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Individual Submission Individual Submission This is a report on an analysis of the IPv4 address registry as published by the IANA , comparing the contents of that registry with IPv4 allocation data published by the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), as well as examining the registry from the perspective of consistency of style and content.

This is a report on an analysis of the IPv4 address registry as published by the IANA , comparing the contents of that registry with IPv4 allocation data published by the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), as well as examining the registry from the perspective of consistency of style and content.

The areas of note with respect to the consistency and accuracy of the IANA IPv4 registry are as follows: Registry Completeness The registry is incomplete. There are a number of special reservations of addresses listed in RFC3330 that also form part of the IPv4 address status. It would be appropriate to include the entries as listed in RFC 3330 in the IANA IPv4 registry. This could take the form of notes relating to entries for the blocks "128.0.0.0/8", "169.0.0.0/8", "172.0.0.0/8", "192.0.0.0/8", and "198.0.0.0/8", where components of these blocks are reserved for particular purposes. Interpretation of the annotation "IANA - Reserved" A number of registry entries are listed with the purpose of "IANA - Reserved". Some of these address blocks are reserved by Internet Standards actions for particular purposes, while other are held by IANA to be subsequently assigned for general use. The registry should note that if a block is reserved by an Internet Standard for a particular purpose, then the registry entry should reflect this particular status. This comment relating to "special purpose" reservations refers to the entries for the address blocks "0.0.0.0/8", "127.0.0.0/8" and "240.0.0.0/8" through "255.0.0.0/8". In other cases it would appear that the appropriate status description of the address block is "Unallocated". Interpretation of registry entry for the "24.0.0.0/8" address block This IANA registry entry is listed as "ARIN - Cable Block". In the interests of consistency and conformance to current use of this address block, the registry description should be "ARIN" without any particular purpose qualification. Interpretation of Notes The note relating to "24.0.0.0/8" indicates that this was "Formerly IANA - Jul 95". It would be reasonable to assume that all address blocks are formerly held by IANA, in which case no particular mention of this status with respect to the 24.0.0.0/8 block is necessary. The more generic issue here is that there is a valid distinction to be drawn between a current registry status report and the log of previous changes to the registry. It is assumed that the IANA registry file is a description of the current status of the registry, in which case a log of changes to the registry is better managed as a distinct report of the sequence of annotated changes to the registry file, rather than attempting to use the notes in this registry to achieve that purpose. Consistency of Registry Contents The address blocks for "173.0.0.0/8 through "187.0.0.0/8" have dates of April 2003. It is assumed from the dates that these address blocks were formerly allocated. This raises the question of consistency of registry information, in that there no notes associated with these blocks whereas other formerly allocated blocks are explicitly identified. Again the use of a distinct log of changes to the registry would allow for a more consistent method to capture this data. Consistency of References The note entry for "0.0.0.0/8" should refer to RFC3330. The note entry for "014/8" should refer to RFC 1700. The note entries for "224.0.0.0/8" through to "239.0.0.0/8" should refer to RFC3171. The note entries for "240.0.0.0/8" through to "255.0.0.0/8" should refer to RFC1700. Ambiguities The entries for "049.0.0.0/8" and "50.0.0.0/8" indicate a purpose of "Joint Technical Command", with a registry date of May 1994, yet the associated note indicates "Returned to IANA Mar 98". It would be reasonable to interpret the current status of these two address blocks as part of the unallocated global unicast address pool. In this case a consistent registry entry for these address blocks would read:

049/8 Mar 98 Unallocated 050/8 Mar 98 Unallocated

A reference to a previous allocation to the Joint Technical Command, and the subsequent return to IANA of these address blocks would be more appropriately recorded in a log of changes to the registry. RFC 3330 Interpretation The complete IPv4 number status relies on a consistent interpretation of RFC3330. Entries for 39.0.0.0/8, 128.0.0.0/16, 191.0.0.0/16, 192.0.0.0/24, and 223.255.255.0/24 claim that the "present use" is "Reserved but subject to allocation". Does this imply that these address blocks are reserved, or form part of the general global unicast pool of as-yet-unallocated address blocks? The assumption used here is that these blocks are presently subject to allocation in the same manner as any other currently unallocated address block. Maintenance of Assignment information It is noted that the Digital Equipment Corporation no longer exists. This raises the broader question of the currency of the information associated with this registry, and whether the listed entities which received address blocks from IANA are still those entities as listed. Accuracy of the Date Field in the registry The date field for "223.0.0.0/8" is April 2003. If this block has not been formally allocated at any time, then what is the reason for this relatively recent date? Inconsistencies in the Date field compared to RIR data The date fields associated with many of these entries are inconsistent with records held by the RIRs. The primary source of the dates proposed here is the database of address allocations as maintained by ARIN . Namely:

