RWHOIS proposal

[Shane Kerr]

On 2001-10-04 10:55:09 -0400, Lee Howard wrote:
> We've begun evaluating using RWHOIS.  Among the advantages I see are
> instant updates, local access control, restricted access for bulk
> queries, privacy protection, and if I'm lucky, a chance to integrate
> RWHOIS and IRR.

True, true.

> The problems I'm having are that I will have to modify the code to 
> query an existing SQL database, change the output to RPSL, and cost-
> justify the work to the business.  I think ARIN can help me with the
> last point.

When you say "change the output to RPSL" do you mean making an RWHOIS
schema that is also valid RPSL?  I think this should be possible, as
RWHOIS syntax is (mostly) a subset of RPSL.

> So, ultimately, if the membership agrees that RWHOIS is a Good Thing,
> this would create an incentive for them to use it.  If it creates less
> work for ARIN, so much the better.

Does the membership agree RWHOIS is a Good Thing?  IIRC, it was
something that the IP registration office at InterNIC (then run by
Network Solutions) had proposed and set up.  Was there any community
involvement or discussion before this?  (There may have been, but it was
not a member community the way ARIN is.)

I agree less work for ARIN is a good thing, but there are disadvantages
to a distributed database.  Among these are: 

1. No guarantee of data integrity.
   I consider this a real problem for RWHOIS data because there is
   some incentive for operators to provide a reduced subset of data, or
   even incorrect, information.  With SWIP, ARIN has a record of all
   database changes so this kind of switcheraoo is impossible.

2. No guarantee of reliability.
   Unlike DNS, where it is in the interest of the administrator to keep
   the service running, with RWHOIS the only users that the
   administrator cares about are internal, customers, or ARIN staff.
   There is simply no incentive to produce a reliable public database
   by ISP's.  ARIN, however, does have incentive to provide this
   database.

Surely this is not an exhaustive list.  There are, of course, advantages
to RWHOIS, but personally I'd prefer a robust, user-friendly ARIN-run
database to a distributed database.

-- 
Shane
Carpe Diem
Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of anyone else.