[PDB Tech] RIPE NCC IXP Tools Hackathon: Pinder

[Kristian Larsson]

On 2016-11-05 11:52, Matthew Walster wrote:
>     I know some people are working on YANG modeling for peering interactions
>     on the layer-8 level, I can see a the pinder approach as viable too. I
>     do not know where these things belong yet and what PeeringDB's role in
>     it will be. For now I view this as a social experiment, fair? :-)
>
>
> ​I've not come across that, but we use a YANGy/OpenConfigy style
> interface internally. I'd not considered it for something like this
> precisely because I think the barrier to entry needs to be as low as
> humanly possible so that networks new to peering, and those that do not
> have the resources to commit to a fully automated solution are able (and
> encouraged) to use the system.

I don't think YANG raises the bar. It's just a way of expressing the 
data sent over a structured API. We can still build an elegant web UI on 
top of the (YANG-modeled) API.

I'm a member of OpenConfig and work a lot with YANG so I do probably 
qualify as somewhat of a YANG nut but I think it makes sense to define a 
model for the data.

As for doing this in peeringdb vs elsewhere; I for one would like to see 
this functionality being implemented in a federated manner. You mention 
peering data is not secret information. I think at least some networks 
consider it to be. With a federated solution each network would run 
their own system and these would communicate with each other. I imagine 
the solution would be FOSS so that it's just a matter of installing an 
instance in your own network. The instances can locate each other 
through peeringdb or potentially through DNS (ASx.something). Peeringdb 
could also run an instance of this system so that it becomes up to the 
network administrator if they want to setup their own system (and get 
some privacy benefits) or use the peeringdb instance out of convenience. 
I think this caters to everyone's needs.

I would be willing to work on backend, API and so forth.

PS. I did put write down some of my thoughts on this - 
https://github.com/plajjan/optimus-peer - it's largely incomplete and 
might be incomprehensible in it's current form though DS.

Kind regards,
    Kristian.