as-set

Object Template

The object template includes information on how to complete the attribute values.

               Status       Instance     Search Status

as-set:       [mandatory]  [single]     [primary/lookup key]
descr:        [mandatory]  [multiple]   [ ]
country:      [optional]   [single]     [ ]
members:      [optional]   [multiple]   [ ]
mbrs-by-ref:  [optional]   [multiple]   [inverse key]
remarks:      [optional]   [multiple]   [ ]
tech-c:       [mandatory]  [multiple]   [inverse key]
admin-c:      [mandatory]  [multiple]   [inverse key]
notify:       [optional]   [multiple]   [inverse key]
mnt-by:       [mandatory]  [multiple]   [inverse key]
mnt-lower:    [optional]   [multiple]   [inverse key]
last-modified:[generated]  [single]     [ ]
source:       [mandatory]  [single]     [ ]

Example

as-set:     AS12345:AS-EXAMPLENET
descr: EXAMPLENET-AS-SET
country: AU
members: AS6789, AS9876
remarks: Peering AS
tech-c: DE345-AP
admin-c: DE345-AP
notify: noc@examplenet.com
mnt-by: MAINT-EXAMPLENET-AP
last-modified: 2018-08-30T07:50:19Z
source: APNIC

Attribute status

Mandatory

Attribute must be included in the object.  Failure to do so will result in errors.

Attribute Description
as-set The name of a set of aut-num objects. The as-set attribute may take two forms:Hierarchical as-set

A hierarchical as-set attribute consists of as-set names and AS numbers separated by colons ‘:‘. There must be at least one ‘set-name‘ within the hierarchical name that starts with ‘AS-‘.

  • Hierarchical as-set names should be used when creating sets of AS numbers specific to your own, your customers’, or your peers’ networks.
  • APNIC recommends the following format to allow you to manage multiple as-set objects for your network:
<origin-as-number>: AS-CUSTOMERS
<origin-as-number>: AS-PEERS

EXAMPLE
AS1: AS-CUSTOMERS

Non-hierarchical as-set

Non-hierarchical as-set objects may no longer be created after the implementation of prop-151, though some existing non-hierarchical as-set objects will remain in place.

A non-hierarchical attribute must begin with ‘AS-‘.

  • Non-hierarchical as-set names should only be used to create as-set objects that can be used across many networks, for example, unallocated AS numbers.
EXAMPLE
AS-UNALLOCATED ASNs
descr A short description related to the object’s purpose.

EXAMPLE
Peers for AS1 ExampleNet
tech-c The NIC-handle of a technical contact ‘person’ or ‘role’ object.  As more than one person often fulfills a role function, there may be more than one tech-c listed.

  • In the web interface, the tech-c attribute contains a link to the ‘person’ or ‘role’ object to which the NIC-handle belongs to.
  • A technical contact (tech-c) must be a person responsible for the day-to-day operation of the network, but does not need to be physically located at the site of the network.
admin-c The NIC-handle of an on-site contact ‘person’ object. As more than one person often fulfills a role function, there may be more than one admin-c listed.

  • In the web interface, the admin-c attribute contains a link to the ‘person‘ object the NIC-handle belongs to.
  • An administrative contact (admin-c) must be someone who is physically located at the site of the network.
mnt-by Lists a registered ‘mntner’ used to authorize and authenticate changes to this object.

  • A ‘mntner’ object is a database object used to authorize updates to the APNIC database.
  • When your database details are protected by a ‘mntner’ object, then only persons with access to the security information of that ‘mntner’ object will be able to change details.
  • In the web interface, the mnt-by attribute contains a link to the specified ‘mntner’.
last-modified It is a time stamp that is generated by the system to reflect when the object was last modified.

last-modified: 2018-08-30T07:50:19Z
source The database where the object is registered.

Optional

Attribute may be deleted from the object. To delete an optional attribute you must also remove the attribute from the object template.  Failure to do so will result in errors.

Attribute Description
country Two letter ISO 3166 code of the country or economy where the admin-c is based.Please use UPPERCASE letters.

EXAMPLE
country: WF
members Explicitly lists members of the as-set. Members of an as-set can be: AS numbers; or AS sets

  • If this attribute is used, the ‘aut-num’ or as-set objects referred to should not include a reference to this as-set object in their own ‘member-of’ attributes.
  • Attempts to do so will result in an authorization failure.
mbrs-by-ref The identifier of a registered ‘mntner’ object that can be used to add members to the as-set indirectly.

  • To include an ‘aut-num’ or as-set object as a member in this as-set, the ‘mntner’ specified in the mbrs-by-ref attribute must refer to this as-set in the appropriate ‘aut-num’ or as-set object’s ‘member-of‘ attribute. This allows the ‘maintainer’ to choose which of the objects they maintain and should be part of the set.
  • If the ‘maintainer’ chooses not to list the set in the ‘member-of’ attribute of an object, that object will not be included in the set.
  • To allow any ‘aut-num’ or as-set to be a member of this as-set, use the keyword ANY.
  • If the mbrs-by-ref attribute is not used, the as-set will only include objects specified the ‘members’ attribute.
remarks Information about the object that cannot be stated in other attributes. May include a URL or email address.
notify The email address to which notifications of changes to this object will be sent.

mnt-lower Sometimes there is a hierarchy of maintainers. In these cases, mnt-lower is used as well as mnt-by.

Generated

Attribute value is generated by the database.

Updating

You can update this object in the Whois updates page in MyAPNIC.

Instances of attribute allowed

Single
Attribute must appear only once in the object.
Multiple
Attribute may appear multiple times in the object. For example, you may wish to include more than one admin-c attribute.

Attribute search status

Primary key
Primary keys distinguish an object from all other objects in the database.To update a primary key, you must delete the entire object and them create a new object with the updated information.
Lookup key
Attribute can be queried in the database to return the object.  Please note, however, that a lookup key does not uniquely identify an object.
Inverse key
Attribute can be used when performing an inverse query using the -i flag. For example, the query

-i mntner <MNTNER-NAME>

will return all objects with the specified maintainer in the mnt-by attribute.

Using as-set objects

The as-set object allows you to group AS numbers with similar properties.

For example, instead of referring to many individual AS numbers in the import and export attributes of the aut-num object, you can refer to a single as-set object.

For example, by using the following as-set object:

as-set    AS1:AS-CUSTOMERS
members:   AS2, AS3, AS4, AS5

… instead of using this long import statement:

import:  from AS2 accept AS2
import:  from AS3 accept AS3
import:  from AS4 accept AS4
import:  from AS5 accept AS5

… you could replace it with this simple import statement:

import: from AS1:AS-CUSTOMERS accept AS1:AS-CUSTOMERS

If you use automated tools used to configure routers, the aut-num objects associated with the as-set object will be returned, and all individual routes that originate from the AS numbers will be injected into your configuration files.

For more information, see RFC 2650 – Using RPSL in Practice.