August 2026 - address-policy-wg

Feedback for potential policy proposal on IPv6
by Marco Schmidt 08 Sep '26

08 Sep '26

Dear colleagues, I would like to follow up on a topic I raised during RIPE 92 regarding the IPv6 Address Allocation and Assignment Policy [1]. Over the years, this working group discussed a number of policy proposals to update the IPv6 policy framework. However, during recent reviews and audit activities, Registration Services found that some parts of the policy relating to the post-provisioning lifecycle could be clarified and made more consistent through a policy discussion. For example, while the term "audit" appears in some sections of the policy text, there is no general reference to the audit procedure itself (unlike in the IPv4 policy). While such reference is not a requirement to perform an audit on IPv6 resources, it would make the RIPE NCC mandate clearer to everyone. In addition, the section dealing with policy compliance and non-compliance has remained unchanged since 2002 and uses relatively complex wording: "[...] The policies in this document are based upon the understanding that globally unique IPv6 unicast address space is licensed for use rather than owned. Specifically, IP addresses will be allocated and assigned on a license basis, with licenses subject to renewal on a periodic basis. The granting of a license is subject to specific conditions applied at the start or renewal of the license. RIRs will generally renew licenses automatically, provided requesting organisations are making a “good faith” effort at meeting the criteria under which they qualified for or were granted an allocation or assignment. However, in those cases where a requesting organisation is not using the address space as intended, or is showing bad faith in following through on the associated obligation, RIRs reserve the right to not renew the license. Note that when a license is renewed, the new license will be evaluated under and governed by the applicable IPv6 address policies in place at the time of renewal, which may differ from the policy in place at the time of the original allocation or assignment." [2] While the intent of this text remains valid, some parts may be difficult to grasp, particularly for those less familiar with RIPE policies and their historical context. As these sections primarily affect the RIPE NCC's role in assessing and maintaining policy compliance after resources have been issued, I am considering creating a policy proposal aimed at improving clarity and consistency. The intention would be to clearly define the existing framework rather than make substantive changes to the policy’s intent. Before creating this proposal, I welcome feedback from the working group. Do you think these parts of the IPv6 policy could benefit from review? Are there other areas that you believe should be clarified, updated, or taken into account if a proposal were developed? Kind regards, Marco Schmidt Manager Registration Services RIPE NCC [1] https://pretalx.ripe.net/media/ripe-92/submissions/JZ3KEL/resources/RIPE_92… [2] https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-738/#41-address-space-not-to-be…

5 7

Announcement: TIPTOP Interim on IP address policy / RIRs for Space Use
by Warren Kumari 07 Sep '26

07 Sep '26

Dear RIPE Address Policy WG, As you may remember from RIPE 92 in Edinburgh, there was a presentation on “IP Address space for Outer Space”. Sides: https://pretalx.ripe.net/media/ripe-92/submissions/RHW7DB/resources/RIPE_ad… Recording: https://ripe92.ripe.net/programme/meeting-plan/sessions/97/RHW7DB/#video. The questions start at 9:45 or so. This topic was also discussed at the IETF 126 Taking IP To Other Planets (TIPTOP) meeting – recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgX1UnuUeAY&t=1363s TIPTOP will be having an interim meeting on this topic - announcement here: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/ietf-announce/vbEtKf3cCWFI9d0prl17j-V… — The Taking IP To Other Planets (tiptop) WG will hold a virtual interim meeting on 2026-09-09 from 07:00 to 08:30 America/Los_Angeles (14:00 to 15:30 UTC). Agenda: (No agenda submitted) Information about remote participation: https://meetings.conf.meetecho.com/interim/?session=35851 — As with most IETF interim meetings, it is held on MeetEcho. It is free to participate in, but do do require a (free) IETF Datatracker account, which can be created here: https://datatracker.ietf.org/accounts/create/ The TIPTOP chairs (CCed) asked us to announce it, and if you are interested to please join. Thanks, Warren, Jen.

2 1

2024-01 Review Phase (Revised IPv6 PI Assignment Policy)
by Angela Dall'Ara 31 Aug '26

31 Aug '26

Dear colleagues,   Policy proposal 2024-01, "Revised IPv6 PI Assignment Policy", is now in the Review Phase.   The RIPE NCC has prepared an impact analysis on this proposal to support the community’s discussion.   You can find the proposal and impact analysis at:  https://www.ripe.net/community/policies/proposals/2024-01/ https://www.ripe.net/community/policies/proposals/2024-01/#impact-analysis And the draft document at:  https://www.ripe.net/community/policies/proposals/2024-01/draft/  As per the RIPE Policy Development Process (PDP), the purpose of this four-week Review Phase is to continue the discussion of the proposal taking the impact analysis into consideration, and to review the full draft RIPE Policy Document.   At the end of the Review Phase, the Working Group (WG) Chairs will determine whether the WG has reached rough consensus.  It is therefore important to provide your opinion, even if it is simply a restatement of your input from the previous phase.   We encourage you to read the proposal, impact analysis and draft document and to send any comments to address-policy-wg(a)ripe.net before 23 September 2026. Kind regards,   Angela Dall'Ara Policy Officer RIPE NCC

6 6

Discussion: Do we still share a common understanding of an IPv6 End Site?
by Yuli Azarch 14 Aug '26

14 Aug '26

Hello AP-WG, While following IPv6-related discussions over the past few years [Such as: https://mailman.ripe.net/archives/list/address-policy-wg@ripe.net/message/F…] I have found myself wondering whether the community still shares a common understanding of what constitutes an “End Site” in practice for IPv6 deployments. What makes something a separate end-site? *Core problem statement* Many aspects of the IPv6 assignment policy and documentation of assignments in the RIPE Database are based on assignments made to "End Sites”. The definition exists but is anchored to subscriber-location, and it's not obvious if it covers operationally or topologically distinct deployments, which is what I'd value the community's view on. That ambiguity may have been tolerable when most deployments followed relatively common patterns, but the wider range of deployment models in use today makes the lack of precision more noticeable. Operational and deployment models have evolved considerably since the original definition was introduced. I am interested in understanding whether the community believes the current interpretation remains clear and consistently understood. *Some areas where differing interpretations may exist include:* • What qualifies a deployment as a distinct end-site? Physical location only, or also operational/topological separation? • Whether an End Site is primarily a legal entity, an organization, a network, a physical location, a single end-user, or an operational deployment? • How the concept applies to distributed enterprise networks spanning multiple locations? I would be interested to hear views, examples, and operational experiences from others. -- Best regards, *Yuli Azarch*

4 9