Subject: Limitation with RPSL

From: Mark Prior <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 23:34:27 +0930

Having recenty tried to use the AS sets we register as if I was a peer
I discovered that there is no easy way to iterate over objects in an
AS set.

I have an AS set that lists all the customer ASes that provide transit
to other ASes through us. This allows me to have an import statement
such as

from AS2764:AS-TRANSIT
accept AS2764:AS-CUSTOMERS:PeerAS AND <^PeerAS+ AS2764:AS-CUSTOMERS:PeerAS+$>

and so keep track of the ASes that a specific customer may transit. I
can't think of a way to use these constructs from a peer of AS2764's
perspective (specifically to generate AS path filters) without
manually iterating each member of AS2764:AS-TRANSIT in their policy.
This is obviously sub optimal for them as they would need to manually
track changes in our AS2764:AS-TRANSIT object.

It would seem to me that RPSL needs a foreach construct but I'm open
to other suggestions on how this could be managed.

Mark.

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From: Cengiz Alaettinoglu <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 21:37:36 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Mark,

Now that the working group is closed I dont know how to handle this
case. I personally think it is a good idea. We should have had it in
the first place, but it was not clear it was needed. 

How about the following: why dont you write a personal i-d and explain
us the foreach statement. We can get the discussion started on it and
take it to the ADs.

Cengiz

-- 
Cengiz Alaettinoglu           Packet Design Inc.