AFRINIC · RIR Watchdog
AS-SETs Hierarchical Names
Start here for the proposal-by-proposal record: what changed, why it mattered, who argued for what, how positions evolved, what was decided, and where the evidence still has gaps.
Source facts
- Policy ID
- AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02
- RIR
- AFRINIC
- Official status
- Ratified
- Normalized status
- Accepted
- Introduced
- Jun 8, 2026
- Last source update
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Partial
Who actually shaped the debate?
Policy evolution
Hierarchical-name syntax · The newer proposal explicitly requires the first element to be an ASN prefixed by AS and gives examples. The earlier text requires the second element to be an AS-SET name; the newer proposal instead says further elements may be ASNs or AS-SET names and separately defines the AS- prefix for AS-SET names. This is a wording change with a possible validation consequence. The staff assessment still describes a required AS-SET second element and proposes wording to that effect, so the documents do not establish that this ambiguity was finally resolved.
Source facts −
The first element of the name must be an ASN * The second element of the name must be an AS-SET name starting with 'AS-' * Any further elements can be either ASNs or AS-SET namesSource facts ↗
Source facts +
The first element of the hierarchical name must be an ASN preceded with 'AS' e.g., 'AS65535' Any further elements can be either ASNs or AS-SET names AS-SET names must start with 'AS-' e.g., 'AS-EXAMPLE'Source facts ↗
Exceptions for restoring existing names · Both texts protect existing non-hierarchical AS-SETs from forced renaming when edited. The newer proposal adds mandatory case-by-case exceptions, illustrated by restoring an accidentally deleted flat name. That introduces a discretionary operational path alongside the creation-time naming requirement. The staff assessment questions whether restoration could create a loophole and suggests documenting exceptions; those staff comments are not evidence that the proposal adopted the suggested wording or that exceptions were granted.
Source facts −
Existing AS-SETs which have a non-hierarchical name may continue to do so; 6. Editing an existing AS-SET MUST NOT require the maintainer to also rename the set to have a hierarchical name.Source facts ↗
Source facts +
Editing an existing AS-SET MUST NOT require the maintainer to also rename the set to have a hierarchical name. Exceptions MUST be allowed on a case-by-case basis. For example, a non-hierarchically named AS-SET was deleted by mistake, so it should be possible to restore this AS-SET without having to rename it.Source facts ↗
Treatment of other set types · The earlier proposal expressly excludes other set types such as route sets. That standalone exclusion does not appear in the newer proposal's operative list, but the new staff assessment expressly interprets other set types as excluded and includes an exclusion in suggested replacement wording. This is a difference between the retained proposal texts, not sufficient evidence that the intended policy scope expanded to route sets.
Staff assessment and implementation planning · The earlier page says the staff assessment will be available soon. The newer page supplies an assessment covering authorization, WHOIS and MyAFRINIC changes, preservation of existing objects and exception risks. Its implementation plan ties prioritization to the expected completion of MyAFRINIC v2. These are assessment and planning statements, not proof that the policy was ratified, deployed or completed by the projected date.
Source facts +
7. Implementation Plan Policy can be implemented as written. The CPM mandates that the implementation date should be less than six months after the end of the Last Call unless a waiver is requested. Since at present, all resources have been channelled to the myafrinic v2 project which expected to go live by 15 November 2026, the implementation of this policy proposal shall be prioritised once the myafrinicv2 implementation is concluded.Source facts ↗
Conflicting dates and revision labels in the source pages · The older archive page gives a 2020 submission date but its revision history says the first draft was posted on 15 May 2026. The newer page identifies DRAFT02, dates submission to June 2026 and records Version 2 on 8 June, while its details still say Version 1.0. The comparison therefore follows the explicit DRAFT01/DRAFT02 relationship and revision-history statements, while retaining the conflicting metadata. It does not establish a six-year policy-development interval, and the newer page's Last call and Under Discussion labels do not establish final adoption.
