PRDB Retirement next Monday, May 8

Dale S. Johnson dsj at merit.edu
Tue May 2 00:20:22 UTC 1995


           What Networks Need to Do When the PRDB Is Retired

On Monday, May 8, the Policy Routing Database (PRDB) will be turned off.
The PRDB has been used to configure the NSFNET Backbone Service and
ANSNET (AS690) since 1989.  After May 8, configurations for the ANSNET
backbone will be generated from the Routing Arbiter Database (RADB).

The PRDB and the RADB have been running with parallel data for over a
year.  As of May 8, the last data from the PRDB will be transferred to
the RADB, and the PRDB will be permanently retired.

FROM NACRS TO ROUTE OBJECTS

Starting 09:00 EST May 8, NACRs will no longer be accepted for AS690
configurations; the way to submit additions or changes of route 
announcements for AS690 will be to submit Route objects by e-mail to 
auto-dbm at ra.net. 

If you submit a NACR after 09:00 May 8, you will receive a reply that
gives you a translation of that NACR into a Route object and explains
how to mail that Route object to auto-dbm at ra.net for immediate inclusion
in the RADB.  For an overview of the RADB and more information about 
creating and submitting Route objects, see:

    http://www.ra.net (select Routing Arbiter from the Projects menu)
    ftp://ftp.ra.net/routing.arbiter/radb/OVERVIEW
    ftp://ftp.ra.net/routing.arbiter/radb/doc/how_to_register


WILL YOU BE AUTHORIZED TO UPDATE THE RADB AFTER MAY 8?

Under the old NACR/PRDB system, each AS maintained a list of "valid
requestors" who could make routing changes for that AS.  Under the new
Route object/RADB system, each network has an Origin AS ("Home AS"); the
individuals who can make routing changes for that AS's networks are
listed in the Maintainer object for that AS.  Initial versions of
Maintainer objects were created from the PRDB "valid requestor"
information on February 1, and many more Maintainer objects have been
added to the RADB since then.  Thus it is very likely that your
authorization in the RADB has already been established.  If you have
successfully submitted a NACR since February 1, then you are already
authorized to submit Route objects for that AS.

Note, however, that if another organization has been submitting NACRs
for you, that organization may no longer be authorized to do this under
the RADB unless you specifically include e-mail addresses for that
organization in your Maintainer object.  Here is the breakdown of
authorized submitters:

    Date                    Who Can Make Routing Changes
    ------                  ------------------------------
    Before Feb. 1           Any valid requester of any AS in the
                            network's announcements ("aslist"),
                            including the Primary AS
    Feb. 1 - May 8          Persons specified by the Maintainer objects
                            of *either* the network's Primary AS or
                            its Home AS
    After May 8             *Only* persons specified by the Maintainer
                            object of the network's Home AS

The e-mail addresses for people authorized to make changes for your
network must be listed on separate MAIL-FROM lines in your Maintainer
object.  (A more elaborate system can be used after May 8.)  To verify
that your Maintainer object contains the correct information, enter a
command such as the following:

    whois -h whois.ra.net MAINT-AS690

For more information on checking, submitting or updating Maintainer
objects, see: 

    http://www.ra.net (select Routing Arbiter from the Projects menu)
    ftp://ftp.ra.net/routing.arbiter/radb/doc/updating_maintainers

If you have further questions about registering in the RADB, send e-mail
to DB-admin at ra.net.

							--Dale Johnson
							  Merit/RA




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