Block IANA Date RIR Date ----- --------- -------- 3/8 May 94 23 Feb 88 7/8 Apr 95 24 Nov 97 9/8 Aug 92 16 Dec 88 11/8 May 93 19 Jan 84 12/8 Jun 95 23 Aug 83 13/8 Sep 91 25 Apr 86 16/8 Nov 94 18 May 89 17/8 Jul 92 16 Apr 90 19/8 May 95 15 Jun 88 20/8 Oct 94 04 Sep 89 22/8 May 93 26 Jun 89 25/8 Jan 95 28 Jan 85 34/8 Mar 93 11 Mar 91 38/8 Sep 94 16 Apr 91 40/8 Jun 94 23 Mar 91 43/8 Jan 91 21 Feb 89 45/8 Jan 95 09 Sep 91 47/8 Jan 91 06 Jan 89 48/8 May 95 07 Dec 90 51/8 Aug 94 16 Sep 91 53/8 Oct 93 17 Mar 92 55/8 Apr 95 26 Jan 96 56/8 Jun 94 02 Nov 92 57/8 May 95 21 Jun 93 128/8 May 93 24 Feb 83 129/8 May 93 12 Jan 87 130/8 May 93 17 Mar 88 131/8 May 93 08 Dec 87 132/8 May 93 05 Dec 88 133/8 May 93 05 Mar 89 134/8 May 93 11 May 88 135/8 May 93 01 May 93 136/8 May 93 15 Jun 88 137/8 May 93 03 Jan 89 138/8 May 93 11 Apr 89 139/8 May 93 29 Apr 88 140/8 May 93 03 Jul 89 141/8 May 93 26 Mar 90 142/8 May 93 26 Mar 90 143/8 May 93 21 Dec 89 144/8 May 93 11 Jan 90 145/8 May 93 27 Nov 90 146/8 May 93 29 Nov 90 147/8 May 93 09 Jan 89 148/8 May 93 30 Jul 90 149/8 May 93 09 Apr 90 150/8 May 93 08 May 91 151/8 May 93 12 Nov 90 152/8 May 93 01 Mar 91 153/8 May 93 13 Mar 89 154/8 May 93 05 Feb 92 155/8 May 93 10 Oct 91 156/8 May 93 14 Aug 91 157/8 May 93 30 Oct 91 158/8 May 93 16 May 91 159/8 May 93 13 Dec 89 160/8 May 93 24 Mar 92 161/8 May 93 20 Apr 92 162/8 May 93 22 Aug 90 163/8 May 93 21 Feb 92 164/8 May 93 27 Oct 92 165/8 May 93 11 Feb 93 166/8 May 93 24 Mar 93 167/8 May 93 23 Mar 93 168/8 May 93 16 Jul 93 169/8 May 93 25 Aug 93 170/8 May 93 05 Jun 92 171/8 May 93 25 Feb 94 192/8 May 93 19 Jan 83 193/8 May 93 19 Jan 92 194/8 May 93 02 Jun 93 196/8 May 93 16 Dec 92 198/8 May 93 08 Jan 92 202/8 May 93 01 Jan 93 203/8 May 93 01 Jan 93 215/8 Mar 98 06 Jun 98

Inconsistency with other address allocation data sources The ARIN Registry lists the address block "7.0.0.0/8" as assigned to the US Department of Defence. IANA records this block as "IANA - Reserved", with the implication that this block is part of the current unallocated pool. The ARIN registry maintains a copy of all IANA allocations, with the exception of the allocation of 46.0.0.0/8, which IANA lists as an allocation to Bolt, Beranek and Newman, and ARIN maintains no allocation information for this address block. This raises the question of how these discrepancies arose, and the follow up question of which source is authoritative for current address status. Reference Consistency The IANA IPv4 registry lists as references RFC1466, RFC1700, RFC1918 and RFC3330. RFC1466 has been obsoleted by RFC2050. The references should also include RFC3171. The Public Data registry associated with the entry "14.0.0.0/8" is defined in RFC1356.

