-----------------------------------------------------------------------
APNIC Document identity

 Title:     Policies for IPv4 address space management in the Asia
            Pacific region

 Short title:                     add-manage-policy
 Document ref:                    APNIC-124
 Version:                         002
 Date of original publication:    9 May 2011
 Date of this version:            27 May 2014
 Review scheduled:                n/a
 Obsoletes:                       apnic-124v001
 Status:                          Obsolete
 Comments:                        Obsoleted by apnic-127
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 Table of contents
 -----------------

    1.       Introduction

    2.       Scope

    3.       Delegations from the APNIC IPv4 address pool
    3.1.     Criteria for initial LIR delegation
    3.2.     Criteria for subsequent LIR delegations
    3.2.1.   Prior delegations to be used first
    3.2.2.   Special circumstances - large delegations
    3.3.     Criteria for small multihoming delegations
    3.4.     Criteria for Internet Exchange Points
    3.5.     Criteria for Critical infrastructure

    4.       LIR address space management
    4.1.     Assignment window for LIRs
    4.2.     Address usage estimates
    4.3.     Delegations  to downstream IRs
    4.3.1.   Effect of delegation to downstream IRs on upstream LIR's
             usage rate
    4.4.     Registration requirements
    4.4.1.   Updating registration details
    4.4.2.   Registering contact persons
    4.5.     Responsibility to maintain in-addr.arpa records

    5.       Transfer of address space

    6.       How APNIC manages address space
    6.1.     Reservation for future uses
    6.2.     IPv4 addresses returned to APNIC


 1.    Introduction
 ------------------
       APNIC (the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) is the
       Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for the Asia Pacific region,
       responsible for distributing public Internet address space and
       related resources in the region and for coordinating the
       development and implementation of policies to manage those
       resources.

       The policies described in this document have been developed by
       the Internet community of the Asia Pacific region through a
       consensus process facilitated by APNIC. They are to be
       implemented by APNIC and by the National Internet Registries
       (NIRs) and the Local Internet Registries (LIRs) throughout the
       region.

 2.    Scope
 -----------

       This document describes policies for the responsible management
       of global IPv4 public address space in the Asia Pacific region.
       Specifically, this document focuses on policies relating to the
       delegation of IPv4 address space.

       This document does not describe specific addressing policies
       related to IPv6, Multicast, Private Address Space, or Autonomous
       System numbers. It should be read in conjunction with other
       APNIC documents, including those dealing with membership and
       fees.

       This document does not provide specific details of request
       evaluation by APNIC, or of expectations relating to specific
       technologies. Such details are dependent on technological
       advances, and may change frequently. Therefore, to assist
       organizations to request address space, APNIC will publish
       separate guidelines documents relating to specific technologies
       or techniques as required.

       This document does not provide specific details on how networks
       can use Private address space. The use of private address space
       may be appropriate for addressing networks that are connected to
       the Internet via a firewall, and where there are not technical
       requirements for the use of public address space. In general,
       private address space should be used for networks not connected
       to the Internet.

       This document must also be read in conjunction with the "Policy
       environment for Internet number resource distribution in the
       Asia Pacific", which outlines the structure and principals of
       Internet number resource distribution in the Asia Pacific
       region, the goals of address management, and definitions of
       terms used in this document. The document can be found at:

       http://www.apnic.net/policy/policy-environment


 3.    Delegations from the APNIC IPv4 address pool
 --------------------------------------------------

       The current minimum delegation size is a /24 (256 addresses).

       As of Friday, 15 April 2011, each new or existing APNIC account
       holder is only eligible to request and receive delegations
       totalling a maximum /22 worth of address space from the APNIC
       IPv4 address pool.

       To receive a delegation they must meet the criteria specified in
       one of the following sections of this policy document:

       3.1 Criteria for initial LIR delegation
       3.2 Criteria for subsequent LIR delegations
       3.3 Criteria for small multihoming delegations
       3.4 Criteria for Internet Exchange Points
       3.5 Criteria for critical infrastructure

       Following the additional delegation of IPv4 address space to
       APNIC from the 'IANA Recovered IPv4 Pool' as the result of the
       "Global policy for post exhaustion IPv4 allocation mechanisms by
       the IANA", from 27 May 2014, each APNIC account holder will
       become eligible to request and receive additional delegations up
       to a maximum of /22 address space from an APNIC non-103/8 IPv4
       address pool. To receive a delegation they must meet one of the
       above criteria as specified in this policy document.

