mathematics

Regional Internet registry

Regional Internet registry is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Regional Internet registry rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Regional Internet registry belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Regional Internet registry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Regional Internet registry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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.

The regional Internet registry system evolved, eventually dividing the responsibility for management to a registry for each of five regions of the world. The regional Internet registries are informally liaised through the unincorporated Number Resource Organization (NRO), which is a coordinating body to act on matters of global importance.

Regional Internet registries There are five regional Internet registries:

The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) is based in Ebene, Mauritius and serves all of Africa. The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is based in Chantilly, Virginia, United States, and serves Antarctica, Canada, the United States, and some Caribbean countries and territories. The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) is based in Brisbane, Australia and serves East, South and Southeast Asia and Oceania. The Latin America and Caribbean Network Information Centre (LACNIC) is based in Montevideo, Uruguay and serves Latin America as well as some Caribbean countries. Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands and serves Central and West Asia, Europe, and Russia.

Regional Internet registries are components of the Internet Number Registry System, which is described in IETF RFC 7020, where IETF stands for the Internet Engineering Task Force. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) delegates Internet resources to the RIRs who, in turn, follow their regional policies to delegate resources to their customers, which include Internet service providers and end-user organizations. Collectively, the RIRs participate in the Number Resource Organization (NRO), formed as a body to represent their collective interests, undertake joint activities, and coordinate their activities globally. The NRO has entered into an agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the establishment of the Address Supporting Organisation (ASO), which undertakes coordination of global IP addressing policies within the ICANN framework.

Number Resource Organization The Number Resource Organization (NRO) is an unincorporated organization uniting the five RIRs. It came into existence on October 24, 2003, when the four existing RIRs entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in order to undertake joint activities, including joint technical projects and policy coordination. The youngest RIR, AFRINIC, joined in April 2005. The NRO's main objectives are to:

Protect the unallocated IP address resource pool. Promote and protect the bottom-up policy development process of the Internet. Serve as a focal point for the Internet community to provide input on the RIR system.

Address Supporting Organization The NRO is formally affiliated with ICANN in its role as ICANN's Address Supporting Organization (ASO). According to the ASO website, its purpose is "to review and develop recommendations on Internet Protocol (IP) address policy and to advise the ICANN Board on policy issues relating to the operation, assignment, and management of IP addresses." The ASO is made of up of representatives from each of the five regional internet registries. It nominates two members of the ICANN board of directors. Its members make up the Address Council.

Local Internet registry A local Internet registry (LIR) is an organization that has been allocated a block of IP addresses by a RIR, and that assigns most parts of this block to its own customers. Most LIRs are Internet service providers, enterprises, or academic institutions. Membership in a regional Internet registry is required to become a LIR.

See also Country code top-level domain Internet geolocation Internet governance National Internet registry

References

External links ASO official site Address Supporting Organization: About the ASO

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Regional Internet registry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Regional Internet registry claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Regional Internet registry before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Regional Internet registry ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Regional Internet registry

In research: Regional Internet registry appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Regional Internet registry in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Regional Internet registry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Internet Standards, Internet governance, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Regional Internet registry outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Regional Internet registry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Regional Internet registry means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Regional Internet registry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Regional Internet registry in simple terms?

Why does Regional Internet registry matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Regional Internet registry?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Regional Internet registry.