IDR G. Huston Internet-Draft G. Michaelson Intended status: Standards Track APNIC Expires: March 27, 2009 September 23, 2008 Textual Representation of AS Numbers draft-ietf-idr-as-representation-01.txt Status of this Memo By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on March 27, 2009. Abstract A textual representation for Autonomous System (AS) numbers is defined as the decimal value of the AS Number. This textual representation is to be used by all documents, systems and user interfaces referring to AS numbers. 1. Introduction A textual representation for Autonomous System (AS) numbers is defined as the decimal value of the AS Number. This textual representation is to be used by all documents, systems and user interfaces referring to AS numbers. Huston & Michaelson Expires March 27, 2009 [Page 1] Internet-Draft ASN Notation September 2008 This document notes a number of potential representation formats and proposes the adoption of a decimal value notation for AS numbers, or "asplain" according to the representation taxonomy described here. 2. Taxonomy of Representation Formats A taxonomy of representation for AS numbers is as follows: asplain refers to a syntax scheme of representing all AS numbers using decimal integer notation. Using asplain notation an AS number of value 65526 would be represented as the string "65526" and an AS number of value 65546 would be represented as the string "65546". asdot+ refers to a syntax scheme of representing all AS numbers using a notation of two integer values joined by a period character: .. Using asdot+ notation, an AS number of value 65526 would be represented as the string "0.65526" and an AS number of value 65546 would be represented as the string "1.10". asdot refers to a syntax scheme of representing AS number values less than 65536 using asplain notation and representing AS number values equal to or greater than 65536 using asdot+ notation. Using asdot notation, an AS number of value 65526 would be represented as the string "65526" and an AS number of value 65546 would be represented as the string "1.10". 3. Representation of AS Number Values To avoid confusion, a single textual notation is useful for documentation, configuration systems, reports, and external tools and information repositories. The decimal value representation, or "asplain" is proposed as the textual notation to use for AS Numbers. The "asplain" representation represents the number as its decimal value, without any field delimiter, corresponding to the lack of any internal structure required by the use of AS numbers in the inter- domain routing context. Huston & Michaelson Expires March 27, 2009 [Page 2] Internet-Draft ASN Notation September 2008 4. IANA Considerations IANA Registries should use decimal representation ("asplain") for AS numbers. 5. Security Considerations This document does not refer to matters associated with security of routing systems. 6. Acknowledgments The terminology of "asplain", "asdot" and "asdot+" was originally devised and described by Juergen Kammer in January 2007 [KAMMER2007]. 7. Informative References [KAMMER2007] Kammer, J., "AS Number Formats", Jan 2007, . Authors' Addresses Geoff Huston Asia Pacific Network Information Centre Email: gih@apnic.net George Michaelson Asia Pacific Network Information Centre Email: ggm@apnic.net Huston & Michaelson Expires March 27, 2009 [Page 3] Internet-Draft ASN Notation September 2008 Full Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2008). This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights. This document and the information contained herein are provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY, THE IETF TRUST AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 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The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement this standard. Please address the information to the IETF at ietf-ipr@ietf.org. Huston & Michaelson Expires March 27, 2009 [Page 4]