You're here:  Home » Resource services » APNIC Routing Registry

Benefits of using a Routing Registry

Benefits to networks

An Internet Routing Registry (IRR) contains announced routes and routing policy in a common format that networks can use to configure their backbone routers. An IRR can assist network management in a number of ways:

Route filtering

Traffic can be filtered based on routes registered in an IRR. This can be used to prevent network problems due to accidental or malicious routing announcements. Routing announcement filtering can be created between:

• Peering networks

  Where the peers agree to filter based on registered routes only. If a peer's route is not registered, it will be filtered.

• Provider and customer networks

  Where the provider protects its network from accidental routing announcements by its customers. The customer must register its routes before the provider will accept its traffic.

Network troubleshooting

Routes registered in an IRR make it easy to locate routing problems outside your network. Use the contacts for the AS number associated with the problematic route to resolve traffic problems.

Router configuration

Tools such as IRRToolset can create router configurations. Use these tools to:

• suggest CIDR aggregates
• check aut-num objects and their routes
• perform RPSL syntax checking on Autonomous Systems registered in an IRR

Global view of Internet routing

If all networks registered their routes in IRRs, a global view of routing policy could be mapped. This global picture has the ability to improve the integrity of global Internet routing.

Routing Registries and IPv6

Work is currently underway to extend RPSL to describe policy for multiple protocols such as IPv6 and multicast. For more information, see the recent RPSLng presentation given at RIPE 43.

For more information on current discussions on RPSLng, please see the RIPE rpslng mailing list.

More information

• APNIC Routing Registry resource guide
• APNIC Routing Registry facts
• RFC 2622 - Routing Policy Specification Language (RPSL)
• RFC 2650 - Using RPSL in Practice

Top  |  APNIC Routing Registry