Aw four days ago is the last time a message was sent here

I have a question :)

When we talk about buying "ip"s, are we indeed talking about buying subnets? The reason I ask this is because I've learned about subnetting and prior to this I used to think people buy "ip"s.

@aderchox There are two IPs. IP means Internet Protocol, and there is IPv4 (the first IP), and IPv6 (the second IP). I think you mean IP addresses. IANA owns all the IP addresses, and it gives them to the RIRs (Regional Internet Registries) to assign (for a fee) to other companies. With the address shortage, IANA and the RIRs have run out of IPv4 addresses to assign.

A market for IPv4 addresses has developed among companies that may have extra, and those companies can sell the extra to other companies need more IPv4 addresses. The companies really do not own or see the IPv4 addresses, but the right to register and use them. The transfer of the rights must still be sanctioned by the RIRs. Even companies that buy other companies outright must have the use of the IP addresses used by the companies that were bought sanctioned by the RIR.

Hi Ron, Yes, I'm asking about ip addresses. I learn about subnetting and think to myself "if we can subnet the ip we buy, then it doesn't necessarily have to be a single ip! we can buy range of ips (subnets) too"! Is this a right guess?

Also I wonder what if a larger subnet (say a /8 or a /10) is sold to a company, and then we buy a smaller subnet which happens to be covered by that larger subnet...? Isn't here an overlap in the sold public ips?

(I guess the answer to my latter question is: IANA and RIRs won't sell /8s or /10s because it would be too wasteful!)

@aderchox The IPv4 prefixes that can be advertised on the public Internet cannot be longer than /24. No overlapping networks are assigned. If, when IPv4 addresses were available, you could have justified getting a /8 or /10 prefix, you could have, but getting addresses requires justification for the number you want. If you want to learn IPv4 addressing and subnetting, then read both parts of this two-part answer.

I also didn't understand "If, when...". :x I mean "If" and "when" used successively! :) but it's not a big deal.

I want to delete this picture^^

@aderchox but I think he means justifying it to the RIR.

@watchme thank you both 0/

@aderchox What I mean is that you can no longer get IPv4 addresses from the RIRs, but back when you could get IPv4 addresses from the RIRs, you had to prove that you needed the size of address block you were requesting. That size could include some projected growth because the RIR did not want you to keep coming back for more. You could show that historically, you had grown by so much, and that you had new projects coming that would require so many more addresses, etc.

Today, if you acquire another company with its own block of addresses, the RIR will tell you that you must prove that you need those addresses, too. That burden is less because the company that was acquired already proved it needed those addresses, but the RIR wants to take a new look at that. The company I work for has made many acquisitions over the years, and this is something we have frequently had to do. The RIR will tell you that the acquired company does not own the addresses.

@RonMaupin Oh, this is interesting! Thanks...