[sig-policy] prop-058-v001: Proposal to create IPv4 shared use address space, among LIRs

[Randy Bush <randy@psg.com>]

[ posted by co-chair as chair is a co-author ]

Dear SIG members

The proposed policy 'Proposal to create IPv4 shared use address space
among LIRs' has been sent to the Policy SIG for review. It will be
presented during the Policy SIG sessions at APNIC 25 in Taipei, Taiwan,
25-29 February 2008.

The proposal's history can be found at:

      http://www.apnic.net/policy/proposals/prop-058-v001.html

We invite you to review and comment on the proposal on the mailing list
before the meeting.

The comment period on the mailing list before an APNIC meeting is an
important part of the policy development process. We encourage you to:

      - Ask the proposer questions if anything in the proposal is
        unclear
      - Point out advantages and disadvantages you see in the proposal
      - State whether you support or oppose the proposal

Mailing list discussions will be taken into account when the proposal
is discussed at the upcoming APNIC meeting. So please make sure you have
your say.

APNIC Policy SIG Chairs
Toshiyuki Hosaka
Randy Bush
Jian Zhang

________________________________________________________________________

prop-058-v001: Proposal to create IPv4 shared use address space
               among LIRs
________________________________________________________________________


Author:      Shirou Niinobe <nin@syce.net>

Co-authors:  Takeshi TOMOCHIKA
             Jiro YAMAGUCHI
             Dai NISHINO
             Hiroyuki ASHIDA
             Akira NAKAGAWA
             Toshiyuki HOSAKA

Version:     1

Date:        28 January 2008


1.  Introduction
----------------

This proposal is to create IPv4 shared use address space among LIRs
in AP region, for the effective use of the IPv4 address space.


2.  Summary of current problem
------------------------------

LIRs providing firewall and IP connectivity services behind NATs using
RFC 1918 address space face potential address space collisions between
end user networks that are using the same RFC 1918 address ranges.

This is preventing LIRs and their end users from benefitting from the
security and efficient IPv4 address use that firewalls and NATs can
provide.

Instead, some LIRs are applying (and receiving) global IPv4 address
allocations to providing firewall and IP connectivity services.

Furthermore, if LIRs assign only IPv6 addresses to end users, they
cannot communicate with non-IPv6 ready site.

By having IPv4 shared use address space as an alternative to RFC 1918
address ranges, LIRs would not need to request global IPv4 allocations
to achieve their aims. Therefore LIRs can continue to provide IP
connectivity after IPv4 free pool exhaustion.


3.   Situation in other RIRs
----------------------------

No RIR currently has address space for this purpose.

On 3 August 2007, the following Internet Draft was submitted to the
IETF:

    - Redesignation of 240/4 from "Future Use" to "Limited Use for
      Large Private Internets"
      http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-wilson-class-e-01.txt


4.   Details of the proposal
----------------------------

4.1. It is proposed that:

     - APNIC create IPv4 shared use address space for use by LIRs in
       the AP region

     - APNIC reserve one /8 for this purpose


4.2. Conditions for use of this shared use address space are:

    - All LIRs in the AP region can use the address space

    - LIRs can choose a range within the shared space for their use
      without needing to apply to APNIC or NIRs

    - LIRs do not need to register use of their chosen shared use
      range

    - Global/regional address uniqueness is not guaranteed

    - End-users cannot use this proposed address space and should
      continue to use the existing RFC 1918 address ranges.

    - LIRs are free to assign this shared use addresses to their
      customers.

    - Use of shared use address space will not be included when
      calculating APNIC fees


5.   Advantages and disadvantages of the proposal
-------------------------------------------------

Advantages:

    - It promotes effective use of global IPv4 address space, as the
      largest LIRs will use this proposed address space rather than
      global addresses

    - By using this shared use address space, LIRs can continue to
      provide IPv4 connectivity even after the IPv4 address exhaustion

    - LIRs can provide IPv4 connectivity by dual-stacking shared use
      addresses with IPv6 addresses. This is important as we currently
      do not have high-throughput IPv6-IPv4 translators for commercial
      use


Disadvantages:

    - Concerns may be raised that global IPv4 addresses that can be
      allocated to LIRs diminishes by one /8 (however, in the long run,
      this proposal will save more address than that space)


6.   Effect on APNIC members
----------------------------

APNIC members will have the option of both IPv4 global address space
and shared use address space

7.   Effect on NIRs
-------------------

NIRs are expected to adopt the same policy at their discretion.