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IP Address Services


Currently there are two types of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in active use: IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6). IPv4 was initially deployed on 1 January 1983 and is still the most commonly used version. IPv4 addresses are 32-bit numbers often expressed as 4 octets in "dotted decimal" notation (for example, 192.0.32.67). Deployment of the IPv6 protocol began in 1999. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit numbers and are conventionally expressed using hexadecimal strings (for example, 1080:0:0:0:8:800:200C:417A).

Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are assigned in a delegated manner. Users are assigned IP addresses by Internet service providers (ISPs). ISPs obtain allocations of IP addresses from a local Internet registry (LIR) or national Internet registry (NIR), or from their appropriate Regional Internet Registry (RIR):

AfriNIC (African Network Information Centre) - Africa Region

APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) - Asia/Pacific Region

ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers) - North America Region

LACNIC (Regional Latin-American and Caribbean IP Address Registry) – Latin America and some Caribbean Islands

RIPE NCC (Réseaux IP Européens) - Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia

The IANA's role is to allocate IP addresses from the pools of unallocated addresses to the RIRs according to their established needs. When an RIR requires more IP addresses for allocation or assignment within its region, the IANA makes an additional allocation to the RIR.

IP ADDRESS ALLOCATIONS

Internet Protocol v4 Address Space

Internet Protocol v4 Multicast Address Assignments

Network 24 - Cable Block (11 May 2001)

Internet Protocol v6:

Announcement of Worldwide Deployment of IPv6 (14 July 1999)

IPv6 Address Allocation and Assignment Policy (26 June 2002)

IPv6 Address Space

IPv6 Global Unicast Allocations

IPv6 Parameters (Parameters desribed for IPv6, including header types, action codes, etc.)

IPv6 Anycast Address Allocations

IPv6 Multicast Address Allocations

IPv6 Sub-TLA Assignments (DEPRECATED)

EMERGING RIRS

Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries (ICP-2) (4 June 2001)

IANA Report on Recognition of LACNIC as a Regional Internet Registry (7 November 2002)

IANA Report on Recognition of AfriNIC as a Regional Internet Registry (8 April 2005)

DOCUMENTATION


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Page Updated 12-Apr-2005
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