Hi, > Is there a common practice of providers to vet / validate requests to
advertise > blocks?
There is a common practice of providers to require an initial Letter
of authorization from the org listed in WHOIS when first setting up,
and manual request to allow the prefix or entry of the route in an
internet routing registry, for end users to originate prefixes.
Who is the "authority" when it comes to determining if a request for
routing > is valid?
Defined by routing policy of the provider considering the request, and
their upstreams.
Is it the WHOIS data maintained by the various RIR?
WHOIS data is often used for that purpose; the basic information
about the organization listed as registrant of the block is considered
authoritative, in general.
It seems I'm playing whack-a-mole to get some routes shut down for some
blocks I've taken over admin for.
It would probably help to submit to them in writing, that the org
responsible for the block never authorized the space to be announced
by the provider originating it, inform that their unauthorized
announcement is causing network issues and costing money, and request
that they suppress it.
If that's not the case, e.g. if at any time there was bonafide
authorization, then the dispute is something to be discussed with the
downstream org. still routing the block.
If their peers question them about it, they might have the prior LOA
on file to show the peers; it is not as if such things expire, or can
necessarily be easily withdrawn, it depends on the agreement that
allowed the advertisement to be authorized, in that case.
Listing of an e-mail address in WHOIS as an admin contact, does not
necessarily imply authority that a provider is entitled to rely upon,
to tell a peer to shutdown the network.
If I email the contacts for the AS in WHOIS, and get no response, or a
negative response, should I start going to their peers?
It's an option. Their peers may summarily ignore the request to
disrupt the network by "shutting down" a customer's announcements,
though, on the word of an email, if it's not very obvious that they
are bad announcements.
You may need to email and call, and possibly fax and mail.