What is RIR?

The Regional Internet Registry (RIR) is a non-profit organization that assigns, manages, maintains, and records information such as IP addresses within a specific region. Each regional Internet registry oversees activity within its designated international region. Together, these regional Internet registries form the Number Resource Organization (NRO). The numbers of IP addresses are generated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Every device connected to the Internet is assigned its own unique identification number, called an Internet Protocol (IP) address. 

With the rapid growth of the Internet in the 1990s, it became clear that the system would require management. Demand around the world made a single centralized system impractical, with regional registries established in the 1990s and early 2000s, with a fifth regional Internet registry established in 2005. As of 2010, five regional Internet registries operate independently in terms of domain management, IP addresses, and Autonomous System (AS) numbers. These organizations are the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), Latin American and Caribbean Network Information Center (LACNIC), Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), the Research IP European Network Coordination Center (RIPE NCC), and the African Network Information Center (AFRINIC). 

On global policy issues, they collaborate under the NRO. Canada and the United States are administered by ARIN, and Central America and Mexico are part of LACNIC. The Caribbean countries are divided into two regional Internet registries. RIPE NCC is responsible for Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia region. APNIC covers the rest of Asia as well as Australia and the Pacific Rim. The AFRINIC is the fifth regional Internet registry to join, and the numbers that manage IP addresses for Internet information in Africa were originally generated by an organization called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). 

IANA assigns these numbers to registries for distribution. Each regional Internet registry then assigns these numbers to end-users, such as government agencies, educational institutions, and internet service providers, and private businesses, as needed. Policy decisions made by each regional internet registry help keep the internet running smoothly. Controlled registration prevents the storage and hoarding of a limited number of IP addresses and available IP addresses available.