Source facts −
Date Submitted 2020-12-07 Author(s) Refer to Proposal Tab Status ArchivedSource facts ↗
Source facts +
Revision History Date Details 8th June 2026 Version 2: Revised with feedback to version 1.0 from the mailing list 15 th May 2026 Version 1: AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT01 Initial Draft Posted to RPDSource facts ↗
Staff impact assessment: RDAP · The staff assessment changes from its initial draft to version 1.1. Its RDAP row changes from reflecting WHOIS changes for AS-SET queries to no impact. The proposal retains version 1.0 and its AS-SET naming requirement; this is an assessment correction rather than a change to that requirement. Added tab labels and spacing carry no separate policy change.
Procedural status; unchanged AS-SET requirement · The later page changes last call to consensus awaiting Board ratification. The proposal text and staff assessment wording are otherwise unchanged in this pair. This does not show Board ratification or implementation and does not create a new substantive proposal version.
Policy ratification status · The page-level status changes from consensus awaiting Board ratification to ratified, with 25 September 2026 recorded as the AFRINIC Board ratification date. The remainder of the captured document is unchanged. An embedded 'Under Discussion' label remains in that unchanged text; this comparison does not resolve that inconsistency.
Debate timeline
Official version
1.0
Unknown · Consensus (Awaiting Ratification by Board)(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)
Source facts ↗Official version
1.0
Accepted · RatifiedRatified by the AFRINIC Board on 25 September 2026(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)
Source facts ↗
Entities
- Discussion messages0First activityUnknownLast activityUnknownFirst explicit stanceUnknownLatest explicit stanceUnknownStance changes0Viewpoint consistencyNo explicit position statedOther policies0
Sources and coverage
Official policy sources
Public discussion archives
- afrinic-rpd
- Earliest captured
- Aug 4, 2004
- Latest captured
- Aug 25, 2026
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 13,116
- Known gaps
- 0
- www.afrinic.net
- afrinic-africann
- Earliest captured
- Aug 3, 2026
- Latest captured
- Oct 2, 2026
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 2,562
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-afripv6-discuss
- Earliest captured
- Aug 17, 2015
- Latest captured
- Sep 18, 2026
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 2,538
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-announce
- Earliest captured
- Aug 18, 2015
- Latest captured
- Sep 18, 2026
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 2,497
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-community-discuss
- Earliest captured
- Sep 11, 2015
- Latest captured
- Dec 29, 2019
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 3,127
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-dbwg
- Earliest captured
- Aug 4, 2026
- Latest captured
- Oct 6, 2026
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 908
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-dnssec-ops
- Earliest captured
- Aug 18, 2015
- Latest captured
- Dec 1, 2016
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 307
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-icp2-review
- Earliest captured
- Apr 10, 2025
- Latest captured
- Nov 10, 2025
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 0
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-measurement-wg
- Earliest captured
- Feb 1, 2018
- Latest captured
- Nov 22, 2024
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 138
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-mira
- Earliest captured
- Nov 17, 2020
- Latest captured
- Nov 22, 2024
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 0
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-ois-wg
- Earliest captured
- Sep 9, 2021
- Latest captured
- Nov 22, 2024
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 0
- Known gaps
- 0
- afrinic-rpki-discuss
- Earliest captured
- Jan 15, 2016
- Latest captured
- Apr 23, 2026
- Last refresh
- Oct 12, 2026
- Coverage
- Source coverage is incomplete.
- Loading
- 154
- Known gaps
- 0
Coverage
Partial
Earliest captured: Aug 4, 2004
Latest captured: Oct 12, 2026
Freshness
Known gaps
- www.afrinic.net: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- www.afrinic.net: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-rpd: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- www.afrinic.net: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-africann: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-afripv6-discuss: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-announce: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-community-discuss: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-dbwg: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-dnssec-ops: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-measurement-wg: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
- afrinic-rpki-discuss: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
