ARIN President and CEO John Curran spoke to the WHIR about the organizations public policy meeting
An email Q&A with John Curran, president and CEO of regional Internet registry ARIN, in which he discusses the content of the just-concluded ARIN XXIV public policy meeting, held October 22-23 in Dearborn, Michigan.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Last week, the American Registry for Internet Numbers (www.arin.net) held its 24th public policy and members meeting (ARIN XXIV, actually), in Dearborn, Michigan.
The purpose of the event was partly the discussion and development of certain matters of ARIN policy, many of them related to the depletion of IPv4 address space, and the adoption of IPv6 – a topic about which the organization has been working hard to communicate broadly.
In an email interview with the WHIR, ARIN president and CEO John Curran discussed the objectives of the event, the nature of the attendance, and some of the specific matters of policy up for discussion.
While the interview was actually conducted in advance of the event (and therefore the elections have already been conducted, and the policies discussed), the substance of the interview remains very relevant.
More information about the results of the event (including the re-election of Equinix’s Louis Lee to the Number Resource Organization Number Council) is available from the ARIN website.
Meeting reports, transcripts, presentations and webcasts will be posted to the site by November 4, according to ARIN.
WHIR: Tell me a little about the nature of the meetings and the attendance. Is it strictly members of the organization that attend the event? Generally is everyone with a vested interest in ARIN policy a member of the organization? Are there people in attendance who aren’t necessarily involved in the organization – that is, is there much of an observer or spectator role in an event like this? Are most of the people in attendance involved in participating and influencing the outcome?
John Curran: The ARIN XXIV meeting will bring over 150 network engineers and other technical and public policy representatives from Internet Service Providers, corporations, governments, academia, and civil society together in Dearborn, Michigan. Anyone in the Internet community is welcome to attend the event – ARIN membership is not required to participate in this regional policy development process. The meeting is also webcast free of charge, allowing people to remotely participate (including submitting questions to presenters at the meeting). Everyone is encouraged to have a say during the open policy discussions and ask questions of ARIN staff or other participants.
Part of the process at the meeting will involve the election of certain people to, what appear to be, a few different roles on several councils and boards? Can you explain some of the process there and the significance of the roles?
JC: Each October, ARIN holds elections for three bodies:
The seven-member ARIN Board of Trustees (Board) has ultimate responsibility for the business affairs and financial health of ARIN, and provides oversight of ARIN’s operations in accordance with the mission of the organization. The Board ratifies Internet number resource policy proposals generated from the membership and recommended for adoption by the AC.
The fifteen-member ARIN Advisory Council (AC) advises the Board on IP address allocation policy and related matters. Following the procedures in the Policy Development Process, the AC forwards technically-sound, consensus-based policy proposals to the Board for ratification.
The Number Resource Organization (NRO) Number Council is a global body that advises the NRO Executive Council on proposed global IP number resource policies and related matters. Each Regional Internet Registry elects or appoints three representatives to the NRO Number Council. The NRO serves as the Address Supporting Organization for ICANN, and provides technical and policy guidance on topics related to Internet number resources.
ARIN Members may vote in the Board, Advisory Council, and for NRO EC representatives. Additionally, onsite attendees during the ARIN meeting may vote in NRO EC election.
This year there are three open Board seats, five open AC seats, and one open NRO NC seat.
I understand a topic that is sure to be discussed a lot is IPv4 depletion and IPv6 adoption. What policies that are likely to be built up around that issue?
JC: There are five draft policies up for discussion at ARIN XXIV. Of them, four are directly related to IPv4 depletion and IPv6 adoption issues.
In a nutshell:
Draft Policy 2009-8, “Equitable IPv4 Run-Out,” would slow down IPv4 distribution. Instead of giving ISPs enough address space for a year, the supply period would be reduced (based on available supply) down to six months and then three months. The policy would also reduce the maximum amount of address space ARIN can issue at any given time to an organization.
Draft Policy 2009-7, “Open Access To IPv6,” would make IPv6 available to any ISP that requests it, reducing existing requirements to get IPv6 address space.
Draft Policy 2009-5, “IPv6 Multiple Discrete Networks,” would allow organizations to request additional address space separately for each discrete network they operate.
Draft Policy 2009-3 (Global), “Allocation of IPv4 Blocks to Regional Internet Registries,” states that ARIN and the other RIRs should return address space to the IANA for later redistribution back to RIRs in fixed, evenly-sized allocation units.
Are there other specific matters of policy that are going to be up for discussion during the meetings?
JC: The fifth policy proposal is a global proposal regarding the allocation of Autonomous System Number (ASN) blocks to RIRs.
Draft Policy 2009-6 (Global), “Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Policy for Allocation of ASN Blocks (ASNs) to Regional Internet Registries,” would extend the policy that allows the RIRs to make separate requests for 16-bit and 32-bit ASNs from the IANA for one more year.
In addition to the draft policies up for discussion, there’s a policy experience report, where ARIN will give status updates on policy implementation and any lessons learned from implementation of approved policies.
The Advisory Council will give a presentation on the status of those policy proposals that are currently on their docket, but aren’t on the agenda for this meeting.
How significant a role do meetings like this play in the operation of an organization like ARIN?
JC: ARIN meetings are held twice each year and are an important part of the policy development process, but policy discussions continue year-round on the Public Policy Mailing List. The ARIN Board of Trustees ratifies policies based on:
(a) Adequate discussion on mailing lists and at meetings
(b) Evidence of community consensus in support of the policy
(c) ARIN Advisory Council recommendation for adoption
(d) Appropriate legal and fiscal review
About Liam Eagle
Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with Web hosting leaders gives him an uncommonly broad appreciation of the issues and tends facing the business. Through his WHIR blog, Liam spots Web hosting trends and offers opinions on the industry-wide impacts of major developments and the motivation behind big announcements. Follow him on Twitter @liameagle
No related posts.
