Organizations & registries
RIR (Regional Internet Registry)
An organization that manages IP address and ASN allocation for a region. RIPE NCC is the RIR for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
LIR (Local Internet Registry)
A member of an RIR — usually an ISP or hosting company — that can request and assign address space and ASNs. GetIPv6 acts as your LIR; see how to order ASN services.
RIPE NCC
The Regional Internet Registry for the RIPE service region. It allocates IPv6, IPv4 and ASNs and maintains the RIPE Database.
Addresses & numbers
ASN (Autonomous System Number)
A unique number identifying a network that runs its own routing policy with BGP. Needed to multihome and announce your own prefixes. See ASN requirements.
Prefix
A block of IP addresses written as an address plus a length, e.g. a /48 or /32 IPv6 prefix. Smaller numbers mean larger blocks.
PI vs PA
Provider Independent (PI) space stays with your organization; Provider Aggregatable (PA) space is tied to a provider. See PI vs PA explained.
Routing & security
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)
The protocol networks use to exchange routing information on the internet. You use BGP with your ASN to announce your prefixes.
Multihoming
Connecting to more than one upstream provider for redundancy, typically using your own ASN and PI space.
RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure)
A system that cryptographically ties a prefix to the ASN authorized to announce it, helping prevent route hijacks.
ROA (Route Origin Authorization)
A signed RPKI record stating which ASN may originate a given prefix. See managing ROAs.
IRR (Internet Routing Registry)
A database of routing intentions (route/route6 and as-set objects) used by networks to build prefix filters.
LoA (Letter of Authorization)
A document authorizing a party — e.g. a data center — to announce or use a prefix on your behalf.
WHOIS & database
org object
A RIPE Database object representing your organization; prefixes and ASNs are linked to it.
mnt-ref / maintainer (MNT)
A maintainer controls who can modify RIPE objects. Adding our GETIPV6-MNT to your org's mnt-ref authorizes us to assign resources to you.
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