In message <afed0e34-a686-5d1d-6e8c-ea6e95adf0fc@ripe.net>, Anand Buddhdev <anandb@ripe.net> wrote:
On 05/11/2020 14:12, Ronald F. Guilmette via db-wg wrote:
Can someone (anyone) please explain to me why the following file does not exist?
ftp://ftp.ripe.net/pub/zones/185.in-addr.arpa-RIPE
Who is responsible for generating the files in this directory? What is the process by which they are generated? What went wrong and who is going to fix it?
The files in https://ftp.ripe.net/pub/zones/ are generated by the RIPE NCC's reverse DNS provisioning system. The files published there are "zonelet" files. They are meant to contain reverse DNS delegation information for address space registered in the RIPE Database, but whose parent zone operator is another RIR. For example, 192.in-addr.arpa is operated by ARIN, but there are various address ranges in 192/8 registered in the RIPE Database. So we publish the DNS information in the "192.in-addr.arpa-RIPE" file. ARIN fetches this file periodically to import the data in it into 192.in-addr.arpa.
In contrast, 185/8 has been assigned to RIPE NCC by the IANA. So RIPE NCC operates 185.in-addr.arpa. We have no reason to publish a zone file for it on our FTP/HTTPS server.
I submit to you that it would be more convenient and more consistant if you did do so anyway.
You can query this zone's name servers directly if you want to see delegation information. ... dig 185.in-addr.arpa axfr @pri.authdns.ripe.net > 185.in-addr.arpa.zone
So let me see if understand this... In order for me to fetch a full set of -all- RIPE-generated reverse DNS delegation information, I must use some combination of dig/axfr -and- also and separately, FTP to fetch your "zonelets", yes? Do I need to explain why this is more complicated and entirely less convenient to script than just doing one or the other? Sigh. So I guess I now have to work out for myself, by a process of deduction, which /8 blocks are -not- represented by zonelet files on your FTP server so that I can then know which ones I have to do dig/axfr on. (I wonder eternally why life has to be so complicated. Today is no different.)