________________________________________________________________________ prop-092-v001: Distribution of additional APNIC IPv4 address ranges after IANA exhaustion ________________________________________________________________________ Author: David Woodgate Version: 1 Date: 24 January 2011 1. Introduction ---------------- This is a proposal for APNIC to distribute any IPv4 address ranges it receives after IANA exhaustion according to pre-exhaustion policies. This proposal applies to ranges defined to remain within APNIC's administration. This proposal would not apply to any address ranges that APNIC might identify to return to IANA in the future. 2. Summary of current problem ------------------------------ It is expected that APNIC will receive some additional IPv4 addresses after IANA exhaustion. This address space could be received due to a number of reasons, including but not limited to: - membership closures - future distribution of IPv4 space by IANA of any redeemed addresses they receive It is expected that the amount of such additional addresses will be small. It is nevertheless assumed that such addresses should be made available to APNIC members for valid purposes of Internet connectivity if required. APNIC has a final /8 policy in place [1]. However, it is not clear how any additional allocatable IPv4 address ranges received by APNIC after the initial IANA exhaustion (and outside the designated /8 used for the purpose of the final /8 policy) should be distributed. This proposal attempts to remove that ambiguity. 3. Situation in other RIRs --------------------------- There is no similar policy or proposal in other regions. 4. Details of the proposal --------------------------- It is proposed that: 4.1 The policy, "Distribution of the final /8 worth of space in the unallocated APNIC IPv4 address pool" [1] be applied only to the specific final /8 allocated by the IANA to APNIC. 4.2 Any ranges obtained after IANA exhaustion, and defined to remain within APNIC's administration, be available for allocation to APNIC account holders under APNIC's current pre-exhaustion IPv4 policies, and in particular the policies described by: - 9.3 Criteria for initial allocation - 9.4 Criteria for subsequent allocations 4.3 The APNIC Secretariat will develop processes to support the practical and equitable allocation of addresses from any such additional address ranges received by APNIC after IANA exhaustion. It is recognized that there are practical difficulties in attempting to equitably distribute the potentially fragmented and intermittent supply of IPv4 addresses that might arise. Potential ways to address this might include processes such as: - Releasing addresses for allocation periodically once a suitable size of address pool has been accumulated; that is, defining "high-water marks" of address pools to be accumulated before distributing them. - Making regular announcements to APNIC members about available resources The decisions on the design of such processes should remain with the Secretariat. 4.4 Section 4.2 would not apply to any address ranges identified by APNIC for return to IANA. 5. Advantages and disadvantages of the proposal ------------------------------------------------ 5.1 Advantages - A clear policy is provided for the distribution of additional address ranges outside the final /8. - This maintains the principle that APNIC should allocate address resource to its members for valid purposes whenever such resources are available. - The small number of IPv4 addresses that might be made available to the APNIC community through this proposal should not have any impact on the continued industry deployment of IPv6. 5.2 Disadvantages - There could be practical difficulties in attempting to equitably distribute the potentially fragmented and intermittent supply of IPv4 addresses that might arise. However, it is assumed that these could be overcome with suitable and sensible allocation procedures. 6. Effect on APNIC --------------------------- The APNIC Secretariat would need to develop processes to support practical allocations from intermittent and fragmented address supplies. APNIC account holders may have occasional access to additional IPv4 addresses after IANA exhaustion. 7. Effect on NIRs ------------------ This will affect NIR members in the same way as APNIC members. 8. References -------------- [1] Section 9.10, "Distribution of the final /8 worth of space in the unallocated APNIC IPv4 address pool" of "Policies for IPv4 address space management in the Asia Pacific region" http://www.apnic.net/policy/add-manage-policy#9.10