APNIC news

IGF Fellows Announced

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 GMT 09:00

IGF Fellows Announced

The APNIC fellowship award for IGF 2008 will provide funding to six members from developing economies to assist them in attending the Internet Governance Forum in Hyderabad, India this December.

The APNIC Fellowship award provides allowances from APNIC to help cover various costs so they can participate in discussions on Internet governance issues that affect multiple stakeholder groups.

Congratulations to the successful fellows

MengLeang Keuk, CAMBODIA
Nand Ashwin, FIJI
Bani Lara, PHILIPPINES
Chinbaatar Bazargur, MONGOLIA
M Zakirul Alam, BANGLADESH
Bhardwaj Akashdeep, INDIA

For more information, go to
http://www.apnic.net/igf/fellowship/

APNIC and PITA present training in Suva, Fiji

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 GMT 09:00

APNIC and PITA present Internet Service Fundamentals, Network Security & Forensics Training and Seminar

30 October 2008

The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) and the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) are jointly holding stakeholders seminars and training programs covering the following topics:

Critical resource security
Network security and forensics
Internet resource management essentials (IRME)
Internet service fundamentals

This program will be held in Suva, Fiji, at the Holiday Inn, 3-7 November 2008. It is the first in a series of similar programs to be conducted around major centres of the Pacific including PNG, Samoa, Tahiti and Micronesia.

Through hands-on training and community exchange, attendees will have the opportunity to increase their awareness and skill levels on Internet essentials and security. Of particular focus will be the growing need to minimize security vulnerability and address increasing cybercrime.

The agenda also includes a presentation by Paul Wilson, Director General of APNIC on 'Internet Address Depletion, IPv4 and IPv6'. He will join other regional Internet experts in a panel discussion of this issue in a Pacific Islands context on Wednesday, 6 November, 15:30-18:30.

APNIC trainers and Pacific Island regional liaison staff will also be onsite and available throughout the event.

The event is open to everyone and registration is free. Registration is only available online.

For more information and to register online, visit www.apnic.net or www.pita.org.fj

For further information, please contact:

Mr Fred Christopher Manager, PITA

Fellowships for IGF 2008

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 GMT 09:00

Fellowships for IGF 2008

9 October 2008

The APNIC fellowship program provides funding to members in developing economies to attend IGF 2008 in Hyderabad, India.

APNIC is offering a limited number of fellowships to applicants who meet the following criteria:

Experienced in Internet resource management. This includes decision-makers in government, educational, non-governmental and private sectors
Residents of a developing Asia Pacific economy, including the Least Developed Countries (LDC), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as defined by the United Nations (UN-OHRLLS)
A current APNIC Member
Interested in Internet Governance discussions and be willing to participate in the forums or workshops
Able to utilize the experience gained from the IGF meeting
Able to share the experiences learned at the IGF with APNIC

Successful applicants will receive allowances from APNIC to help cover various costs.

If you are interested in receiving a fellowship to the IGF 2008, you must submit your application by 24 October 2008.

For more see:

http://www.apnic.net/igf/fellowship

Upgrade to MyAPNIC - MyAPNIC 2 Beta

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 GMT 09:00

Upgrade to MyAPNIC - MyAPNIC 2 Beta

23 September 2008

APNIC is pleased to announce a significant upgrade to the MyAPNIC service. As part of our strategic continuous improvement programme, and in response to your feedback, the MyAPNIC service has been updated so you can now gain access with a username and password.

This simple login process and the enhanced contact and user management screens are features designed to simplify the management of resources.

MyAPNIC is a secured member service website that allows your interaction with APNIC in a safe environment. For example, you can view all the resources held by your organization or check your current and past membership payments.

Existing MyAPNIC users will simply need to re-enrol online to get their usernames and passwords immediately activated.

If you do not have access to the current MyAPNIC, you will need to register for a username and password, and you will need a corporate contact to authorize your registration for MyAPNIC 2 Beta.

For more information, visit: http://www.apnic.net/myapnic/myapnic2-beta.html

...or, contact helpdesk@apnic.net

APNIC supports the Global IPv6 Penetration Survey

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 GMT 09:00

APNIC supports the Global IPv6 Penetration Survey

Monday, 22 September 2008

The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), in cooperation with the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), is conducting a new survey to gather data regarding the current and future use of IPv6.

