
the authoritative RIR and the referral to that RIR's Whois server.
    *   Continue today's behavior, ensuring that all IP address queries are
responded to with the proper RIR information. But the referral server
problem described here will continue to be a problem for ARIN-issued
registrations in these ERX /8s.

Discussion on arin-consult at arin.net will close on 3 May 2013. ARIN seeks
clear direction through community input, so your feedback is important. 
If you
have any questions, please contact us at info at arin.net.

Regards,

Communications and Member Services
American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)