fwd ppml: ARIN asking about SWIP procedures

[Shane Kerr]

Hmm...time to trim the Cc list?  Anyway...

On Thu, 4 Jan 2001, Eric A. Hall wrote:

> All of this stuff (global WHOIS included) really needs to go into
> LDAP, using standardized schemas for the relevant data. Obviously the
> schema is job #1. All of the [g/cc]TLD databases and numbering
> authoritites really should have made this a collective priority a
> couple of years ago.
> 
> Note that putting the data into LDAP doesn't preclude WHOIS clients
> from talking to a WHOIS server which proxies the LDAP data.

I'm not sure this is a good idea, or even possible.  Given the wide range
of organizational approaches and privacy customs and/or laws worldwide,
I'm not sure how you could approach this.

Even within just the RIR's, there's the different philosophies regarding
the contents of the data.  For instance, ARIN maintains fairly
tight-fisted control over it's database, which allows them the freedom to
fix things that are broken.  The RIPE database is owned and maintained by
RIPE members, which allows members the freedom to update their information
on their own, and use the amount of protection they feel appropriate.
(Not to sure about the APNIC database, but the Asia-Pacific region has
its own cultural mores and specific background as well.)

I get the impression that LDAP/X.500 was designed with a specific
corporate and/or governmental organizational structure in mind.  I don't
necessarily think this maps very well on to the anarchy that is the
Internet.  I could be wrong, but saying "All of this stuff (global WHOIS
included) really needs to go into LDAP" is a pretty strong statement in my
mind, and needs to be defended, not stated as a truism.

--
Shane Kerr <shane at ripe.net>
Database Software Engineer
RIPE NCC
+31 20 535 4427