[arin-ppml] 2-byte ASN policy

Owen DeLong owen at delong.com
Mon Apr 4 16:08:54 EDT 2016


> On Apr 3, 2016, at 11:52 , Ron Grant <rgrant at skywaywest.com> wrote:
> 
> The biggest technical problem with 4-byte ASNs that I'm aware of comes when propagating BGP communities - AFAIK even with extended communities, you can't specify two 4-byte ASNs in a single community.
> 
> This can be worked around when using communities for direct peering arrangements, as one side of the equation is static - but at a Public Exchange point, it can be problematic, because who knows who might want to connect or not connect to whom.

This can be worked around in extended communities using a pair of communities (one type 0x42 and one type 0x02).

> Recently we ran into this problem when requesting an ASN for the Vancouver Internet Exchange (VANIX) - we were told there were no 2-byte ASNs left, so we went back to the drawing board to see how we could run our Route Server with a 4-byte ASN, and after wrestling with the problem for a few weeks, went back to ARIN and...joy!...someone had returned a 2-byte, which we obtained for the RS.

So you’ve perpetuated the problem rather than finding a solution.

I suppose that’s one way to go.

Really, for an RS, you don’t need two ASNs in the community as you already have one of them in the peer-as route property, so all you care about is the advertise-to ASNs. This could be handled with an extended community of type “Destination AS specific” where the “Global Administrator” field is set to the destination AS.

If you care about tagging the AS that fed the route to the route server, that can be done with an additional extended community of type “Origin AS Specific” where the “Global Administrator” field is set to the advertising AS.

You would then have 16 bits with which other information could also be encoded into each of those communities if you so choose.

> IMO any future returned 2-byte ASNs should be reserved for critical infrastructure or special need, but I'd love to find a solution to the communities issue that made 2-byte ASNs "not special" anymore.

This is already a solved problem IMHO.

Owen

> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 2016-04-03 11:36 AM, Adam Thompson wrote:
>> IMO, 2-byte ASNs should simply be retired and not reallocated. "Solving the technical problem", as described in your email, is actually ensuring the perpetuation of a different technical problem.
>> It's the same sort of thing as the IPv4 vs IPv6 --transition, but this time ARIN has an opportunity to at least avoid being part of the problem, even if it can't really be part of the "solution".
>> Let's please not prolong this problem, too... even in central Canada, known for a paucity of upstream carriers, it's now commercially feasible to work around the 2-byte technical limitations.
>> 
>> -Adam
>> 
>> 
>> On April 3, 2016 12:59:37 PM CDT, Andrew Dul <andrew.dul at quark.net> <mailto:andrew.dul at quark.net> wrote:
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I am starting a new thread in PPML, as a follow up to the ARIN 
>> suggestion and consultation which recently started regarding creating a 
>> 2-byte ASN waiting list.
>> 
>> The original suggestion is here:
>> 
>> https://www.arin.net/participate/acsp/suggestions/2016-04.html <https://www.arin.net/participate/acsp/suggestions/2016-04.html>
>> 
>> ARIN opened a consultation on this suggestion on the arin-consult 
>> mailing-list.  This thread starts here for those who are not subscribed 
>> to arin-consult.
>> 
>> http://lists.arin.net/pipermail/arin-consult/2016-March/000713.html <http://lists.arin.net/pipermail/arin-consult/2016-March/000713.html>
>> 
>> http://lists.arin.net/pipermail/arin-consult/2016-April/000722.html <http://lists.arin.net/pipermail/arin-consult/2016-April/000722.html>
>> 
>> As the thread evolved it has been suggested that this issue should be 
>> resolved via the policy development process rather than through a 
>> suggestion.
>> 
>> There are a number of questions that have been raised by this thread.  I 
>> am copying them here to continue the discussion on PPML.
>> 
>> ===
>> 
>> Working problem statement: ARIN will receive 2-byte ASNs as  returns 
>> over time, and these ASNs have perceived or additional value to
>> organizations compared to 4-byte ASNs.  How should ARIN allocate these 
>> 2-byte ASNs?
>> 
>> ===
>> 
>> Should they be given to the next requester, regardless of technical need 
>> for a 2-byte ASN? (What are the technical qualifications we should use 
>> if there is a specific technical need?  e.g. provides transit to more 
>> than 1 ASN?)
>> 
>> If there is really a technical need for 2-byte ASNs, shouldn't we 
>> attempt to build an inventory of 2-byte ASNs?
>> 
>> Should returns be held in reserve?
>> 
>> Should ARIN hold them for some period of
>>   time 
>> before reallocating them?
>> 
>> Should they be put up for auction to  qualified organizations?
>> 
>> Should they be given to the 1st organization  on a wait-list for 2-byte 
>> ASNs?
>> 
>> Would an organization looking for a 2-byte ASN have the option to 
>> receive a 4-byte ASN in the interim?  If they did would they have to 
>> return it?
>> 
>> Should the waiting list be closed to organizations that already have a 
>> 2-byte ASNs?
>> 
>> I and the AC would appreciate your comments on these questions so that 
>> we can start to build a draft policy that best matches with what the 
>> community would like to see implemented by ARIN.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Andrew
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> PPML
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> -- 
> Ron Grant                             Managed DSL/Cable/Wireless/Fibre
> Skyway West Business Internet          Internet and Private Networking
> rgrant at skywaywest.com <mailto:rgrant at skywaywest.com>                  Bonding and Fail Over Solutions
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