General Resources
FAQ
- How can I obtain IP addresses?
- Do I need to become an LIR?
- What is a Local Internet Registry (LIR)?
- Can I buy IP addresses from the RIPE NCC?
- How much do IP addresses cost?
- Can non-members receive registration services from the RIPE
NCC?
- Can I obtain a class C address block?
- Why should I get IP addresses from my ISP rather than the RIPE
NCC?
- Can the RIPE NCC recommend a service provider in my area?
- How can I influence the policies and procedures?
- Can I register a domain with the RIPE NCC?
- I would like to change providers. Can I take the addresses
currently used to the new provider?
- Does the RIPE NCC provide technical support to it's members?
- Where can I find who is responsible for domain name registration
in my area?
- I am an Internet Service Provider. Should I
register with RIPE?
How can I obtain IP addresses?
Ask your Local Internet provider or find a member
of the RIPE NCC (LIR)
Do I need to become an LIR?
The RIPE NCC leaves the decision whether or not to become a Local Internet
Registry (LIR) up to the organisation itself. Any organisation with a
legally established office in the RIPE NCC service region can become
an LIR. We advise organisations who require their own routeable block
and are in need of a large amount of addresses (/21) to become
an LIR. In other cases an organisation in need of addresses should first
try to acquire address-space from an upstream provider to ensure the conservation
and aggregation goals as promoted by the RIPE community. For more information
regarding the setup of a Local Internet Registry, please visit our new
members area.
What is a Local Internet Registry (LIR)?
A Local Internet Registry is a term used to describe the members of the
RIPE NCC. They are called LIRs because they are responsible for the distribution
of address space & registration of the address space on a local level.
The LIRs also ensure that policies and procedures are followed on the
local level. Organisations that become LIRs are mainly Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) that assign and allocate address space on to their customers,
Telecom and Enterprise organisations, as well as Academic institutions.
Academic institutions are organisations that require large blocks of address
space that cannot be obtained from an upstream provider. For more information
about Local Internet Registries please see the membership
section.
Can I buy IP addresses from the RIPE NCC?
In short: No. IP addresses are a shared public resource and are not for
sale. Effective management of this resource is vital to maintain the ongoing
health of the Internet. If you obtain IP addresses from the RIPE NCC,
then you will have the right to continue using those addresses provided
that you use them in accordance with the RIPE NCC's allocation and assignment
policies and provided that your membership remains current (or, in the
case of non-members, that you continue to pay the required maintenance
fees).
More information can be found in the RIPE Document 'IPv4 Address Allocation
and Assignment Policies in the RIPE NCC Service Region' located at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ipv4-policies.html
How much do IP addresses cost?
The RIPE NCC does not sell IP addresses. Use of IP addresses
is subject to membership fees being paid and renewed. For more details
see the current version of the RIPE document "RIPE NCC Billing Procedure
and Fee Schedule" at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/billing.html
Can non-members receive registration services
from the RIPE NCC?
No. Registration Services are only available to the members of the RIPE
NCC. Organisations often become a member of the RIPE NCC because they
need to be multihomed and use external gateway protocols (e.g. BGP4) or
they need large amounts of IP address space for their operations as an
Internet Service Providers (ISP).
To receive registration services from the RIPE NCC, an organisation needs
to become a member of
the RIPE NCC.
In most cases, organisations can obtain IP addresses from an upstream
service provider and there is no need to obtain address space directly
from the RIPE NCC. If your organisation is interested in becoming a member
of the RIPE NCC please see this
page.
Can I obtain a class C address block?
Classful addressing (class A, class B, class C, etc) is now redundant
and the RIPE NCC no longer uses that terminology. The original model for
distributing IP addresses, based on classful addressing strategies, did
not take into account the massive expansion of Internet use and was unable
to scale to meet this expansion. Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR)
is now one of the fundamental requirements for eligibility to receive
IP address ranges.
