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A regional Internet registry (RIR) is an organization that manages the registration and allocation of Internet number resources, such as IP addresses and autonomous system (AS) numbers within a specific region of the world.
The various RIRs are components of the Internet Number Registry System (INRS), and all are united in the greater Number Resource Organization (NRO), which was formed on October 24, 2003, when all five RIRs entered into an agreement to undertake joint activities, such as technical projects, policy coordination and liaison projects.
Techopedia Explains Regional Internet Registry
A RIR is basically a governing body that holds the responsibility of controlling all Internet addresses in a given region. It has a mandate to control all IP addresses and domain registrations in operating region.
There are five RIRs globally that work together to administer Internet addressing. All are NRO members. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allocates addresses to each RIR, which in turn allocates them to large regional entities, such as Internet service providers (ISP), government bodies, large enterprises and educational institutions.
The five RIRs are:
- American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) – U.S., Canada, Antarctica and parts of the Caribbean region
- Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) – Asia, Australia, New Zealand
- African Network Information Center (AfriNIC) – Africa
- Reseaux IP Europeens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) – Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Middle East
- Latin America and Caribbean Network Information Center (LACNIC) – Latin America and parts of the Caribbean
