Re: [44net] Proposal for allocation of AS numbers

(Please trim inclusions from previous messages) _______________________________________________ Some of the radio networks implementing AMPRnet use BGP as a routing protocol, and therefore require some AS numbers that should be unique within those networks. Note I am not referring to BGP routing on internet, but only within local radio networks. There usually are one or more gateways that are connecting those networks to internet, but BGP routing information is not carried across them, they only route a fixed subnet and may or may not use BGP on the inside as well. It is customary to use AS numbers from the "private AS ranges" on those radio networks documented in RFC6996: 64512 - 65534 and 4200000000 - 4294967294. The first (old) range has 1023 available numbers, so it requires some registry where individual areas can get numbers allocated to them to guarantee the uniqueness of the numbers within the network. As always, the policies of such registries lead to discussion and feelings, and I like to solve that by making the allocation fixed up to the regional level, so everyone can determine their own numbers without having to agree with others how it is done exactly and how many numbers each one requires and will get, and whether they need to be changed. Since 2009, BGP implementatations must support 32-bit AS numbers, and the second larger range has become available. My proposal is to map the assigned IP address ranges for countries and states directly to AS numbers in this AS range. Advantages: - the range of AS numbers automatically remains contiguous for countries and regions. - no need for an "international" registry, and probably not even for a "national" registry. - local operators can derive the AS number for their region from the local subnet address. - very sparse use of the available space makes for very low chance of conflicts, even in the presence of other private AS numbers that were allocated outside of this system. - future proof as there is no 1023-AS limit for the AMPRnet radio networks. - very easy to mnemonically map an AS number seen in a table or trace to the place where it is allocated, without need to refer to an allocation database. I propose the following AS number structure: For an IP network with the address 44.xxx.yyy.0/zz, the AS number will be: 4244xxxyyy. E.g. for my local network 44.137.40.0/22 the AS will be 4244137040. When areas of AS allocation are larger, an arbitrary subnet (e.g. the first) within that area can be used to derive the AS number. Alternatively, a national allocation system can be set up to manage the range available for a country or state when local operators like to do so, and use registered AS numbers from 000-999 within the range derived from the /16 address. E.g. the Netherlands has 44.137.0.0/16, so we can use the 1000-number AS range of 4244137000-4244137999 and subdivide it the way we like. There may be a slight chance that some very old equipment would not support 32-bit AS numbers, but the popular MikroTik, Ubiquiti and Linux(quagga) routers have no issue at all, and there is some interoperability with peers running the older version. I'd like to hear the opinions on this and possible enhancements/modifications. Rob _________________________________________ 44Net mailing list 44Net(a)hamradio.ucsd.edu http://hamradio.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/44net