On 26 Jun 2024, at 10:31, Ron B via zanog-discuss wrote:
This is an awesome small tool to use: https://github.com/nitefood/asn
It can be used with systemd, just to make Nishal happy. đ
fine, iâll take the bait ..
the problem with tools like this, is that while they may be useful to some, they create third party dependencies. so, sure, go ahead and use them, if you can (1) install this on a local $system, and (2) donât aim to know and/or donât care how this data is derived.
but if youâre in front of a shell, with no special privileges, itâs important to know how to use the base set of tools that are almost always ubiquitous in any sane operating system. this is why, itâs important to know how to use âviâ instead of âemacsâ because that base permission-less shell probably gives you access to vi. always learn how to use the lowest common denominator.
i recall meeting a âcybersecurity expertâ on a not-too-far-away island, who wanted to work with an RIR that i worked at. he was looking for collaboration opportunities with said RIR. he had never heard of âwhoisâ, and instead lived under the assumption that some web-based service called âwho.isâ (i actually had to look it up after) was the canonical source of truth ÂŻ(ă)/ÂŻ
tools are great. i use a calculator for long division, because it saves me time. but i still suggest learning first principles for when you need them. (and no, that does not mean that i will stop using my calculator!)
so, in that light, itâs perhaps useful to mention to those that did not know it, that all the RIRs have a standard process for publishing useful information. ftp.<rir>.net/pub/stats/ is where you want to look. and for added benefit the RIRs even mirror the delegation stats from their sisters.
iâve mailed some of you warnings about lame delegations, and/or funy looking as-sets, and/or other oddities before. thatâs because a bored friend (hi frank!) and i, routinely (ie. when time permits) parse a daily diff of the afrinic-db. because, itâs fun [1]. you can too; https://ftp.afrinic.net/pub/dbase/ has a tarball with the database. imagine the joy you could have with that ;-)
ân.
[1] itâs not, really. but itâs wiser to know about problems before they occur ..