       If subsequent allocations from the IANA plus returns from APNIC
       account holders prove sufficient to extend this to additional
       rounds, subsequent delegations will be made under the same
       criteria.

       3.1.    Criteria for initial LIR delegation

               To be eligible, an LIR must:

               - Have used a /24 from their upstream provider or
                 demonstrate an immediate need for a /24,
               - Have complied with applicable policies in managing all
                 address space previously delegated to it (including
                 historical delegations), and
               - Demonstrate a detailed plan for use of a /23 within a
                 year

       3.2.    Criteria for subsequent LIR delegations

               After receiving an initial LIR delegation, all
               subsequent delegations will depend on the following:

               - The LIR's verified usage rate (which is the rate at
                 which the LIR made delegations from relevant past
                 address space, including historical delegations)
               - Their documented plans for address space, and
               - Their degree of compliance with APNIC policies with
                 respect to relevant past delegations.

               Based on these factors, APNIC and NIRs will delegate
               address space to meet the LIR's estimated needs for a
               period up to one year up to the maximum allowed
               delegation under Section 3. If APNIC or the NIR make a
               delegation based on a period of less than one year, then
               they must inform the LIR of the length of the period and
               the reasons for selecting it.

               3.2.1.    Prior delegations to be used first
                         An LIR is not eligible to receive subsequent
                         delegations until its current delegations
                         account for at least eighty percent of the
                         total address space it holds. This is referred
                         to as the "eighty percent rule".

               3.2.2.    Special circumstances - large delegations
                         An LIR may request an exception to the eighty
                         percent rule if it needs to make a single
                         delegation that is larger than the amount of
                         space it has remaining.

       3.3.    Criteria for small multihoming delegations

               An organization is eligible if it is currently
               multihomed with provider-based addresses, or
               demonstrates a plan to multihome within one month.

               Organizations requesting a delegation under these terms
               must demonstrate that they are able to use 25% of the
               requested addresses immediately and 50% within one year.

       3.4.    Criteria for Internet Exchange Points

               Internet Exchange Points (IXP) are eligible to receive a
               delegation from APNIC to be used exclusively to connect
               the IXP participant devices to the Exchange Point.

               Global routability of the delegation is left to the
               discretion of the IXP and its participants.

       3.5.    Criteria for Critical infrastructure

               The following critical infrastructure networks, if
               operating in the Asia Pacific region, are eligible to
               receive a delegation:

               - Root domain name system (DNS) server
               - Global top level domain (gTLD) nameservers
               - Country code TLD (ccTLDs) nameservers
               - IANA
               - Regional Internet Registry (RIRs), and
               - National Internet Registry (NIRs)

               Delegations to critical infrastructure are available
               only to the actual operators of the network
               infrastructure performing such functions. Registrar
               organizations that do not actually host the network
               housing the registry infrastructure will not be eligible
               under this policy.

               Exchanges made under this policy remain subject to the
               address space license policy. See "Policy environment
               for Internet number resource distribution in the Asia
               Pacific".

               http//:www.apnic.net/policy/policy-environment


 4.    LIR address space management
 ----------------------------------

       LIRs may delegate address space to their customers subject to
       the following provisions.

       4.1.    Assignment window for LIRs

               APNIC and NIRs shall apply an assignment window
               mechanism to help LIRs understand and comply with APNIC
               policies and the address management goals.

               The assignment window indicates the maximum number of
               addresses an LIR may delegate to an end-user without
               first seeking a "second opinion". If an LIR wishes to
               make an delegation that exceeds its delegation window,
               the LIR must first submit a second opinion request.

               LIRs start with a delegation window of zero, meaning all
               proposed delegations must first be approved.

               APNIC, or the relevant NIR, will regularly assess the
               proficiency of LIR staff in making delegations and
               seeking second opinions and will review the size of the
               assignment window accordingly. As the LIR staff become
               more proficient, the size of their assignment window may
               be raised.

               The maximum assignment window given to any LIR will be a
               /19 (8,192 addresses).

               If an LIR's staff appears to become less proficient (for
               example, due to the training of new staff or other
               relevant circumstances) then that LIR's assignment
               window may be temporarily reduced.

       4.2.    Address usage estimates

               Requests for delegations must be supported by usage
               estimates based on immediate and projected future need.
               These requests must be accompanied by documentation that
               supports the estimates.

               The estimates should be made for the following periods:

               - Immediately,
               - Within one year, and
               - Within two years

               APNIC recommends that, as a general guideline,
               organizations should base their resource requests on the
               assumption that 25% of the address space will be used
               immediately and 50% will be used within one year.

