A nonprofit
organization established to administer and register Internet Protocol (IP)
numbers for North America and parts of the Caribbean. ARIN is but one of the
five Regional Internet Registries collectively providing IP registrations
services globally. ARIN, it should be noted, is not an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
The mission statement of ARIN includes applying the
principles of stewardship, allocating Internet Protocol resources, developing
consensus-based policies, and facilitating the healthy advancement of the
Internet through positive information and education.
ARIN started administering IP networks
(routes) in 1997. Networks allocated before 1997 were recorded in the ARIN
whois database. ARIN allows the owners of those networks to maintain them free
of charge. Networks allocated after 1997 are also recorded in the ARIN whois
database, but the owners of those networks are charged a yearly maintenance fee
by ARIN. Also, when ARIN allocates a new network, the owner of the new network
is charged an annual fee. When an existing network is transferred to a new
owner, the new owner is charged the yearly fee whether or not the previous
owner was charged a fee.
See Also:
AfriNIC; APNIC; Internet Protocol (IP); Internet Service Provider (ISP);
LACNIC; Network; RIPE NCC.
American Registry for Internet Numbers. About ARIN. [Online, 2004.] American
Registry for Internet Numbers Website. http://www.arin.net/about_us/index.html.
Siemsen, P. Procedures for Routing Registries and the ARIN Whois database.
[Online, August 27, 2002.] UCAR Website.
http://www.scd.ucar.edu/nets/docs/procs/routing-registries/#intro.
