• General
• IP addresses
• DNS & Applications (e.g. Mailserver)
• Access Line
• Router change
• Cancellation
• Security
• Options
• Special case Internet Access with ADSL

General

This document provides information about works and provisions to be done when changing Internet Service Provider. The information primary reflects the provider change to IP-Plus, but can also be used when changing from IP-Plus to another provider.

IP addresses

When changing provider, the following points have to be considered:

• What kind of IP addresses am I using with the current provider?
  
  

  a)	RFC1918 (private addresses)
  b)	PA (Provider aggregated) addresses
  	b1) /24 (C-Class addresse) or more
  	b2) less than /24 (e.g. a subnet of 64 addresses)
  c)	PI (Provider independent) addresses

  
  With a) NAT (Network Address Translation) is in place (e.g. through a firewall). In that case no internal renumbering will be necessary.
  
  With b) the addresses have to be returned to the previous provider. With b1) IP-Plus will accept a temporary routing of these addresses for a max. period of 3 months. With b2) a temporary routing is not possible.
  
  With c) the customer is owner of the IP addresses. These addresses can be switched from provider to provider.
  
  
• How can I find out if the addresses I use are PA or PI addresses?
  
  This can be checked in the RIPE database (http://www.ripe.net/perl/whois) as follows:
  
  
  • T inetnum -r x.x.x.x/24 (whereas x.x.x.x/24 is the address range to be checked).
  • The field Status mentions either Assigned PA or Assigned PI.
    Remarks: Subnets smaller than /24 (C.Class address) are always PA addresses.
  • The timeframe to make a new Prefix of IP addresses visible within the Internet is at about 3 Mins. As certain filters may have to be adjusted manually it may last up to 48 hours until full global routing is re-established.

  A provider change without interruption is not possible. Serious planning and preparation as well as a good co-ordination between all involved (old provider, new provider, customer) are important.

DNS & Applications (f.e. Mailserver)

In the DNS & Applications area the following points have to be considered when changing to IP-Plus:

• The IP-Plus Hostmasters configure the Domain before the access is taken into service.
• Customers are informed that IP-Plus has configured the Nameserver.
• Customers now have to delegate their Domain(s) towards IP-Plus. This means change the Nameserver for these Domains with e.g. Switch or Network Solutions to the IP-Plus Nameserver ns1.ip-plus.net and ns2.ip-plus.net. Customers operating their own servers (e.g. Mail- or Web-Servers) have to inform us about the date/time they intend to switch to the new (IP-Plus) IP addresses.
  It should be considered, that information about such changes should be given as soon as possible, to allow IP-Plus to reduce the corresponding TTL (time-to-live) parameters. At the desired date/time, IP-Plus will initialise the re-configuration. If the change has been announced in time and the TTL has been reduced accordingly, then the unavoidable interruptions of the servers will be within a few mins.
• Business critical systems should be run in parallel with the old and the new IP addresses for a certain period of time.
• After the implementation of the IP-Plus Internet Access you can handle future changes to DNS entries or new DNS entries at any time online via https://my.ip-plus.net/nav.it.mpl/dns/admin/.
• Customers not having their own mail server infrastructure can use the IP-Plus mail server "mailout.ip-plus.net". Customers who have their own mail server infrastructure can also use it but we recommend to send the e-mails directly from your mail server - without a further mail relay.
  Please also consider the following information: If you send your e-mails via the IP-Plus mail server "mailout.ip-plus.net", we ask you to authorise the sender domains that are used within your company via https://my.ip-plus.net/nav.en.mpl/mail/esda/. With this domain authorisation it will not be possible to misuse the machines in your net anymore for the illegal sending of large numbers of e-mails (spam). Only mail domains that are pre-defined and authorised by you will be permitted.

Access Line

With a provider change (exception = IP-Plus DSL) a new access line will always be provided. This means that an electrician has to provide the inhouse cabling. The customer always has to pay these costs.

Router change

Should the customer use his own router (possible with IP-Plus Direct Access only) the following points should be observed:

• IP-Plus never manages such routers (unmanaged Router Service).
• If the router used is not a Cisco-router, the transmission protocol will be PPP Encapsulation. Otherwise Cisco-HDSL will be configured.
• Cables (e.g. X.21 DTE cable) have to be provided by the customer himself.

In the case where the customer will use the router provided by IP-Plus, the router change will be done by IP-Plus personel.

Cancellation

The access with the old provider has to be cancelled on time. Minimum contract durations and cancellation periods should be checked and considered. This is also valid for migration/changes from one ADSL provider to another ADSL provider.

Security

The Internet itself has to be considered as an open network. IP-Plus sets great importance to secure its network and server components. However, it is the task of the customers to secure their part of the network. E.g. this can be achieved by using a Firewall. IP-Plus and SecurePoP offer a range of products which help customers to get secured Internet access.

Options

When cancelling the access, normally all optional services like Web-Hosting, Mail, SMS- and/or Fax-Gateway with the old provider are cancelled as well. It has to be planned well in advance, under what conditions options and additional services can be obtained or migrated to the new provider.

Special case Internet Access with ADSL

When changing to the IP-Plus DSL service, the following points have to be considered:

• With signature of the IP-Plus DSL contract, the customer confirms, that the ADSL access may be switched from the previous provider to IP-Plus DSL. IP-Plus delivers a new router.
• Customers are themselves responsible for the cancellation of the access with the old provider, as well as for the return of possible hardware parts (routers, ADSL-Modems etc.) which have been delivered from the old provider.