RFC 1916

Enterprise Renumbering: Experience and Information Solicitation 🎀

okay bestie, RFC 1916 is giving main character energy for renumbering networks 💅 here's the title block tea ☕

• Network Working Group 🌸
• RFC number and title: RFC 1916, Enterprise Renumbering: Experience and Information Solicitation
• Authors: H. Berkowitz (PSC International), P. Ferguson (cisco Systems, Inc.), W. Leland (Bellcore), and P. Nesser (Nesser & Nesser Consulting) 👯
• Category: Informational 🦋
• Date: February 1996 📅
• Obsoletes and updates: the title block doesn't list anything it obsoletes or updates ✨

Status of this Memo ✨

this memo is info for the Internet community 📚 it does not specify an Internet standard of any kind, no cap 🙈 and distribution of it is unlimited 🌈

Abstract 💜

renumbering IP networks is urgent AND super hard 😭 so the PIER working group is putting together a series of docs to help sites with their renumbering glow-ups ✨ the goal is to give the Internet community both educational and practical info 🫶 to get there, they're soliciting info from orgs that already went through renumbering, or are going through it right now 🔥 they're looking for case studies, tools, and lists of applications that need special attention 🧚

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Table of Contents 🍓

   1.   Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
   2.   Renumbering Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   3.   Information on Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
   4.   Application Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
   5.   Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
   6.   Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
   A.   Formatting Rules (from RFC 1543) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1. Introduction 🦋

okay so renumbering both small and large networks is needed right now, and it's only getting more severe 😭 the Procedures for Internet/Enterprise Renumbering (PIER) working group in the IETF is urgently asking for specific input so they can make concrete guidance for renumbering as quickly as possible ⏰ as part of gathering that info, PIER is reaching out to people and orgs who have changed the IP addresses of enterprise networks, or made major changes to the subnetting of existing networks 💅

they're especially obsessed with actual case studies, meaning accounts of what was actually done to renumber one or more networks 📖 they also want info on the specific tools people used, plus the areas where tools were needed but not available 🛠️ and because applications that use IP addresses directly in their configuration or security mechanisms cause specific difficulties and coordination issues, PIER is compiling a catalogue of those apps too 🧚

all interested parties are invited to submit material in any of these areas:

A) Accounts of the experience of renumbering networks:

• Retrospective reports on renumbering efforts. 🔙
• Journals or running accounts of a renumbering effort, written while the task is underway. 📝

B) Information on tools to help renumbering:

• Descriptions of tools used, whether commercial, freeware, or ad hoc (such as perl scripts). 🧰
• Descriptions of specific needs where a tool could clearly have helped, but none was found. 🙈

C) Information on applications using embedded IP addresses:

• Software applications that use embedded IP addresses for security keys, authentication, or any other "inappropriate" purposes. 🚩
• Hardware devices whose IP addresses are hardcoded into the hardware design (and so may require extensive time lags to retool). 🐢
• Both software and hardware whose vendors are no longer in business and that may require replacement or specialized solutions. 💀

the focus here is on experience with renumbering that has been done, or is happening now, in IPv4 networks 🎯 it's not about future changes to protocols or environments that might be useful someday. PIER is especially concerned with the most common situation today: single-homed networks that are not transit providers 🏠 but experience with renumbering more complex environments is also welcome 💖

the info will be used as an information base for at least three documents: one summarizing the processes to follow when renumbering, one describing the available tools, and one containing a list of known applications requiring special attention when renumbering 📚 it'll also be on the PIER home page, http://www.isi.edu/div7/pier 🌐 and if enough info comes in from the community, PIER may make more specific reports on particular environments too ✨

PIER's emphasis is on technical issues and responses, but solidly based advice on smoothing the human problems is also appreciated 🫶 political and cultural sensitivities, and how to handle them, are major issues in the real world 🌍

there's no requirement that a formal document be submitted! 🎉 but with the submitter's permission, selected accounts of renumbering experience will be published by PIER as part of their planned series of case studies. if you want your account released as a PIER case study, please follow the standard RFC format described in RFC 1543, "Instructions to RFC Authors". (for convenience, those formatting rules are given in Appendix A below.) 📄

the people, orgs, and networks involved in renumbering don't need to be identified in any document PIER makes public 🥷 so please explicitly indicate if a submission should have its anonymity protected 🙈

the deadline for submitting your info is May 15, 1996 ⏳ early submission is encouraged! any info, however informally written, that can be submitted earlier would be greatly appreciated and will help shape the further work of the PIER group 💅 and if you expect to submit a detailed write-up by May 15, 1996, please let them know as soon as possible 💌

send submissions, questions, or suggestions to the PIER discussion list at pier@isi.edu 📬

to subscribe to the PIER discussion list, send your request to pier-request@isi.edu 🔔 more info on PIER is on the PIER home page, http://www.isi.edu/div7/pier 🌸

mail can also go directly to the editors, without appearing on the PIER list, by sending it to pier-solicit@bellcore.com 💜

2. Renumbering Experience 🌈

an account of a renumbering effort should give enough concrete info, based on actual experience, that the reader can understand exactly what was done 🧠 broadly speaking, PIER expects two styles of account:

i) Retrospective reports

based on one or more renumbering efforts, a retrospective recaps what was done and what was learned 🔙 it should describe:

• The environment being renumbered. 🏡
• The planning undertaken. 🗓️
• What was done. ✅
• What worked. 🙌
• What didn't (unanticipated issues, problems with planned approaches). 😬

the report would be even more useful if it also addressed:

• The reasons for taking the approach chosen. 🤔
• Any alternative approaches that were rejected, and why. 🙅‍♀️
• What could have been done in advance to make the task easier. 🧳
• Lessons learned: how would you do it next time? 🔁