We have expanded the scope of the survey to seek IPv6 penetration data from around the world. We cordially invite and encourage all organizations in the AfriNIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, and RIPE NCC regions to participate in the survey so we can establish a comprehensive view of present IPv6 penetration and future plans for IPv6 deployment. The survey will open on 8 September and remain available until 17:00 EDT on 1 October.

The results of the survey will be presented and discussed at the ARIN XXII Public Policy and Members Meeting to be held in Los Angeles, CA, 15-17 October 2008. Additionally, the summary results will be shared with all the RIRs for further distribution within their respective regions. The survey data will support ongoing research.

The survey is composed of 22 questions that can be answered in a few minutes. This is a secure survey and all data will be presented in summary form only, and kept confidential between ARIN and CAIDA. When you complete the survey you will be entered in a drawing for prizes, one raffle per RIR region. You must provide your contact information to win.

Please take a few moments to complete the survey located at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=loMM8qu18yFoKyi0rTUpQg_3d_3d

APNIC participates in ITU Telecom Asia 2008

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 GMT 09:00

APNIC participates in ITU Telecom Asia 2008

Friday, 12 September 2008

Bangkok, Thailand

In a bid to raise awareness of the RIR system and the issues currently facing the Internet community, APNIC recently participated in ITU Telecom Asia, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 2-5 September 2008.

With almost 85% of IPv4 addresses already allocated or reserved, IPv6 adoption was hot on the agenda of important issues APNIC brought to the ITU meeting.

At present, Asia leads the world in terms of growth in Internet connectivity, and Paul Wilson, APNIC Director General, argued that the economic possibilities of effective Internet adoption should not be underestimated for this region.

In terms of IP address distribution, Asia holds 30% of the global IPv4 address space; and over the last two years, the region has seen 35% growth in requests for IPv4 address allocation.

For this reason, IPv6 deployment is particularly important for network operators in the Asia Pacific. For effective IPv6 deployment, policy makers must encourage IPv6 compliance as best practice for public and private infrastructure.

Paul commented: "With vast demand for the Internet in the Asia Pacific, the future of the Internet in the region lies in rapid IPv6 acceptance and deployment. Pervasive home broadband, wireless broadband and mobile Internet access are driving an Internet-fuelled society. Now, telecommunications companies' stakeholders need to start the planning process for continent-wide IPv6 implementation.

Failure to adopt IPv6 may hamper the development of Internet growth and innovation for Asia Pacific nations.

APNIC is currently building a library of online resources that is open to all stakeholders across the Asia Pacific. It includes the latest on IPv6 research, the process for applying for APNIC resources, and IPv6 training resources.

APNIC also produced an informational presentation dealing with IPv6 in both English and Thai language, which was displayed at the ITU event: (English | Thai)

Asia Pacific Internet Community decides how to use the last of IPv4

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 GMT 09:00

Asia Pacific Internet Community decides how to use the last of IPv4

Friday, 12 September 2008

The Asia Pacific Internet community reached consensus on six policy changes during APNIC 26, which was held in Christchurch, New Zealand, 25-29 August 2008.

A further three proposals were discussed, but these did not reach consensus and were returned to the community and their respective authors for further consideration and discussion.

Major policy changes included the acceptance of a global policy [Global policy for the allocation of the remaining IPv4 address space] whereby the last of the IPv4 address space would be distributed evenly among the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) and a proposal detailing the rules by which the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre would then distribute its share of these addresses [Use of final /8].

One proposal [IPv4 resource transfers] which would enable APNIC to recognize and register the transfer of IPv4 addresses between current APNIC account holders, received majority support in the APNIC 26 Policy SIG, but did not reach consensus.

The following proposals reached consensus and were subsequently approved at the APNIC Member Meeting. These proposals are now subject to a 'last call' for comments before being endorsed by the APNIC Executive Committee and implemented by the APNIC Secretariat.

prop-055: Global policy for the allocation of the remaining IPv4 address space.

This policy describes the process for the allocation of the remaining IPv4 space from IANA to the RIRs. When a minimum amount of available space is reached, one /8 will be allocated from IANA to each RIR, replacing the current IPv4 allocation policy.

prop-061: 32 Autonomous System (AS) numbers for documentation purposes.

This policy calls for APNIC to reserve a number of 2-byte and 4-byte Autonomous System (AS) numbers for documentation purposes.

prop-062: Use of final /8.

