Dealing with ARIN.. my experiences & tips

Mon Apr 14 19:58:39 UTC 2003

Also Sprach Andrea Abrahamsen
>1) Keep records of your IP allocations and assignments (and not just
>with SWIP, you need utilization numbers).  I know this is a royal pain
>in the rear end, and it's not always easy to do with customers.

Nah...our ticketing/provisioning/billing system does it.  We've got this
covered.  Maybe not quite as complete as the information in yours
was...but pretty darn close.

>3) You have to request every three months or so.  I'm sorry Jeff M.,
>but there's really no way around this, no matter how inefficient it may
>seem.

In other words, "Common sense is dead at ARIN."  Which is basically
about all I've been saying all along.

I understand that they have their policies, and that they abide by them
(that they aren't the same policies that are posted on their website is
a seperate issue), my main points is that the policies are hideously,
horribly broken, that they aren't published and are only learned through
repeated dealings with them, and that ARIN's communication flat out
sucks...to the point of flat out lieing.

>Jeff, you've demonstrated that you are doing the Right Thing.  Your
>utilization is good and your practices seem well in-line with best
>practices.  ARIN will recognize this.  Perhaps you don't think they do
>right now, but if you were not in-line, they wouldn't have given you
>any allocation at all.

If my practices are in line with best practices, and its clear that I'm
doing the Right Thing...then it shouldn't be nearly this onerous to deal
with ARIN.  This is demonstration that ARIN needs reforming with the
cluebat...which is basically all I've said all along.

>4) DO NOT TRY TO BEND THEIR RULES.

Bend them?  Shoot...I've been trying my darndest to even abide by them
in the first place.  It'd just be alot easier if they were accurately
published, and it'd also be easier if they actually made any semblance
of common sense.

>If you want to protest them, the person who is doing your allocation
>isn't the right person to protest to.

I disagree with you here.  The person to protest the rules to is anyone
and everyone that's involved.  ARIN makes the big bucks (apparently, I'm
still scared to look)...they need to put up with me b****ing at them if
they have inane policies like this.

I can't believe those of you that meekly put up with this.

ARIN's policies are inane, utterly lacking in common sense, and (even
with the best of record keeping) ridiculously onerous for business (as
you yourself basically even admitted).

IgLou has experienced significant cost in interacting with ARIN, and our
records are in quite good shape...I can only imagine what larger and/or
less organized ISPs must experience in dealing with them.  How much of
the cable companies time was taken up by you having to deal with ARIN?
How much did that cost them?  Even with your systems?  ARIN is a drain
on the technical community, and nothing more considering that their
policies don't accomplish what they're intended to accomplish.

>5) See Rule #4.  If they give you an allocation that you don't agree
>with, and they won't budge, accept it.

I've had to accept it...but you know what...every time it happens,
they're going to hear about, and, if the forum is right (yes, its
tangential here on nanog, but more on-topic than most convo's here) then
I'm going to make a stink about it in public forums.  The solution to
corruption and beaurocracy is to shed light on it and embarrass those
involved.

I find it interest that there has been absolutely no official response
=66rom ARIN concerning these issues here.  I can only imagine that they're
embarrased to confront their inadequacies.

>Jeff M., I see your point that going back to ARIN after renumbering
>half of the network is a tad on the ridiculous side.

That's an understatement.

>7) And finally.. ARIN are nice people.  Really !  They're not big red
>devils with flaming pitchforks just waiting to stab you in the hiney at
>every chance they get.  Work with them and they will work with you.  I
>actually started to *enjoy* my tri-montly interactions with them after
>a while, if you can believe that. :)

In general, the people that I've dealt with at ARIN have been fairly
pleasent to deal with.  My beef is not with them.  Its with the
(non-published) policies, and flat out lies (well...I guess an
individual somewhere along the way is responsible for the lies, but
that's long enough in the past that I don't know who it is, and it seems
to be an institutionalized thing from what I can tell).

ARIN needs to be reformed.

-- 
Jeff McAdams                            Email: jeffm at iglou.com
Head Network Administrator              Voice: (502) 966-3848
IgLou Internet Services                        (800) 436-4456
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