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AFRINIC Number Resources Transfer Policy (Draft-1) Archived

AFPUB-2020-GEN-006-DRAFT01: AFRINIC Number Resources Transfer Policy (Draft-1) Archived

Proposal Details
Proposal Name AFRINIC Number Resources Transfer Policy (Draft-1) Archived
ID AFPUB-2020-GEN-006-DRAFT01 Date Submitted 2020-10-27
Author(s) Refer to Proposal Tab Status Archived

1. Summary of the problem being addressed by this proposal

The AFRINIC IPv4 pool is expected to run out soon. Some entities may need IPv4 space to support their IPv6 deployments, especially to support transition mechanisms, which AFRINIC may not meet. The current Intra-RIR policy in force at AFRINIC allows entities to receive unused IPv4 addresses from other members solely within the AFRINIC region, based on justified needs.

Considering the limited IPv4 space initially made available to AFRINIC (AFRINIC manages only 7.23 /8s with a very low ratio of IPv4 addresses per Internet user), there will therefore be a need to allow for unused IPv4 from other regions to move into the AFRINIC service region this without necessarily depleting AFRINIC's slim amount of IPv4 addresses by transferring space out of the region.

The current Intra- RIR transfer policy allows all types of IPv4 allocations/assignments to be transferred, including IPv4 from special-purpose blocks (reserved blocks for IXPs and DNS root ops, Last /8, etc.) The current intra-RIR transfer policy does not cover ASNs while there are cases where transfers of ASNs among AFRINIC members is desirable.

2. Summary of how this proposal addresses the problem

This new policy defines a set of rules to allow the transfer of IPv4 addresses and ASNs within the AFRINIC service region; and between the AFRINIC service region and other regions by specifying what categories of resources are eligible for transfer, the location of parties (sources and recipients) and the conditions to be met.

The policy segregates resources in different categories and defines which transfer rules apply to each category.

Only Legacy resources and resources transferred in from other regions will be transferable out of the AFRINIC service region.

The policy also makes the following provisions:- Number resources are non-transferable unless AFRINIC has expressly and in writing approved a request for transfer. AFRINIC is tasked with making prudent decisions on whether to approve the transfer of number resources.- IPv4 addresses and ASNs can be transferred only in accordance with this policy.- AFRINIC does not recognize transfers outside of approved transfer policies and requires organizations holding such resources to return them to the appropriate registries.

The goal of this transfer policy is to help distribute resources from those who no longer need them to organizations that need the resources, but cannot obtain them from the AFRINIC free pools.

AFRINIC recognizes the following types of transfers:-

  • merger, acquisition, takeover or consolidation,

  • between AFRINIC members,- between an AFRINIC member and an organization in another region,

  • between a Legacy resource holder and an AFRINIC member,

  • between a Legacy resource holder and an organization in another region.

AFRINIC will process and record Inter-RIR resource transfers only when the counterpart RIR has an Inter-RIR transfer policy that permits the transfer of IPv4 address space and ASNs between its own region and AFRINIC. Currently, the other regions are APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, RIPE NCC.

3. Proposal

Insert the following text into the CPM (numbering to be changed by staff as appropriate):

3.1 Definitions

3.1.1 "Resource" refers to IPv4 Address space or Autonomous System Numbers. "AFRINIC pool" means the AFRINIC managed pool of IPv4 and ASNs, obtained from IANA (allocated and recovered) or through the ERX (Early registration transfers).

3.1.2 "Special-Purpose pool" means the pool of resources currently reserved for Critical Internet Infrastructures (section 5.6.4 of CPM) and resources distributed during the Exhaustion phases of the soft landing policy (section 5.4 of CPM).

3.1.3 "Legacy resources" refer to resources allocated prior to the RIR system and tagged as Legacy by AFRINIC.

3.1.4 "Others" means resources transferred from other regions through Inter-RIR transfers.

3.1.5 "Inter-RIR transfer" means the transfer of resources from a resource holder in the AFRINIC service region to an organization in another region or vice-versa.

3.2 Marking of the resources

  1. AFRINIC pool == Regional

  2. Special-Purpose pool == Reserved

  3. Legacy == Legacy

  4. Others == Global

3.3 Rules and procedures for selecting resources eligible for transfers

3.3.1 If source and recipient are AFRINIC members, then allow "Regional", "Global" or "Legacy" for transfer and mark transferred "Legacy" as "Global".

3.3.2 If the source is Legacy holder and the recipient is AFRINIC member, then allow "Legacy" for transfer and mark transferred resources as "Global".

3.3.3 If the source is Legacy holder and the recipient is in another region, then allow "Legacy" for transfer.

3.3.4 If the source is AFRINIC member and the recipient is in another region, then allow "Global" for transfer.

3.3.5 If the source is from another region and the recipient is AFRINIC member, then allow "Any", and then mark the transferred resources as "Global".

3.3.6 Irrespective of the source and recipient, if the resource to be transferred is "Reserved" then deny the transfer. This restriction excludes mergers, acquisitions and takeover transfers.

3.4 Conditions on resources to be transferred

  • The size of the IPv4 address prefix should be a minimum of /24.

  • The resource must qualify for the type of transfer requested.

  • The resource will be covered by AFRINIC policies after transfer into the region.

3.5 Conditions on the source

  • Must be the right holder of the resources to be transferred with no disputes.

  • If the source is from other regions, conditions on the source are defined in the counterpart RIRs transfer policy.

3.6 Conditions on the recipient

  • Will be subject to current AFRINIC policies.

  • Must sign RSA.

  • The recipient that does not have prior resources must:

    • demonstrate a detailed plan for the use of the transferred resources(in the case of ASN, the recipient must meet the criteria for the assignment of ASN).

  • The recipient with prior resources must:

  • demonstrate a detailed plan for the use of the transferred resources(in the case of ASN, the recipient must meet the criteria for the assignment of ASN).

  • show past usage rate.

  • provide evidence of compliance with AFRINIC policies with respect to past allocations/ assignments.

  • If the recipient is in another region, the conditions on the recipient are defined in the counterparts RIR transfer policy.

4. References

Revision History

Date Details
17 Oct 2020 Version 1: AFPUB-2020-GEN-006-DRAFT01 - Initial draft submitted to RD mailing list.

AFRINIC Staff Assessment (To be provided soon)