This policy change proposes how APNIC should distribute the last of the IPv4 address pool in the Asia Pacific Region. The policy will ensure each existing LIR (Local Internet Registry) and each new LIR can obtain a final allocation. It also stipulates that APNIC should reserve a /16 for unforseen future needs.

prop-064: Change to assignment policy for AS numbers.

This proposal adds an additional milestone to the migration from 2-byte to 4-byte AS numbers. Once implemented, from 1 July 2009, those applying for AS numbers must demonstrate that a 4-byte number is unsuitable in order to justify a request for a 2-byte AS number.

prop-065: Format for delegation and recording of 4-byte AS numbers.

Under this proposal APNIC will standardize on a new format (ASPLAIN) for the delegation of 4-byte AS numbers.

prop-066: Ensuring efficient use of historical IPv4 resources.

This proposal requires resource applicants to detail their 'historical' resources to ensure they are using best-practice to efficiently utilize existing address space before obtaining more. Historical resources are those allocated prior to the establishment of the RIRs.

The following proposal will be returned to its author and mailing list for continued discussion:

prop-050: IPv4 resource transfers.

This policy proposes removing APNIC restrictions on the transfer of registration of IPv4 address allocations and IPv4 portable address assignments between current APNIC account holders. It may have the effect of establishing a legitimate 'open market' for the sale of address space.

The following proposal did not achieve consensus and will be returned to the Policy SIG mailing list for further discussion:

prop-063: Reducing timeframe of IPv4 allocations from twelve to six months.

This proposal would allow resource applicants to demonstrate their need for address space over a 6-month period instead of a 12-month period.

APNIC signs two new MoUs

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC signs two new MoUs

Friday, 12 September 2008

APNIC has announced the signing of two new MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) agreements. One with AUSNOG (Australian Network Operators Group), the other with NZNOG (New Zealand Operators Group).

In the agreements, the organizations committed to collectively work together, share information, and facilitate the development of the Internet in Australia and New Zealand.

"I would personally like to thank both AusNOG and NZNOG for their willingness to extend the cooperation by signing the MoU with APNIC," said Srinivas (Sunny) Chendi, External Relations Manager, APNIC.

"It is a great achievement for APNIC to coordinate its efforts for the benefit and development of the Internet in the Asia Pacific region. APNIC is open to extending such coordination to other organizations, especially those engaged in the future of Internet development in this region," he said.

The agreements can be viewed on our APNIC memberships and partnerships page

http://www.apnic.net/community/partnership.html

Apster 26 released

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

The August 2008 edition (PDF 1.9 MB)

APNIC meeting report released

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC 26 meeting report

2 September 2008

Christchurch, New Zealand

Thank you to everyone who attended or contributed to APNIC 26.

APNIC 26 attendance statistics

Total number attending: 237
Economies represented: 33
APNIC member organizations represented: 70

APNIC 26 also staged two remote participation events where delegates in Hanoi and Manila could take part in the Policy SIG and APNIC Member Meeting via video conference.

Number of Hanoi delegates: 25
Number of Manila delegates: 20

To read, watch or listen to archives from the meeting, go to: APNIC 26

Number Resource Organization (NRO) Number Council

During the APNIC Member Meeting (AMM) in Christchurch on Friday, 29 August 2008, an election was held for a regional representative to the Number Resource Organization (NRO) Number Council (NC).

Congratulations to the successful candidate Naresh Ajwani:

Naresh Ajwani is President of Sify Technologies Limited, one of the pioneering leaders in the provision of eCommerce and Internet services in India. He is an Executive Council Member with ISPAI (Internet Service Providers Association of India) and brings over 25 years of core operational experience to this position.

Election details are available at: http://www.apnic.net/meetings/26/election

Meeting outcomes

Policy SIG

Nine policy proposals were discussed in the Policy SIG. The following proposals reached consensus and were subsequently approved at the APNIC Member Meeting. These proposals are now subject to a 'last call' for comments:

prop-055: Global policy for the allocation of the remaining IPv4 address space
prop-061: Autonomous System Numbers (ASN) for documentation purposes
prop-062: Use of final /8
prop-064: Change to assignment policy for AS numbers
prop-065: Format for delegation and recording of 4-byte AS numbers
prop-066: Ensuring efficient use of historical IPv4 resources

The following proposal will be returned to the Policy SIG mailing list for further discussion:

prop-063: Reducing timeframe of IPv4 allocations from twelve to six months

The following proposal will be returned to its author and mailing list for continued discussion:

prop-050:IPv4 resource transfers

The following proposal will be revised by its author:

prop-060: Change in the criteria for the recognition of NIRs in the APNIC region

APNIC Community Request for ICANN to Sign DNS Root

The APNIC community considered ICANN's initiatives toward operational readiness for DNSSEC signing and informed ICANN that the Asia Pacific community supports efforts to sign the root of the DNS and called on ICANN to resolve these issues and to sign the root of the DNS as soon as is realistically possible.

MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)

APNIC signed two MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding). One with AusNOG, the other with NZNOG. These MoUs strengthened the relationship between the three organizations as they agreed to collectively work together, share information, and facilitate the development of the Internet in Australia and New Zealand.

Meeting sponsors

APNIC offers its deepest thanks to the sponsors of APNIC 26, whose invaluable contributions allowed APNIC to offer a meeting program of a very high standard:

http://www.apnic.net/meetings/26/sponsors

Upcoming APNIC meetings

APNIC 27	18-27 February 2009, Manila, Philippines
APNIC 28	24-28 August 2009, Beijing, China
APNIC 29	24 February - 5 March 2010, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

APNIC addressing the challenges of a growing region

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC addressing the challenges of a growing region

Monday, 1 September 2008

APNIC 26 discussed Internet Governance and discovered ways the Asia Pacific region is working to provide Internet infrastructure to the world's fastest growing economies.

Specific challenges facing the Asia Pacific became a topic of discussion at APNIC 26 in Christchurch, New Zealand, this week when the Internet community took part in an 'Internet Governance Hui' to discuss how it could assist developing economies to improve their access to the global Internet.

The Internet Governance Hui (the Maori word for a meeting to achieve consensus) featured speakers representing points of view ranging from Asia Pacific governments, to project leaders involved in hands-on deployment of Internet technology in some of the world's most challenging environments.

The Hui was organised by APNIC in conjunction with the Internet Society (ISOC) to gather stakeholder input ahead of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). APNIC will take part in the IGF to be held in Hyderabad, India on 3-6 December 2008.

Paul Wilson, Director General of APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre), said there remains significant disparity within the region. It is and always has been the organization's mission and priority to assist in the development of the Internet in the Asia Pacific, he said.

"We see a significant challenge in providing the level of infrastructure required to bring the region to a level comparable with other economies around the world," said Wilson. "This is also influenced by national and international policies which are the subjects of heated debates."

"APNIC is not only involved in resource allocation and registration. We have gradually increased our activities over the years so that now we run a number of education courses and assist with infrastructure such as root server deployments," said Wilson.

Rajnesh Singh, Chair of the Pacific Islands Chapter of ISOC (PICISOC), outlined the not-for-profit's three strategic initiatives to bring the next billion people online.

One is an issue of scaling, said Singh, ensuring that global addressing and infrastructure are able to keep up. The second is trust and identity which ensures we continue to have high confidence levels in the Internet.

Finally, the next billion users will not come from the English speaking countries of the Western, explained Singh. A large part of the next billion Internet users will be from the Asia Pacific where we have different cultures, scripts and languages. We need to ensure users have the ability to choose appropriate levels of service according to their cultures and languages, because there are costs to take into account, he said.

Other speakers at the event included Dr Frank March, Senior Specialist Advisor in the Digital Development Group of the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development. March, who also serves on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Governmental Advisory Committee, explained the important role Internet infrastructure plays in the governmental goal of providing services to its constituents.

The Internet is a core part of any national structure, he said. Governments looking to deliver better outcomes in health, education, and similar social services, see the Internet as being critical for the delivery of these services.

He explained that while governments are eager to ensure a safe and reliable Internet infrastructure, many, like New Zealand, take a hands-off approach to governance, while others take a more hands-on approach to all aspects of their economy, including critical parts such as the Internet. That range of views needs to be somehow accommodated in the Internet Governance debate, said March.

Don Hollander, General Manager for the Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association (APTLD) explained how the Asia Pacific represented unique challenges to the Industry. Hollander contrasted large, technologically advanced economies to the very small economies which lack resources. It is not just money, he said, but it's time and it's people and it's people with the right skills.

