The ASN really isn’t a big deal. There’s no scarcity of them, you can get a 16-bit one by asking. The legacy IPv4 space, well, if there’s a clear chain of custody to the current holder, and the current holder is responsive, they can use it or transfer it. But also, IPv4 space isn’t scarce… it just costs money, now, to buy. If you’re in the US, just use ARIN. ARIN’s processes aren’t arcane, particularly compared with RIPE, and fees are predictable and relatively low. -Bill
On Jul 6, 2023, at 16:29, Dave Taht <dave.taht@gmail.com> wrote:
I have an old friend still holding onto some legacy IP space that he has not used in 30 years. The origin goes back to the early 90s, and originally through ARIN. In the relevant databases it is a /23, but actually a /22 - but the top 2 addresses are not registered or announced anywhere I can find. I do not mind losing those to the pool but getting the /23 up and running would help... and a /22 far more useful for our purposes. Sadly I also have a lovely 16 bit BGP AS number AS5768 still unused from my first company of that era but in the hands of a admin that has been unresponsive about either using it or giving it back for many years. Sentimentally I would like to find a way to get that back... but it is ok if that doesn't happen.
Anyway, LibreQos would really like to obtain a BGP AS number from some RIR (or is there an unused BGP AS transfer market?) and have some real IPv4 addresses to vector some traffic through, in our testbeds initially, and perhaps later on as means to shape traffic for other services. Most of our market is outside the USA actually and I would be inclined to get that AS from the simplest AR to deal with, but my list of preferences is merely based on where we have installations rather than cost/contacts/customer service... and especially, "hassle". Honestly coping with figuring out the fee and registration schedules are is just beyond me. I have heard ripe was easiest to deal with regarding legacy space. (?)
Anyone out there that can help sort out this legacy space in a sane manner? We are subsisting on a tiny amount of donations/month presently, and the up front cost and yearly costs are quite a lot to make this step.
Finding someone(s) to help us become real in this fashion, navigating the RIRs process, setting up bird or FRR for us (with a touch of anycast), would help, and help (at some price) moving forward, would be great. I have not got BGP running myself in over 25 years!
-- Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7058793910227111937/ Dave Täht CSO, LibreQos