[arin-ppml] Nature of registry-issued IP address blocks

[John Curran]

Marc - 
 
When one actually considers the nature of registry-issued IP address 
blocks, the situation becomes much, much simpler:

 - Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are simply numbers in a range
   defined by the IP protocol specification.  In the case of IPv4,
   this range is 0 through 2**32.
 - For the IP protocol to work, IP addresses have to be unique 
   among all devices within the scope that they are used

 - Organizations & companies may configure their equipment 
   with any IP addresses they want (and do)
 - Internet service providers (ISPs) may configure their equipment 
   with any IP addresses they want (and do)
 - Having an IP address issued to you does not provide you any 
   recourse against others configuring that IP address in their 
   equipment, whether for private networking or the global Internet
 - Ergo, IP addresses are not any form of license to connect to 
   the Internet nor do they automatically confer any rights with
   respect to the community of Internet service providers

 - IP addresses are just numbers.  People configure these numbers 
   into their equipment everyday,  just as people write unique names 
   on each their file folders.
 - If you want IP addresses that have more significance, then 
    *you have to get them from a registry*
 - Having IP addresses which are unique with respect to others 
   requires a registry (or a coordinated system of registries) to 
   issue IP address blocks from a single pool of numbers
 - A block of IP numbers isn’t unique except within a given registry 
   system, i.e. it is the registry, via its services, processes, and 
   policies that provides and maintains this uniqueness. 
 - There are many registries out there that issue and maintain 
   unique IP address blocks for their own use (e.g. some large 
   corporations, university networks, supplier networks)
 - Any of these may be using IP addresses which conflict with 
   the use of the same IP numbers on the Internet

 - *Globally-unique IP addresses* requires an Internet Registry that is 
   global in scope and used by many ISPs
 - The US Government, through a variety of means over the years, has 
   provided for issuance of unique IP Address blocks from a single global
   pool for purposes of Internet research, facilitating Internet connectivity,
   as well as for private use which would not conflict with Internet uses.
 - This “Internet Registry" system (consisting of the RIRs and IANA) 
   coordinates to provide for uniqueness of IP Address blocks from 
   among a pool of all possible IP numbers
 - Issued blocks of IP Addresses are only globally unique via their 
   registration in the Internet Registry System
 - Service providers find obtaining IP Address space from the Internet 
   Registry System to be invaluable in avoiding conflicts, particularly with 
   respect to assigning unique IP Addresses to customer connections

If legacy address holders want to have the benefits of globally unique 
numbers, then they are inherently participants in this system, as one 
can't have the benefits of globally uniqueness without registration in
the Internet Registry System which provides for such.  Indeed, it is
the misconception that various integer ranges, originating from within 
the system, have independent meaning outside of this system which 
creates the conundrum.

FYI,
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
ARIN