Fred Christopher of the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) explained how the Pacific Islands is a vast open space covering almost one third of the planet populated with thousands of small Islands, but only around eight million people. Most of these remote Pacific Islands rely on satellite communications adding significant cost and complexity to their Internet operations.

Christopher pointed to a range of issues from SPAM and peer-to-peer traffic, which consume significant amounts of precious bandwidth, to the difficulty of training and retaining skilled technicians as being the most significant challenges his constituents face.

Kanchana Kanchanasut, a Professor in Computer Science and a Director of Internet Education and Research Laboratory at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, presented a compelling case study of a wireless network experiment which unexpectedly met a real world need. DUMBO, for Digital Ubiquitous Mobile Broadband OLSR (Optimized Link State Routing protocol), began life as an experimental project to demonstrate how an ad hoc wireless infrastructure could be quickly deployed in a disaster situation.

The project unexpectedly became a reality after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in May, 2008. The DUMBO team quickly trained people from the Myanmar Computer Association so they could establish a network similar to the one built for research purposes. Kanchanasut thanked APNIC for its role in rallying support for the deployment.

Sylvia Cadena is Program Officer for the Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF), an Asia Pacific grants program sponsored by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Internet Society (ISOC) and APNIC.

Cadena explained how the technology grants program provides small grants to help stimulate creative solutions to the ICT development needs of the region. Money and technical skills are not the only challenge faced in developing economies, she said. Even where development funds are available candidates need a different set of skills, such as being able to write proposals and share their ideas.

Cadena called upon the Internet community to "Step Up" and consider contributing any skills, tools, services or research which could be useful for those working to extend the Internet community in the Asia Pacific.

IPv4 in 2015: Black markets, regulated transfers or totally redundant?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:00:00 GMT

IPv4 in 2015: Black markets, regulated transfers or totally redundant?

Thursday, 28 August 2008

The unallocated pool of IPv4 Internet addresses is predicted to run out before the industry has properly deployed IPv6, the technology designed to replace it. What could happen next?

This was the question put to a panel of Internet industry experts who played out a disturbing scenario in a 'Hypothetical' staged at APNIC 26 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Hypothetical featured a panel of business leaders, academics, researchers and government representatives who acted out fictional roles for imaginary organizations and countries set sometime in the not-too-distant future.

The Hypothetical was moderated by Jonny Martin, a leading Internet industry figure currently based in New Zealand. Martin took panellists on a journey through possible events and dilemmas that may occur before and after the remaining IPv4 address pool is exhausted.

APNIC 26 is being staged from 25 to 29 August, 2008 at the Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand. Held every six months, the meeting is a key event in the Internet addressing policy development agenda for the Asia Pacific region.

Taking perspectives that bear some resemblance to their real life responsibilities, the six panellists first spoke about how their fictional organizations were reacting to the depletion of available IPv4 resources.

As the story progressed, however, the scenario became more alarming as Martin frenetically painted a picture of the potential future caused by the industry's slow deployment of IPv6 and accelerated use of IPv4. In the hypothetical, industry estimates that the remaining pool of unallocated IPv4 address space would last until late 2011, proved to be wrong as network operators began to 'stock pile' address space in an effort to insure their future growth.

The Hypothetical explored possible reactions to such a scenario, which included the black market trading of IP addresses, changes to IP address allocation policies, and potential technology solutions to the shortage.

Panellists were faced with possible scenarios such as how the industry would deal with the unlicensed use of address space, the shortage of IPv6 skills and training, and the possibility that larger countries could be asked to return IPv4 address space for redistribution to fast-growing developing countries which would be hardest hit by the imagined circumstances.

The Hypothetical also explored how a legitimate IPv4 address trading scheme could provide an environment where network operators could legitimately buy and sell surplus address space.

"While exercises such as this Hypothetical may seem frivolous at first, the worst case scenario outlined today is not beyond the realms of possibility. The danger we face is that as IPv4 address space becomes increasingly scarce there are fears that strong demand for it could lead to a black market in IPv4 addresses," said Martin.

"The foundation of the Internet addressing policy to date has been one of open access based on need rather than ability to pay. Even in a legitimatized address trading environment, an open market could lead to a situation where the cost to obtain Internet address space could become prohibitive for developing economies," he said.

"The value of the Hypothetical was that it gave us the opportunity to move 'out-of-the-box' and get a fresh perspective on very real issues facing the Internet today. It was both educational and an opportunity to role-play how potential solutions may affect different parts of the industry," said Martin.

