IP Address Plan -- Formal Guidelines
Address Assignment Guidelines
1. To preserve the address space, we strongly suggest that IP addresses only be formally assigned to hosts which have some form of IP routing beyond the local area network. Users and subnets which do not have IP routing should use addresses in the experimental block 44.128.x.x -- these addresses may be freely used without coordination for any purpose provided they are not visible to any connected network.
1A. Upon request, addresses for unconnected hosts will be assigned sequentially in subnets 00 through 03 without regard to geographical location. When hosts with addresses in this block become connected to a network, the address should be replaced with one from an appropriate subnet block.
1B. Addresses in the uncoordinated subnets may also be used for experimental and temporary purposes, and should be used for "hidden" host interfaces (such as point-to-point links) that are not visible to the rest of the network. The only restriction on use of addresses in these subnets is that they must be invisible to any IP host outside the LAN.
2. Subnets will be assigned in blocks of 16, 32, or 64 hosts based on current use and expected growth. Where feasible, a buffer of unused ad- dresses will be maintained above assigned blocks to allow for future growth.
3. Subnets will be based on connectivity to a server (gateway, switch, or other full-time service provider).
3A. Subnets and hosts will not be assigned to geographic areas (e.g., cities or counties) but to servers.
3B. Subnets will be based on frequency. I.E., if local users operate on 2 different 2M frequencies and use a common switch with an interface on each frequency, a subnet will be assigned for each.
4. Hosts may have more than one address, and each of a host's interfaces should have an address in the appropriate subnet.
5. To ensure that all hostnames are unique, they must include an amateur radio callsign. Compound hostnames (e.g., "switch.n8acv.ampr.org") are acceptable. (Exceptions will be made where there is no possibility of duplicate hostnames.)
5A. Hosts may be given aliases like "switch.dayton.ampr.org" through locally maintained CNAME records. These CNAMEs will be for local use only and will not be propagated to the master domain name server.
6. Assignment of hostnames within subnets will ordinarily be delegated to a person local to that subnet.
6A. That person should report address assignments to the state coordinator.
6B. All addresses that are issued in accordance with these guidelines, and reported to the state coordinator, will be submitted to the ampr.org database. No one other than the state coordinator should update the database.