All requests for address space must be supported by documentation showing
a technically justified need for the quantity requested (that is, they
must be used efficiently, according to best current practice). Quantities
of address space are now referred to by their prefix length (or subnet
mask). For example, /24 ("slash 24") refers to 256 IP address
numbers, or the equivalent of a former class C; and /19 refers to 8,192
IP address numbers, or the equivalent of 32 former class Cs.
Why should I get IP addresses from my ISP rather
than the RIPE NCC?
For one thing, the RIPE NCC cannot guarantee that any address space it
allocates will be globally routable. This is because the filtering policies
implemented by transit providers around the world are beyond the RIPE
NCC's control. The best way to avoid filtering problems is to ensure that
your network is numbered into the address range of a larger network (such
as your upstream ISP), so that many addresses can be aggregated and announced
globally as a single route. The shorter prefix of such a global route
will increase its chances of being unaffected by the filtering policies
of large transit providers.
It is also in the interests of the Internet community as a whole that
the number of separate routes injected into the global routing tables
is kept to a minimum. Encouraging organisations to obtain address space
from upstream ISPs wherever possible is important to achieving this aim.
Can the RIPE NCC recommend a service provider
in my area?
No, the RIPE NCC cannot do this. You are however, welcome to browse The
RIPE NCC list of members. Please bear in mind, though, that the RIPE NCC
does not make any representations as to the suitability or types of services
of any of its members.
The list of LIRs in the RIPE NCC service region can be found in our membership
section
How can I influence the policies and procedures?
Anyone in the RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens) community can
suggest a new policy or a change to an existing policy. You do not have
to be a member of the RIPE NCC. The RIPE community is an important source
of public input for the RIPE NCC. You can find out more about the policy
development process at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies/
The main purpose of RIPE Meetings and RIPE Working Groups is to discuss
technical and policy issues affecting Internet administration and operation
in the RIPE NCC service region and beyond. The RIPE NCC reports at RIPE
meetings and asks for feedback from participants about its services and
projects. The RIPE community can influence the annual activity plan of
the RIPE NCC. You can find the current RIPE NCC activity plan at:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/docs/ap.html.
Can I register a domain with the RIPE NCC?
No, the RIPE NCC is not involved in domain name registration. Your ISP
may be able to help you register a domain name. For more information about
tld (top level domain) and cctld (country code top level domain) registrations,
visit the ICANN or
CENTR
I would like to change providers.
Can I take the addresses currently used to the new provider?
There are two types of IPv4 address space: Provider Aggregatable
(PA) and Provider Independent (PI).
- If you are an End User with PA addresses and change
to a new provider, you are required to return the addresses to your
previous provider.
- If you are an LIR and have PA
address space allocated by the RIPE NCC, you do not have to
return the address space if you change your upstream provider.
- PI address space remains assigned to its End User
as long as the criteria for the original assignment are met.
For further information on PA and PI address space please refer to the
RIPE Document "IPv4 Address Allocation and Assignment Policies in the
RIPE NCC Service Region" section 9: Provider
Independent vs Provider Aggregatable Addresses.
Does the RIPE NCC provide technical support
to its members?
The RIPE NCC does not provide technical support to their members. The
RIPE NCC is responsible for the management of IP address resources in
its service region but is not responsible for the technical operations
of its members.
Where can I find who is responsible for domain
name registration in my area?
For generic TLD's (.com/.net/.org) contact a gTLD registrar.
http://www.icann.org/registrars/accreditation-qualified-list.html
For country code TLD's (where 'area' = 'country') see
http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-whois.htm
I am an Internet Service Provider. Should I
register with RIPE?
No. You do not have to register with RIPE, as RIPE is an open forum and
has no formal membership. RIPE is a collaborative organisation open to
all parties interested in the wide area IP networks.
For further information about RIPE and its activities please see:
http://www.ripe.net/ripe/
However, you may want to become
a member of the RIPE NCC.
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