The following is an example of a registry format and content that attempts to resolve these inconsistencies. Where RFC 3330 has described address blocks as "Reserved, but subject to allocation", this example registry assumes that such blocks are currently unallocated in the same fashion as any other unallocated address block. The dates of allocation actions reflect the RIR recorded dates as noted above. Unallocated address blocks have no allocation date. The reference to notes has been treated consistently, as per the notes.

IPV4 GLOBAL UNICAST ADDRESS ASSIGNMENTS [last updated 30 June 2005] IPv4 Prefix Allocation Date Note ----------- ---------- ---- ---- 0.0.0.0/8 Local Identification 01 Sep 81 [1] 1.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 2.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 3.0.0.0/8 General Electric Company 23 Feb 88 [2] 4.0.0.0/8 Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. 01 Dec 92 [2] 5.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 6.0.0.0/8 Army Information Systems Center 01 Feb 94 [2] 7.0.0.0/8 US-DOD 24 Nov 97 [2] 8.0.0.0/8 Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. 01 Dec 92 [2] 9.0.0.0/8 IBM 16 Dec 88 [2] 10.0.0.0/8 Private Use 01 Jun 95 [3] 11.0.0.0/8 DoD Intel Information Systems 19 Jan 84 [2] 12.0.0.0/8 AT&T Bell Laboratories 23 Aug 83 [2] 13.0.0.0/8 Xerox Corporation 25 Apr 86 [2] 14.0.0.0/8 Public Data Network 01 Jun 91 [4] 15.0.0.0/8 Hewlett-Packard Company 01 Jul 94 [2] 16.0.0.0/8 Digital Equipment Corporation 18 May 89 [2] 17.0.0.0/8 Apple Computer Inc. 16 Apr 94 [2] 18.0.0.0/8 MIT 01 Jan 94 [2] 19.0.0.0/8 Ford Motor Company 15 Jun 88 [2] 20.0.0.0/8 Computer Sciences Corporation 04 Sep 89 [2] 21.0.0.0/8 DDN-RVN 01 Jul 91 [2] 22.0.0.0/8 Defense Information Systems Agency 26 Jun 89 [2] 23.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 24.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 May 01 25.0.0.0/8 Royal Signals and Radar Establishment 28 Jan 85 [2] 26.0.0.0/8 Defense Information Systems Agency 01 May 95 [2] 27.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 28.0.0.0/8 DSI-North 01 Jul 92 [2] 29.0.0.0/8 Defense Information Systems Agency 01 Jul 91 [2] 30.0.0.0/8 Defense Information Systems Agency 01 Jul 91 [2] 31.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 32.0.0.0/8 Norsk Informasjonsteknology 01 Jun 94 [2] 33.0.0.0/8 DLA Systems Automation Center 01 Jan 91 [2] 34.0.0.0/8 Halliburton Company 11 Mar 91 [2] 35.0.0.0/8 MERIT Computer Network 01 Apr 94 [2] 36.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 37.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 38.0.0.0/8 Performance Systems International 16 Apr 91 [2] 39.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 40.0.0.0/8 Eli Lily and Company 23 Mar 91 [2] 41.0.0.0/8 AfriNIC 14 Apr 05 42.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 43.0.0.0/8 Japan Inet 21 Feb 89 [2] 44.0.0.0/8 Amateur Radio Digital Communications 01 Jul 92 [2] 45.0.0.0/8 Interop Show Network 19 Sep 91 [2] 46.0.0.0/8 Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. 01 Dec 92 [2] 47.0.0.0/8 Bell-Northern Research 06 Jan 89 [2] 48.0.0.0/8 Prudential Securities Inc. 07 Dec 90 [2] 49.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 50.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 51.0.0.0/8 Department of Social Security of UK 16 Sep 91 [2] 52.0.0.0/8 E.I. duPont de Nemours and Co., Inc. 19 Dec 91 [2] 53.0.0.0/8 Cap Debis CCS 17 Mar 92 [2] 54.0.0.0/8 Merck and Co., Inc. 17 Mar 92 [2] 55.0.0.0/8 Boeing Computer Services 01 Apr 95 [2] 56.0.0.0/8 U.S. Postal Service 02 Nov 92 [2] 57.0.0.0/8 SITA 21 Jun 93 [2] 58.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Apr 04 59.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Apr 04 60.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Apr 03 61.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Apr 97 62.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 97 63.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Apr 97 64.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Jul 99 65.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Jul 00 66.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Jul 00 67.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 May 01 68.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Jun 01 69.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Aug 02 70.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Jan 04 71.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Aug 04 72.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Aug 04 73.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Mar 05 74.0.0.0/8 ARIN 18 Jun 05 75.0.0.0/8 ARIN 18 Jun 05 76.0.0.0/8 ARIN 18 Jun 05 77.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 78.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 79.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 80.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 01 81.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 01 82.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Nov 02 83.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Nov 03 84.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Nov 03 85.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 04 86.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 04 87.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 04 88.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Apr 04 89.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Jul 05 90.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Jul 05 91.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Jul 05 92.