               The end-user must provide documentation that supports
               its one-year usage estimate. If it is not possible for
               the end-user to estimate confidently what the two-year
               usage rate will be, then APNIC or the NIR may make a
               delegation that will be sufficient for the one-year
               needs only.

       4.3.    Delegations to downstream IRs

               LIRs may delegate address space to their downstream
               customers, which are operating networks, such as ISPs,
               subject to the following conditions:

               - Delegations are non-portable and must be returned to
                 the LIR if the downstream customer ceases to receive
                 connectivity from the LIR.
               - Delegations are subject to the LIR's assignment
                 window. Requests for delegations, which exceed the
                 LIR's assignment window, must first be referred to
                 APNIC for second opinion approval.
               - The downstream customer is not permitted to further
                 delegate the address space.

               4.3.1.    Effect of delegation to downstream IRs on
                         upstream LIR's usage rate

                         For the purposes of evaluating the LIR's usage
                         rate (see section 3.2), address space
                         delegated to downstream LIRs will be
                         considered as "used". However, APNIC will give
                         careful consideration to the registration of
                         delegations made by the downstream LIR to
                         their customers and may request supporting
                         documentation as necessary.

       4.4.    Registration requirements

               Internet Registries (IRs) are responsible for promptly
               and accurately registering their address space use with
               APNIC as follows:

               - All delegations from APNIC to the IR must be
                 registered.
               - All delegations to downstream IRs must be registered.
               - Delegations made to networks greater than a /30 must
                 be registered.
               - Delegations made to networks of a /30 or less may be
                 registered, at the discretion of the IR and the
                 network administrator.
               - Delegations to hosts may be registered, at the
                 discretion of the IR and the end-user.

               IRs can choose whether or not to designate this
               information "public". Customer registration details that
               are not designated "public" will not be generally
               available via the APNIC Whois Database. The database
               record will instead direct specific whois enquiries to
               the IR concerned.

               In addition, it is mandatory to register an Incident
               Report Team (IRT) object for each address block record
               in the APNIC Whois Database.

               4.4.1.    Updating registration details

                         IRs must update their registration records
                         when any of the registration information
                         changes. This is the responsibility of the IR
                         concerned. However, this responsibility may be
                         formally assigned to the end-user as a
                         condition of the original delegation.

               4.4.2.    Registering contact persons

                         Administrative and technical contact persons
                         must be registered.

                         The registered administrative contact ("admin-
                         c") must be someone who is physically located
                         at the site of the network, subject to the
                         following exceptions:

                         - For residential networks or users, the IR's
                           technical contact may be registered as the
                           admin-c.
                         - For networks in exceptional circumstances
                           that make it impractical to maintain an on-
                           site administrative contact, an off-site
                           person may be registered as the admin-c.

                         The technical contact ("tech-c") need not be
                         physically located at the site of the network,
                         but must be a person who is responsible for
                         the day-to-day operation of the network.

       4.5.    Responsibility to maintain in-addr.arpa records

               LIRs should maintain in-addr.arpa resource records for
               their customers' networks. If a network is not
               specifically associated with an LIR then the
               in-addra.arpa records should be maintained by either the
               appropriate NIR or APNIC.

 5.    Transfer of address space
 -------------------------------

       IPv4 addresses may be transferred in accordance with the "APNIC
       transfer, merger, acquisition, and takeover policy". APNIC does
       not recognize transfers outside this policy and require
       organizations holding such transfers to return them to the
       appropriate IR. For more information on this policy, see the
       "APNIC transfer, merger, acquisition, and takeover policy":

       http://www.apnic.net/policy/transfer-policy

 6.    How APNIC manages address space
 -------------------------------------

       6.1.    Reservation for future uses

               A /16 will be held in reserve for future uses, as yet
               unforeseen.

               If the reserved /16 remains unused by the time the
               remaining available space has been delegated, the /16
               will be returned to the APNIC pool for distribution
               under the policy described in Section 3, "Delegations
               from the APNIC IPv4 address pool".

       6.2.    IPv4 addresses returned to APNIC

               Any IPv4 resources received by APNIC will be placed
               into the APNIC IPv4 pool for delegation under the
               policies described in Section 3, "Delegations from the
               APNIC IPv4 address pool". This placement applies to any
               IPv4 addresses APNIC receives from IANA and/or holders
               of addresses in the APNIC Whois Database, subject to
               any future global policy for the redistribution of
               addresses received by IANA from the RIRs.