PIER hopes that individuals and orgs who have already been through a renumbering effort can quickly look back over their experiences and capture their knowledge 🧠💖

ii) Running accounts

lots of people are in the middle of a renumbering effort, or about to start one in the next few months 🏃‍♀️ if, in the middle of that hectic task, you could write down a brief account or "diary" of what actually happens, as it happens, that report is likely to capture the glitches and fixes of even the best-planned effort more accurately than any retrospective 📝 it's lowkey the most real kind of tea ☕

these are only rough categories! any record of the experience of renumbering, or of info gained from that experience, can be a valuable contribution to PIER 💅 when you submit accounts, please try to be as articulate and concise as possible ✨

3. Information on Tools 🛠️

info on the tools used in renumbering is valuable, whether it's a separate note or part of an account of a renumbering effort 🫶 PIER welcomes comments on any tools that helped with renumbering, however detailed or brief, even if you don't plan to write up the whole effort 💜

some areas where tools may be used in renumbering include:

• Identifying what needs to be changed in your network, such as configuration files, hosts and servers with embedded or cached IP addresses, DNS, access control lists (ACLs), firewalls, routers, license servers, and other applications. 🔍
• Identifying external factors (such as remote servers, routers, and Internet registries) that need to be updated to accommodate your new numbers. 🌐
• Identifying dependencies between the different places where the numbers must be updated. 🧩
• Notifying external agents. 📣
• Generating the new information (such as routing, configuration, and ACLs) required in order to carry out the updates. ⚙️
• Coordinating updates. 🗂️
• Making the updates. 🔧
• Verifying the updates. ✔️
• Trouble-shooting and debugging. 🐛
• Maintaining network functionality. 🟢
• Informing your users and other affected human beings (such as NOC staff) of the changes. 🗣️

the most useful tools are the ones that are, or can be, available to other renumbering efforts 🎀 for any given tool, it would be super helpful to describe:

• How to obtain it (if it's not a well-known tool). 🔗
• What you used it for. 🎯
• How you used it. 🧑‍💻
• What its strengths and limitations are for these specific uses. ⚖️

if a tool was created as part of the renumbering effort, a description of exactly what it does should be included 📋 for example, a script that checks for IP addresses in configuration files on user machines should be described in terms of just what it did to get the list of machines, which files it looked for, and how it checked them 🕵️‍♀️

the primary goal of this solicitation is to learn what tools exist and which are useful 🧰 but PIER also values specific, experience-based descriptions of ways tools could have helped even though nothing was available during the renumbering to perform those functions 💭 advisories on tools that seem useful but in practice created further problems may also be considered, as appropriate 🚨 the whole point is learning from each other, bestie 🌈✨

4. Application Information ✨

Okay, this section is my fave because apps are literally the hardest part of a renumber 😭 Specialized applications are basically the final boss. You usually have to call the vendor for new security keys, new license addresses, new versions of the app, or maybe even new hardware or PROMs just to change the hardcoded IP addresses 💀

If your renumbering effort had any apps that needed extra work, please send them in 🫶 The more deets the better: application name, version, platform, vendor, operating system, operating system version, the steps you took to get past the problem, and the lead times needed.

Apps that are no longer supported, or whose vendor has ceased to do business, are extremely important, bestie. These are going to be some of the trickiest problems a renumbering effort runs into 😩 Any solutions for them are also wanted, including replacement apps and proprietary fixes 🔥

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5. Security Considerations 🔒

Serious moment, lol. This RFC itself raises no security issues 🙏 But accounts of renumbering are encouraged to describe any security issues you ran into, any tools that helped you find or fix them, and the actions you took to address them. Submissions should give serious consideration to the content and context of security issues. No cap, this is the part to take seriously 💜

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6. Authors' Addresses 💌

Meet the crew behind this one ✨

Howard C. Berkowitz
PSC International
8260 Greensboro Drive, Suite 330
McLean, VA 22102

Phone: (703) 998-5819
Fax: (703) 998-5058
EMail: hcb@clark.net

Paul Ferguson
cisco Systems, Inc.
1835 Alexander Bell Drive
Suite 100
Reston, VA 22091

Phone: (703) 716-9538
Fax: (703) 716-9538
EMail: pferguso@cisco.com

Will E. Leland
Room 1A-228B
Bellcore
445 South Street
Morristown, NJ 07960-6438

Phone: (201) 829-4376
Fax: (201) 829-2504
EMail: wel@bellcore.com

Philip J. Nesser II
Nesser & Nesser Consulting
16015 84th Ave. NE
Bothell, WA 98011

Phone: (206) 488-6268
EMail: pjnesser@rocket.com

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Appendix A - Formatting Rules (from RFC 1543) 🎀

Note: there's a set of NROFF formatting macros for the following format. If you want a copy, contact pier-solicit@bellcore.com 💖

3a. ASCII Format Rules 💅

The character codes are ASCII 👾

Each page must be limited to 58 lines, followed by a form feed on a line by itself 📄

Each line must be limited to 72 characters, followed by a carriage return and line feed ↩️

No overstriking (or underlining) is allowed 🙅‍♀️

These "height" and "width" constraints include any headers, footers, page numbers, or left side indenting. So yes, the margins count too 👀

Do not fill the text with extra spaces to provide a straight right margin 🫠

Do not do hyphenation of words at the right margin ✂️

Do not use footnotes. If such notes are necessary, put them at the end of a section, or at the end of the document 📝

Use single spaced text within a paragraph, and one blank line between paragraphs 🌸

Note that the number of pages in a document, and the page numbers on which various sections fall, will likely change with reformatting. That's why cross references by section number are usually easier to keep consistent than cross references by page number. Iykyk 🦋