The Department of Work and Pensions, UK has an entire /8

Thu Sep 20 02:32:00 UTC 2012

On 9/19/12, John Osmon <josmon at rigozsaurus.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 12:07:33AM -0500, Jimmy Hess wrote:
>> But your unconnected network, is unaffected.
> Ahh...  But the network may not be unconnected.  Just because *you*
> don't have a path to it doesn't mean others are similarly disconnected.

I'm aware of the existence of networks that are only connected to
limited number of networks.   The fact that they exist, doesn't
particularly diminish the danger,
that their "apparently unused" addressing will become a target for someone.

It would be wrong and broken, but that doesn't mean it is not going to happen.

> Such a network would not have $0 in loss/damage when the partners can't
> reach it due to a rogue announcement.

If they wanted to make a case about it, they would likely need to find
evidence that outweighs even their own negligence in the matter.
There's no accepted practice that says accept inter-domain
announcements for your own prefixes  that aren't supposed to be
announced outside your network....

The announcement also wouldn't be rogue, if the announcer had
persuaded the RIR under whatever policy was in effect at the time, to
assign the addresses.

There's a fork there, between two different sorts of risks....
*  (Non-legitimate)  Example:  Some networks run by  massive  Tier 1
providers that for whatever reason decides to stop  accepting the
whole concept of "unconnected networks",     an example of this would
be  Bell Canada, Level3, ATT,  or Verizon   just decides to pick some
random /8   they see as  "unconnected", claim that /8  and   start
announcing it,    and starts renumbering massive numbers of CPEs into
the space.

Within a couple weeks,  each of the other Tier 1s,  "grabs"  one of
those  "unconnected" /8s;    or the Tier1's  work out a deal  to share
it,   totally outside the RIR process.

A second similar, but totally unrelated risk,  for the operator of the
unconnected network,
is their RIR policies are adjusted,  and revokation of the " perceived
unconnected" /8
becomes imminent.

> The Internet is not the same from all viewpoints.

That works, until there is a sufficient scarcity of resources to make
major players desparate.

Ultimately it will be the management of networks with the largest
numbers of eyeballs,  that decide which viewpoint is "correct".

-- 
-JH