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 93.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 94.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 95.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 96.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 97.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 98.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 99.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 100.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 101.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 102.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 102.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 103.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 104.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 105.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 106.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 107.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 108.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 109.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 110.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 111.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 112.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 113.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 114.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 115.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 116.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 117.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 118.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 119.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 120.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 121.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 122.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 123.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 124.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jan 05 125.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jan 05 126.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jan 05 127.0.0.0/8 Loopback 01 Sep 81 [5] 128.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 24 Feb 83 [6],[7] 129.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 12 Jan 87 [6] 130.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 17 Mar 88 [6] 131.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 08 Dec 87 [6] 132.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 05 Dec 88 [6] 133.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 05 Mar 89 [6] 134.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 11 May 86 135.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 01 May 93 [6] 136.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 15 Jun 88 [6] 137.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 03 Jan 89 [6] 138.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 11 Apr 89 [6] 139.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 29 Apr 88 [6] 140.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 03 Jul 89 [6] 141.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 26 Mar 90 [6] 142.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 26 Mar 90 [6] 143.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 21 Dec 89 [6] 144.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 11 Jan 90 [6] 145.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 27 Nov 90 [6] 146.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 29 Nov 90 [6] 147.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 09 Jan 89 [6] 148.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 30 Jul 90 [6] 149.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 09 Apr 90 [6] 150.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 08 May 91 [6] 151.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 12 Nov 90 [6] 152.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 01 Mar 91 [6] 153.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 13 Mar 89 [6] 154.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 05 Feb 92 [6] 155.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 10 Oct 91 [6] 156.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 14 Aug 91 [6] 157.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 30 Oct 91 [6] 158.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 16 May 91 [6] 159.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 13 Dec 89 [6] 160.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 24 Mar 92 [6] 161.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 20 Apr 92 [6] 162.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 22 Aug 90 [6] 163.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 21 Feb 92 [6] 164.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 27 Oct 92 [6] 165.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 11 Feb 93 [6] 166.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 24 Mar 93 [6] 167.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 23 Mar 93 [6] 168.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 16 Jul 93 [6] 169.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 25 Aug 93 [6],[8] 170.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 05 Jun 92 [6] 171.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 25 Feb 94 [6] 172.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 01 May 93 [6],[9] 173.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 174.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 175.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 176.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 177.