Hypothetical Panellists

Geoff Huston

Geoff Huston is the Chief Scientist at APNIC where he undertakes research on topics associated with Internet infrastructure, IP technologies and address distribution policies. He is an active member of the Internet Engineering Task Force, where he currently chairs two Working Groups.

Xing Li

Xing Li is a Professor of the Electronic Engineering Department at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He is also the deputy director of the China Education and Research Network (CERNET) Center and project director of TEIN2 NOC. He is formal chairman of Asia Pacific Networking Group (APNG) and a member of executive council of APNIC.

Akinori Maemura

Akinori Maemura is the General Manager for JPNIC's IP Department since 2007 and current Chair of the APNIC Executive Committee. Akinori has been an APNIC EC member since 2000 and Chair of the EC since 2003.

Dr Frank March

Dr Frank March is the Senior Specialist Advisor in the Digital Development Group of the New Zealand Government's Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and is the New Zealand delegate to the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee.

Tulika Pandey

An Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer, Tulika has been with the Government of India since 1992 and holds the position of Director with the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology.

Gaurab Raj Upadhaya

Gaurab Raj Upadhaya is director of the Nepal Research and Education Network and assists with NREN network design and deployment. He is currently employed as an Analyst and Network Engineer by Packet Clearing House (www.pch.net).

David Woodgate

David Woodgate has held several roles involving network engineering, construction, operations and planning of Telstra's backbone operations. David is currently the General Manager for IP Address Planning in Telstra.

The Hypothetical was moderated by:

Jonny Martin

Jonny Martin has been actively involved with the New Zealand Internet since 1998, working in various technical roles starting at Telecom, then Alcatel, CityLink, and currently FX Networks.

Photos and transcripts are available on request. Video/audio recordings of the session will be available soon, at:

http://www.apnic.net/meetings/26

APNIC implements three new policy proposals

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC implements three new policy proposals

The APNIC Secretariat has now implemented the following policy proposals:

prop-053: Changing minimum IPv4 allocation size to /22

The minimum allocation size has been reduced to /22
Two of the criteria for an initial allocation have been updated to show:

An LIR must have used a /24 from their upstream provider or demonstrate an immediate need for a /24
An LIR must demonstrate a detailed plan for use of a /23 within a year

prop-054: NIR operational policy document revision

The document now includes a reference to ip6.arpa
The reverse DNS processes have been updated
The appendix has been removed

prop-057: Proposal to change IPv6 initial allocation criteria

Current LIRs with an existing IPv4 allocation from APNIC or an NIR can now justify an IPv6 initial allocation without a documenting a plan for making 200 assignments.

Updated policy documents

The comment period for the draft documents incorporating these polices has ended. The updated documents are now officially active:

For more information on the history of the policy proposals, see APNIC policy proposals.

New at APNIC 26: eTicketing

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 09:00:00 GMT

New at APNIC 26: eTicketing

1 August 2008

As part of APNIC's commitment to assisting our meeting attendees' registration needs, APNIC is introducing the eTicket. The eTicket has been designed to streamline the registration process, resulting in a smooth experience for both meeting attendees and the APNIC staff. The eTicket contains a barcode that easily identifies attendees and their registration details.

The barcode contains information pertaining to:

The registrant's name

Either their first or last name
A 'sounds-like' function that will search for similar names

The registrant's unique registration identification

This registration number is linked to the registrant's details in the APNIC management system.

These details contain the registrant's:

Name
Organization
Registration type
Register button; that is, the registrant's attendance at the meeting, including the date and time

After the barcode has been scanned, the registrant's name will be printed using portable Dymo printers.

The eTicket only applies to online payments and complimentary passes to APNIC 26.

AS number change could affect Internet routing from 1 January 2009

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:00:00 GMT

AS number change could affect Internet routing from 1 January 2009

25 July 2008

Manufacturers urged to upgrade routers and network management software to support the use of four-byte Autonomous System numbers by 1 January 2009.

Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), including Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), have warned that routers and network management software should be upgraded ahead of the increased distribution of four-byte (also known as 32-bit) Autonomous System (AS) numbers.

AS numbers are a vital part of the Internet's core routing system, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). With existing two-byte AS numbers predicted to run out in early 2011, RIRs will issue four-byte AS numbers by default (unless otherwise specifically requested) beginning 1 January 2009, as the next phase of a transition from two- to four-byte numbers. Following a globally coordinated policy, RIRs began allocating four-byte AS numbers by request only in January 2007; January 2009 marks the transition to allocating four-byte AS numbers by default.

