APNIC Home

Sending updates by email

To update or modify an existing object by email, you must:

  1. Obtain a copy of the existing object
  2. Update the object template
  3. Add a new changed attribute to the object
  4. Send the object to the appropriate mailbox

1) Obtain a copy of the existing object

Query the APNIC Whois Database to obtain a copy of the existing object.

Then use a text editor to update the object in the file.

2) Update the object template

When updating objects you can:

    • Make changes to existing attributes
    • Delete optional attributes included in the original object
    • Add new optional attributes not included in the original object

Special cases: person, role, mntner, and route objects

NOTE: If you attempt to update an attribute that is a primary key of an object, a new object will be created and the existing object will remain unchanged. To change the primary key of an object, create a new object with the updated primary key attribute and delete the existing object.

If you need to update an attribute that is a primary key for an object, first delete the existing object then create a new object in its place. This has an effect on the following object types in particular:

    • person
    • role
    • mntner
    • route

Person and role objects

If you change the NIC-handle of an existing person or role object, a new object will be created and the existing object will remain unchanged.

In particular, if you attempt to change the person or role attribute of a person or role object, your update will also fail.

To prevent a large number of unreferenced person and role objects in the APNIC Whois Database, APNIC strongly recommends deleting the original object and submitting a new object to the database.

mntner objects

If you attempt to change the mntner attribute of an existing mntner object, the database software will assume you are trying to create a new mntner object.

route objects

Sometimes it is necessary to update the origin attribute of a route object. However, if you try this, a new route object will be created and the existing object will remain unchanged. i.e. Each route object will have the same prefix specified in the route attribute, but different Autonomous Systems specified in the origin attributes. This is a useful function if you are multihoming.

However, if you wish to replace the object completely, you first must delete the existing route object and then submit a new route object to the database.
 

3) Add a new changed attribute to the object

Example of updated object template:

	person:         Albert Brooke Crichton
	address:        123 Example st.
	address:        20097 Exampletown
	country:        AU
	phone:          +12 34 567890 000
	fax-no:         +12 34 567890 010
	e-mail:         abc@examplenet.com
	nic-hdl:        ABC123-AP
	notify:         abc@examplenet.com
	mnt-by:         MAINT-EXAMPLENET-AP
	changed:        abc@examplenet.com 20101231
	changed:        noc@examplenet.com 20110131
	source:         APNIC
	password:       examplepassword

 

4) Send the object to auto-dbm@apnic.net

Deleting objects in the APNIC Whois database

To delete an existing object via email, you must:

    • Obtain a copy of the existing object (See step 1)
    • Add a special delete attribute to the object (See Example below)
    • Send the object to auto-dbm@apnic.net

Example of deleted object

	person:         Albert Brooke Crichton
	address:        123 Example st.
	address:        20097 Exampletown
	country:        AU
	phone:          +12 34 567890 000
	fax-no:         +12 34 567890 010
	e-mail:         abc@examplenet.com
	nic-hdl:        ABC123-AP
	notify:         abc@examplenet.com
	mnt-by:         MAINT-EXAMPLENET-AP
	changed:        abc@examplenet.com 20101231
	source:         APNIC
	delete:         delete
	password:       examplepasswordformaint-examplenet-ap

 

Note: An object will only be deleted if the object in the email exactly matches the object in the database.

Caution: Before deleting a person or role object, make sure it is not referenced by other objects. To find objects where the role or person object is referenced, perform an inverse query using the ‘-i’ flag.

If you are not sure whether other objects reference the person or role object to be deleted, do NOT delete that object.

Special cases: person, role and mntner objects

Before deleting a person, role, or mntner object, make sure it is not referenced by other objects. To find objects where the role or person object is referenced, perform an inverse query using the ‘-i’ flag.

If you are not sure whether other objects contain references to the person or role object to be deleted, do NOT delete that object.

NOTE: The database software will not allow you to delete a person, role or mntner object that is referenced by any other object. However, as all person and role objects must refer to a maintainer, and all maintainers must refer to NIC-handles in the tech-c and admin-c attributes, the database software will not permit you to delete your person object while it is still referenced by your mntner object.

Therefore, to delete a person or role object along with its mntner object, you must:

1.Update the mntner you wish to delete with a different person object’s NIC-handle in the tech-c and admin-c attributes.

    • If you have another person or role object, please refer to that object.
    • You do not have another person or role object you can use for this purpose, create a new person object, specifying MAINT-NEW in the mnt-by attribute. Once the temporary person object has been created, specify this person object’s NIC-handle in the mntner object to be deleted.

2. Once the mntner no longer references the person object you wish to delete, you can delete that person object.

3. Delete the mntner.

4. If you created a temporary person object, delete it.

Protecting objects in the APNIC Whois database

Because the APNIC Whois Database is an important source of information for the Internet community, it is important that the information in the database is accurate and not vulnerable to unauthorized changes or additions. To protect objects, the APNIC Whois Database uses maintainer objects.

The mntner object is used to authorize changes to:

    • Objects directly protected by the maintainer
    • Objects in a hierarchical structure beneath the object protected by the maintainer. For example, a route object must pass the mntner authorization of the aut-num and inetnum objects it refers to.

Objects can refer to maintainer object in the following attributes:

    • mnt-by
    • mnt-lower
    • mnt-routes
    • mbrs-by-ref
    • cross-mnt