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rfc:rfc1916

Network Working Group H. Berkowitz Request for Comments: 1916 PSC International Category: Informational P. Ferguson

                                                   cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                             W. Leland
                                                              Bellcore
                                                             P. Nesser
                                            Nesser & Nesser Consulting
                                                         February 1996
  Enterprise Renumbering: Experience and Information Solicitation

Status of this Memo

 This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo
 does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of
 this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

 Because of the urgent need for, and substantial difficulty in,
 renumbering IP networks, the PIER working group is compiling a series
 of documents to assist sites in their renumbering efforts.  The
 intent of these documents is to provide both educational and
 practical information to the Internet community. To this end the
 working group is soliciting information from organizations that
 already have gone through, or are in the process of going through,
 renumbering efforts. Case studies, tools, and lists of applications
 that require special attention are sought.

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

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 1] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

1. Introduction

 There are immediate and increasingly severe requirements to renumber
 both small and large-scale networks. The Procedures for
 Internet/Enterprise Renumbering (PIER) working group in the IETF
 urgently requests specific input for producing concrete guidance for
 the renumbering task as quickly as possible.  As part of collecting
 such information, the PIER working group therefore is soliciting
 input from people and organizations with experience in changing the
 IP addresses of enterprise networks or in making major changes in the
 subnetting of existing networks. We are especially interested in
 actual case studies -- that is, accounts describing what was actually
 done to renumber one or more networks.  Information is also solicited
 on specific tools used in the process, and on areas in which tools
 were needed but not available.  Because applications that use IP
 addresses directly in their configuration or security mechanisms pose
 specific difficulties and coordination issues for renumbering, a
 catalogue of such applications is being compiled.
 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 of this solicitation is on experience with renumbering that
 has been done or is now underway in IPv4 networks, and not on future
 changes to protocols or environments that may eventually be useful.
 We are especially concerned with the most common situation faced
 today: single-homed networks that are not transit providers. However,
 experience with renumbering more complex environments is also

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 2] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

 welcome.
 The information provided will be used as an information base from
 which at least three documents will be composed: a document
 summarizing the processes to follow when renumbering, a document
 describing the available tools, and a document containing a list of
 known applications requiring special attention when renumbering. The
 information will also be available on the PIER home page,
 http://www.isi.edu/div7/pier. More specific reports on renumbering
 particular environments may also be produced in those cases where
 enough information is received from the community.
 Although our emphasis is on technical issues and responses, solidly
 based advice on smoothing the human problems is also appreciated.
 Political and cultural sensitivities, and handling them, are major
 issues in the real world.
 There is no requirement that a formal document be submitted, although
 with the permission of the submitter, selected accounts of experience
 in renumbering will be published by PIER as part of their planned
 series of case studies. If you wish to have your account released as
 a PIER case study, please follow the standard RFC format described in
 RFC 1543, "Instructions to RFC Authors". (For convenience, these
 formatting rules are given in Appendix A below.)
 The people and organization(s) involved and the network(s) renumbered
 need not be identified in any document made public by PIER: please
 explicitly indicate if a submission should have its anonymity
 protected.
 The deadline for the submission of your information is May 15, 1996,
 though early submission is encouraged. Any information, however
 informally written, that can be submitted earlier, would be greatly
 appreciated and will help shape the further work of the PIER group.
 In particular, if you expect to submit a detailed write-up by May 15,
 1996, please let us know as soon as possible.
 Please send submissions, questions, or suggestions to the PIER
 discussion list, pier@isi.edu.
 To subscribe to the PIER discussion list, please send your request to
 pier-request@isi.edu. Further information on PIER is available on the
 PIER home page, http://www.isi.edu/div7/pier.
 Mail may also be sent directly to the editors, without its appearing
 on the PIER list, by sending to pier-solicit@bellcore.com.

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 3] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

2. Renumbering Experience

 An account of a renumbering effort should provide enough concrete
 information, based on actual experience, so that the reader can
 understand exactly what was done. Broadly speaking, we anticipate two
 styles of account:
 i) Retrospective reports
    Based on one or more renumbering efforts, recapitulate what was
    done and what was learned in the effort. Such a report should
    describe:
    -- The environment being renumbered.
    -- The planning undertaken.
    -- What was done.
    -- What worked.
    -- What didn't (unanticipated issues, problems with planned
       approaches).
    In addition, 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?
    It is hoped that individuals and organizations that have already
    been through a renumbering effort could quickly look back over
    their experiences, and capture their knowledge.
 ii) Running accounts
    Many people are in the midst of a renumbering effort, or are about
    to embark on one in the next few months. If, in the midst of that
    hectic task, one could write down a brief account or "diary" of
    what actually happens, as it happens, such a report is likely to
    capture the glitches and fixes of even the best-planned effort
    more accurately than any retrospective.
 Of course, these are only rough categories: any record of the
 experience of renumbering or of information gained by such experience
 can be a valuable contribution to PIER. When submitting accounts of
 renumbering efforts, please attempt to be as articulate and concise
 as possible.

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 4] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

3. Information on Tools

 Information on the tools that were used in renumbering is valuable,
 whether provided as a separate note or as part of an account of a
 renumbering effort. We welcome comments, however detailed or brief,
 on any tools that helped with renumbering, whether or not you intend
 to produce an account of the entire renumbering effort.
 Some areas in which 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 those that are, or can be, available to
 other renumbering efforts. For a given tool, it would be helpful to
 describe:
 -- How to obtain it (if 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 to check for IP addresses in configuration files on user
 machines should be described in terms of just what it did to obtain
 the list of machines, what files it looked for, and how it checked
 them.)
 Although the primary goal of this solicitation is to learn what tools
 exist and are useful, we also value specific, experience-based
 descriptions of ways in which tools could have helped even though
 nothing was available during the renumbering to perform these

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 5] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

 functions. Advisories on tools that appear to be useful but in
 practice created further problems may also be considered, as
 appropriate.

4. Application Information

 Information on applications that require special attention when
 renumbering are of particular interest, since specialized
 applications are among the most difficult aspects of renumbering.  It
 typically requires special intervention with the vendor to provide
 new security keys, new license addresses, new versions of
 applications, or perhaps even new hardware or proms to change the
 hardcoded IP addresses.
 A list of any such applications that required "extra" efforts during
 the renumbering process is valuable. Please include as much specific
 information as possible, including but not limited to: application
 name, version, platform, vendor, operating system, operating system
 version, the steps taken to overcome the problem, and lead times
 needed.
 In particular, any applications that are no longer supported, or
 whose vendor has ceased to do business, are extremely important since
 these applications will likely be some of the more difficult issues a
 renumbering effort will encounter.  Any solutions to these types of
 problems, including replacement applications and proprietary
 solutions, are also sought.

5. Security Considerations

 This RFC raises no security issues, although accounts of renumbering
 are encouraged to describe any security issues encountered, any tools
 that helped identify or resolve the issues, and the actions taken to
 address them. Submissions should give serious consideration to the
 content and context of issues regarding security.

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 6] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

6. Authors' Addresses

 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

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 7] RFC 1916 Enterprise Renumbering Solicitation February 1996

Appendix A - Formatting Rules (from RFC 1543)

 Note: there are a set of NROFF formatting macros for the following
 format.  Please contact pier-solicit@bellcore.com if you would like
 to get a copy.

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 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.
 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.
 Thus cross references in the text by section number usually are
 easier to keep consistent than cross references by page number.

Berkowitz, et al Informational [Page 8]

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