Service: Getting IP or AS Numbers

Once an organization is big enough it has the option of acquiring its own IP address space instead of using the addresses of ISPs. Using its own AS number and IP addresses allows an organization to multihome. That means that the organization can connect its network to multiple transits and thus gain some invulnerability to network failures. An AS number is required for public peering as well.

The IP addresses and AS numbers are assigned by RIRs, RIPE in Europe. Organizations usually apply for RIPE membership first. Becoming a RIPE member costs around 2,000-3,000 EUR plus roughly the same amount per year as a membership fee for small organizations. Members decide what the membership fees should be for the next year in the annual general meeting or AGM. You can read more about RIPE on their own web pages.

We help organizations with filling the several application forms the right way and check that everything is in order.

The service includes two meetings

In the first meeting we go through the address space that the organization is currently using and the organization's plans for future expansion. This is required so that we can evaluate which option would be best for the organization. (LIR? PA vs PI?) We also go through the application procedure and check that there will be no problems. All the information that is required at different stages is gathered.

The second meeting takes place after the application procedure is finished. We go through the procedure again and report on it. The next steps are also discussed. Some next steps include setting up reverse DNS and route objects.

Email correspondance with RIPE takes place between the meetings. Both Axu TM Oy and the client should be kept up to speed with all of it, so that there will be no surprises. It is normal for this part to take at least a week and to require several exchanges of emails, even when the applications are perfectly filled.

We also provide other services as follow up to this service:

• Renumbering
• RIPE Object Maintenance
• Router and Network Management
• Advanced BGP Designs
• RPSL Magic