New beta version of the RIPE DB

Dear all,
we are happy to announce a new beta version of the RIPE DB.

The major change in this release is the introduction of support for an 
additional authentication method, which in this case uses PGP.

The previous authentication methods were NONE, MAIL-FROM and CRYPTPW.
The new method is called PGPKEY and is described in

draft-zsako-ripe-dbsec-pgp-authent-00.txt

internet-draft (available at the usual places, eg. ftp.ripe.net).

This draft reflects the work done by the RIPE Database Security Task Force up 
to this moment.

The code is not available for download at this moment. There is a setup so 
users can experiment with it.

* Queries can be done using a whois client pointed to the beta database at 
beta-whois.ripe.net port 43.


* Updates can be sent to auto-beta at ripe.net

The current setup contains only maintainer objects (a copy of the real ones as 
of yesterday) which are necessary to experiment.

The draft is not yet fully implemented in this beta release (some checks are 
not done) but it allows operational experience.

The code is beta quality and may have bugs. If you find any, please report 
them to ripe-dbm at ripe.net. The messages will however not be answered as fast 
as normal ripe-dbm. We will issue a new beta release soon and a final release 
is planned before RIPE31.
Details about licensing PGP (free) for use with the RIPE Database will also be 
made public soon.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Happy testing,
Joao Damas
RIPE NCC