Without timely support from vendors, network operators risk having routers and network administration systems that won't accept the expanded four-byte number format. As such, the RIRs urge operators to verify their vendors' routers will support four-byte AS numbers.

Geoff Huston, Chief Scientist at APNIC, expressed severe concerns over failure to prepare for four-byte AS numbers: "AS numbers are often used to identify external relationships, set routing attributes, and manage traffic. Learning from our current experiences with IPv6 preparation issues, Internet engineers designed four-byte AS numbers to be backward compatible with much of the installed network infrastructure. But new entrants and networks that are expanding or merging will need new AS numbers and as of 1 January 2009 these will be, by default, four-byte AS numbers. If router software and support systems in critical parts of the Internet's infrastructure aren't upgraded by January, we'll encounter some significant network routing problems. We're extremely concerned that a lot of routers and network management software out there cannot and will not be able to recognize four-byte AS numbers".

An Autonomous System (AS) is a collection of networks, or routers, administered as a group sharing a common set of routing policies, each defined with a unique number, or AS number. Massive Internet growth has depleted the existing pool of two-byte AS numbers (65,536 numbers in total). As a result, engineers have expanded the AS number space from two bytes to four-bytes, to include over 4 billion AS numbers. Some routers do not currently support the use of four-byte AS numbers.

To help vendors understand what they need to do to provide four-byte AS number support and to help network operators find products that support four-byte AS numbers, APNIC has set up a special website at Introduction to four-byte AS numbers.

Media enquiries:

APNIC
Louise Flynn
Marketing and Public Relations Consultant
lou@apnic.net
+61-414-40-49-50

NRO NC nominations closing soon

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:00:00 GMT

NRO NC nominations closing soon

18 July 2008

The open election for the Number Resource Organization (NRO) Number Council (NC) will take place at APNIC 26 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

H J Kwon's position as one of the delegates from the APNIC region will become available on 31 December 2008, and a new individual will be selected to serve for two years, from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010.

How to nominate

Any indivdual may be nominated with the exception of staff members of any RIRs. Members are permitted to nominate themselves.

If you would like to make a nomination for this position, please visit:

http://www.apnic.net/meetings/26/election/nominate

Current nominees include:

Hassan Zaheer
Ivan Tan
Noe Lana

Nominations close on 25 July 2008, 17:30 UTC+10

For further information, please visit:

http://www.apnic.net/meetings/26/election

New I-root nameserver in Sri Lanka improves Internet in South Asia

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 09:00:00 GMT

New I-root nameserver in Sri Lanka improves Internet in South Asia

7 July 2008

The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) and Netnod/Autonomica AB are pleased to announce that a mirror of the Internet root server i.root-servers.net, will go live in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 3 July 2008.

This will be the first root server to be deployed in Sri Lanka and will bring significant improvements in speed and reliability to Internet users in Sri Lanka and the surrounding region.

Root servers are a critical part of the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS), providing information about authoritative servers for all Top Level Domains (TLDs) (such as .com, .org, .bd, .lk and .jp). Computers need this information to interpret URLs, e-mail addresses, and perform other types of Internet transactions.

This installation will be carried out by Autonomica, the organization responsible for the I-root server, (one of the 13 root servers in the world). The I-root server has over 30 instances around the globe.

The Colombo root server deployment has been made possible with financial and logistical assistance from Sri Lanka Telecom and APNIC. It brings the total number of DNS root servers in the Asia Pacific region to 36, of which 22 have been made possible with APNIC's support.

"We are very pleased to deploy an I-root server instance in Sri Lanka" said Kurt Erik Lindqvist, CEO of Netnod/Autonomica. "This root server will not only benefit the Sri Lankan Internet community, but also Internet communities in the surrounding region, in terms of faster domain resolution and increased resilience within the region. This installation is part of Autonomica's effort to increase the I-root server footprint and thereby increasing the performance and robustness of the root server system worldwide."

APNIC Director General Paul Wilson added: "The deployment of this root server in Sri Lanka is a positive example of Internet multi-stakeholder coordination. The installation has involved the private sector, not-for-profit organizations, and government bodies working together to improve DNS stability and Internet response times for developing countries in South Asia".

