AOL Web Search

A regional Internet registry (RIR) is an organization that manages the allocation and registration of Internet number resources within a region of the world. Internet number resources include IP addresses and autonomous system (AS) numbers.

Regional Internet Registries. There are five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) in the world. RIRs manage, distribute, and register Internet number resources (IPv4 and IPv6 address space and Autonomous System (AS) Numbers) within their respective regions.

The RIR allocates Internet number resources to its members, which are known as Local Internet Registries (LIRs) or, in some regions, National Internet Registries (NIRs), based on justified need. LIRs and NIRs then allocate the resources to their own customers or use them in their own networks.

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority has authority over all number spaces used in the Internet, including IP address space and Autonomous system (AS) Numbers. IANA allocates public Internet address space to Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) according to their established needs.

The Regional Internet Registry, or RIR, is a nonprofit organization that manages internet number resources within a geographical region. Five RIRs operate in five regions across the globe in total, including AFRINIC , APNIC , ARIN , LACNIC and RIPE NCC .

We are responsible for global coordination of the Internet Protocol addressing systems, as well as the Autonomous System Numbers used for routing Internet traffic. Currently there are two types of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in active use: IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6).