Wording of the Virtual Webhosting Standards Policy

[David R Huberman]

> I think ARIN should avoid specifying what a Service Provider is or might
> be.

ARIN already defines an ISP for its own purposes and for clarity in its
policy language.

An ISP is any organization which assigns or allocates IP address space
downstream. Any organization which is the end-point of IP address usage is
defined as a non-ISP, or end-user.

> Organizations providing web hosting services must document efficient
> utilization of existing IPv4 assignments.  Where possible, name-based
> virtual hosting should be provided using HTTP1.1-host headers.  If such
> name-based virtual hosting is not possible, documentation explaining why
> it is not possible should be provided in the application.

I like the clarity of Lee's policy statment, but if I may change this
passage around just a tad:

In the interests of IPv4 address conservation, ARIN strongly encourages
the use of name-based virtual hosting utilizing HTTP 1.1-host headers.
ISPs providing web hosting services who are unable to implement name-based
virtual hosting must provide technically compelling documentation which
clearly demonstrates efficient utilization of their previous IPv4
assignments.

Maybe Lee's wording is better. You decide.

/david