Regional Internet Registries

IP addresses are distributed and registered by the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). They are not-for-profit membership organizations serving regions of continental scale. They issue and register IP addresses and AS Numbers. They also register transfers of IP addresses and AS Numbers between organizations, when those organizations’ needs change. 

  

  • The RIPE NCC was established in 1992. AFRINIC, the last RIR to be formed, was recognized by ICANN in 2005. 
  • RIRs issue and register AS Numbers, IPv4 addresses, and IPv6 addresses and manage transfer processes. Organizations that no longer need all of their addresses can transfer them to one that does via a market. 
  • RIRs work together on communications, education, and technical issues as the Number Resource Organization

RIR map published by the NRO under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license 

Each RIR’s policies are developed in an open and transparent process by people in its region. This means that policies can vary between regions.  

The RIRs work together in several areas. When they do this, they call themselves the Number Resource Organization, or NRO. NRO workstreams include the publication of statistics about IP addresses, comparison of regional policies, and technical issues like the development of routing security technologies. 

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