RIPE-NONAUTH cleanup targets about 60%; match rule pending

RIPE Wants to Clear 60% of Its Routing Attic. Write the Eviction Rule First.

Why it matters

RIPE NCC has proposed two new ways to remove old non-authoritative routing records. The projected cut is large; the matching test and the operator’s right to keep a record still need their final design.

Theo March2 November 2026Reading Time 2 minLast update: 2 November 2026

RIPE NCC proposes two additional NONAUTH cleanup classes and estimates an initial reduction of about 60%.

Summary

On 9 October, RIPE NCC's Edward Shryane proposed two RIPE-NONAUTH cleanups: roughly 16,497 objects with a matching VALID ROA and 27,449 with a matching object in another RIR database. He estimates that the combined work would initially shrink NONAUTH by about 60%.
At the RIPE 93 Database Working Group on 29 October, Shryane repeated the 60% estimate and said a detailed solution definition and another round of maintainer notices would follow.

RIPE-NONAUTH holds about 44,526 objects. Shryane says they were created anonymously with a well-known password, their original authors and current validity are unknown, and fewer than 100 updates arrive each year. This is an archive that still answers queries and still feeds NRTM mirrors. Its contents can shape routing filters long after their authors have disappeared.

The proposed broom has two teeth. A valid ROA can supply a current routing authorization against a NONAUTH object; another RIR database may hold a matching record closer to the resource's authority. The 16,497 and 27,449 figures count candidate classes. They are not a unique deletion total. RIPE NCC's own projected net reduction is about 60%.

The difficult part is the match. Shryane's problem statement promises a later definition of how candidates will be identified, advance notice to maintainers, an opt-out and published documentation. It excludes objects created under IANA or ICANN action and keeps both NONAUTH queries and NRTM mirroring for what remains. List replies support the direction; the proposed numbered work item still needs the actual selection rule.

A routing registry should be able to retire a stale duplicate without making the operator guess which record vanished. The solution definition must publish the exact matching test, candidate preview, notice window and opt-out procedure. That document would turn a 60% ambition into a change an affected network can inspect before the delete key is pressed.