About APNIC

As one of five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) in the world, the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization charged with ensuring the fair distribution of IP addresses and the related numeric resources in the Asia Pacific region. Responsible management of these resources is vital for the stable and reliable operation of the Internet.

Press contact: Louise Flynn, Press Officer, lou@apnic.net, http://www.apnic.net

About Netnod/Autonomica

Netnod/Autonomica AB is the non-profit organization responsible for i.root-servers.net, the first root server to be installed outside the United States of America. i.root-servers.net has been operational since 1991 and is now anycast from more than 30 locations around the Internet. Autonomica also provides DNS anycast services to a variety of Top Level Domains (TLDs).

Contact: Kurt Erik Lindqvist, CEO, Autonomica, info@autonomica.se, http://www.netnod.se

About Sri Lanka Telecom

Sri Lanka Telecom has a customer base of over two million, including multinational corporations, large and small corporate, retail and domestic customers. Today, SLT provides facilities and services: voice, data, video and mobile to its customers, which are unmatched in scope. These services range from domestic and international voice, advance data transmission services which include internet services on leased lines, broadband [on ADSL] and dial up, data circuits, frame relay solutions to IP services such as IP-VPN based on IP-MPLS technology, total corporate solutions of multiple services, satellite uplink services and mobile telephony through the fully owned subsidiary Mobitel.

Press contact: Mr. Aruna B Herath, Head - Internet Data Center, Telephone - + 94 11 2021275

For more information on nameservers refer to information on the following websites:

ISOC - DNS Root Name Servers Explained For Non-Experts

ISOC - DNS Root Name Servers Frequently Asked Questions

New APNIC policies to be implemented in August broaden eligibility to APNIC resources

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

On 4 August 2008, APNIC will implement three policy proposals that reached consensus at APNIC 25 in Taipei, Taiwan in February 2008. The APNIC Executive Council (EC) endorsed the proposals during their May 2008 meeting.

ISIF channels important funding into the Asia Pacific ICT community

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Technological innovation is crucial in today's challenging market circumstances. Key players in the ICT world recognize this and are coming together to launch a new grants program for the Asia Pacific Information and Communication Technology (ICT) community.

Annual report translations now available in 8 languages

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC has translated its 2007 annual report into English, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese (simplified characters), Chinese (traditional characters), Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese

Geoff Huston speaks at OECD ministerial meeting

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

On Monday, 16 June 2008, APNIC's chief scientist, Geoff Huston, spoke at the OECD ministerial meeting about the exhaustion of the free pool of IPv4 addresses.

Memorandum on the future of the Internet in a global economy

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

At the OECD ministerial meeting this week in Seoul, Korea, the Internet technical community, including APNIC, came together to endorse a memorandum, aimed at governments, civil society, and the private sector, urging a multi-stakeholder model of decision-making and a full commitment to adopting emerging technologies and standards.

APNIC participates in latest OECD Ministerial Meeting in Seoul

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC will be participating at the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul, Korea, 17-18 June 2008.

Online registration for APNIC 26 now open

Sat, 24 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Registration for APNIC 26 is now open. Anyone can attend APNIC 26, and attendance is especially relevant to ISPs, Internet equipment vendors, and government regulators.

Sponsor APNIC 26

Fri, 23 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC 26 is offering a great range of sponsorship deals that can help you expose your organization to a select audience of Internet leaders.

APNIC 26 website now live

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

The APNIC 26 website is now up and running. You will find everything you need to know about the meeting, which will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, 25-29 August 2008.

APNIC 26 to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand

Tue, 20 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC 26 will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, 25-29 August 2008, at the Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch Town Hall and the Crowne Plaza Hotel, three venues connected by covered walkways.

APNIC cooperates with AIT and dotAsia for DUMBO deployment in Burma

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Training sessions are being held this week at InterLab, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, to prepare teams of Internet technicians for urgent duty in cyclone-ravaged Burma.

Issue with APNIC DNS nameservers resolved

Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC started to receive reports that our DNS nameservers were not providing the expected answers for leaf node queries of delegated domains after we upgraded our DNS server software on Tuesday 6 May

APNIC participated in the Day In The Life of the Internet project

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:00:00 GMT

APNIC and the Day In The Life of the Internet

APNIC 25 meeting report now available

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:00:00 GMT

The APNIC 25 meeting report is now available.