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 178.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 179.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 180.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 181.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 182.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 183.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 184.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 185.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 186.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 187.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 188.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 01 May 93 [6] 189.0.0.0/8 LACNIC 18 Jun 05 190.0.0.0/8 LACNIC 18 Jun 05 191.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 01 May 93 [6] 192.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 19 Jan 83 [6],[10] 193.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 15 Jan 92 194.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 02 Jun 93 195.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 May 93 196.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 16 Dec 92 [6] 197.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 198.0.0.0/8 Various Registries 08 Jan 92 [6],[11] 199.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 May 93 200.0.0.0/8 LACNIC 01 Nov 02 201.0.0.0/8 LACNIC 01 Apr 03 202.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jan 93 203.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jan 93 204.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Mar 94 205.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Mar 94 206.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Apr 95 207.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Nov 95 208.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Apr 96 209.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Jun 96 210.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jun 96 211.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jun 96 212.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Oct 97 213.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Mar 99 214.0.0.0/8 US-DOD 01 Mar 98 [2] 215.0.0.0/8 US-DOD 06 Jun 98 [2] 216.0.0.0/8 ARIN 01 Apr 98 217.0.0.0/8 RIPE NCC 01 Jun 00 218.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Dec 00 219.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Sep 01 220.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Dec 01 221.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Jul 02 222.0.0.0/8 APNIC 01 Feb 03 223.0.0.0/8 Unallocated 224.0.0.0/4 IANA - Multicast 01 Sep 81 [12] 240.0.0.0/4 IANA - Reserved 01 Sep 81 [13] Notes: [1] 0.0.0.0/8 reserved for self-identification [RFC3330] [2] Allocation performed by IANA to end user [3] 10.0.0.0/8 reserved for Private-Use Networks [RFC1918] [4] The IANA Public Data Registry is at http://www.iana.org/assignments/public-data-network-numbers [RFC1356] [5] 127.0.0.0/8 is reserved for Loopback [RFC3330] [6] This allocation was undertaken prior to the current RIR system. Address assignment information is shared across the RIRs. [7] 128.0.0.0/16 is Unallocated [8] 169.254.0.0/16 reserved for Link Local [RFC3330] [9] 172.16.0.0/12 reserved for Private-Use Networks [RFC1918] [10] 192.0.2.0/24 reserved for Test-Net [RFC3330] 192.88.99.0/24 reserved for 6to4 Relay Anycast [RFC3068] 192.168.0.0/16 reserved for Private-Use Networks [RFC1918] [11] 198.18.0.0/15 reserved for Network Interconnect Device Benchmark Testing [RFC3330] [12] The IANA Multicast Registry is at http://www.iana.org/assignments/multicast-addresses [13] Reserved by the IETF [RFC1700] References: [RFC1356] Malis, A., Robinson, D., and R. Ullmann, "Multiprotocol Interconnect on X.25 and ISDN in the Packet Mode", RFC 1356, August 1992. [RFC1466] Gerich, E., "Guidelines for Management of IP Address Space", RFC 1466, May 1993. [RFC1700] Reynolds, J. and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC1700, October 1994. [RFC1918] Rekhter, Y., Moskowitz, R., Karrenberg, D., Groot, G., and E. Lear, "Address Allocation for Private Internets", BCP 5, RFC 1918, February 1996. [RFC2050] Hubbard, K., Kosters, M., Conrad, D., Karrenberg, D., and J. Postel, "INTERNET REGISTRY IP ALLOCATION GUIDELINES", BCP 12, RFC 2050, November 1996. [RFC3068] Huitema, C., "An Anycast Prefix for 6to4 Relay Routers", RFC 3068, June 2001. [RFC3171] Albanna, Z., Almeroth, K., Meyer, D., and M. Schipper, "IANA Guidelines for IPv4 Multicast Address Assignments", BCP 51, RFC 3171, August 2001. [RFC3330] IANA, "Special-Use IPv4 Addresses", RFC 3330, September 2002.

Security of the Internet's routing system relies on the ability to authenticate an assertion of unique control of an address block. Measures to authenticate such assertions rely on validation that the address block forms part of an existing allocated address block, and that there is a trustable reference from the IANA address registry to the references Regional Internet Registry (RIR), and a trustable reference from the RIR's registry to a Local Internet Registry or end user Internet Service Provider. The proposed format for the IANA registry is a small step towards the creation of a registry that can be used as a trust point for commencing a chain of address validation. Consideration should be given to IANA registry publication formats that are machine parseable, and also the use of file signatures and associated certificate mechanisms to allow applications to confirm that the registry contents are current, and that they have been published by the IANA.