Running your own LIR or using a sponsor: how to decide
Organisations that need IP addresses or an AS number in the RIPE region have two basic routes: become a RIPE NCC member and run your own Local Internet Registry, or hold independent resources through a sponsoring LIR. This article sets out what each option lets you do, what it costs in money and staff time, and the questions that usually settle the choice.
What’s the difference?
A Local Internet Registry is a RIPE NCC member. It signs the RIPE NCC’s standard service agreement, pays membership fees, uses the LIR Portal, and can hold allocations that it assigns to its own infrastructure and to customers. It answers directly to the RIPE NCC for the accuracy of its registration data.
A sponsored end user doesn’t join the RIPE NCC. It holds independent resources, such as PI addresses or an ASN, under a contract with an LIR that sponsors them. The sponsor deals with the RIPE NCC on the end user’s behalf and charges for the service.
Both are legitimate, and in both cases you are the holder of your resources. The differences are scope, control and workload.
What can an LIR do that a sponsored end user can’t?
Membership opens up options that independent assignments don’t:
- Allocations you can sub-assign. An LIR can hold provider aggregatable (PA) space and assign it to customers. Independent assignments are meant for the holder’s own infrastructure and generally can’t be handed on to third parties.
- Receiving allocated IPv4 by transfer. Allocated IPv4 space generally has to be transferred to an LIR, so if you plan to buy blocks, membership may be a precondition. Check the current RIPE transfer policy for the rules and any holding periods.
- An IPv6 allocation. An LIR can request an IPv6 allocation sized for numbering customers and sites, rather than a single PI assignment.
- Direct control. You handle your own requests, RPKI and registry data in the LIR Portal, on your own timetable.
- A vote. Members vote at RIPE NCC General Meetings, including on the charging scheme.
- Sponsoring others. An LIR can itself act as sponsoring LIR for customers’ PI space and ASNs.
What does running an LIR involve?
Membership is more than a fee. An LIR takes on ongoing obligations:
- Paying the sign-up and annual fees set in the RIPE NCC charging scheme, which the General Meeting approves each year. Check the current scheme rather than relying on older figures.
- Keeping registration data in the RIPE Database accurate, including assignments made to customers.
- Maintaining a working abuse contact and acting on abuse reports.
- Responding to the RIPE NCC, including during its periodic registry checks.
- Keeping company and contact details current and completing due diligence when asked.
- Managing LIR Portal users, maintainers and RPKI securely.
None of this is difficult on its own, but it needs a named owner. An LIR that drifts, with stale contacts or unpaid invoices, risks closure, and resources registered to a closed LIR can be returned to the RIPE NCC.
How do the two options compare?
| Question | Own LIR | Sponsoring LIR |
|---|---|---|
| Who deals with the RIPE NCC | You | Your sponsor |
| Fees | Membership fees under the charging scheme | Sponsor’s fee, usually per resource |
| Sub-assign addresses to customers | Yes, from PA allocations | Generally no |
| Receive allocated IPv4 by transfer | Yes | Generally no |
| Internal workload | Ongoing registry administration | Low: keeping your details current |
| Speed of changes | Your own pace | Depends on the sponsor |
Compare costs over several years, not one. Membership fees follow whichever charging scheme is in force, while sponsorship fees usually scale with the number of resources you hold. Add a realistic estimate of staff time on the LIR side.
Which questions usually decide it?
Work through these in order. If you answer yes to any of the first three, an LIR of your own is probably the better fit.
- Do you assign addresses to customers? Hosting providers, ISPs and anyone leasing out space need allocations they can sub-assign.
- Do you plan to buy allocated IPv4? If so, check whether the transfer can go to a non-member at all.
- Do you need IPv6 for many sites or customers? A single PI prefix may be too narrow.
- How many resources will you hold? One ASN and one PI prefix rarely justify membership on their own. A growing portfolio often does.
- Who will do the registry work? If nobody in-house has the time or knowledge, an LIR can become a liability rather than an asset.
- How fast do you need changes made? If you’re often waiting on a sponsor, direct control has real value.
There is also a middle route: become a member but outsource the day-to-day administration. You keep the membership rights and the resources, while someone with registry experience handles requests, database objects, RPKI and RIPE NCC correspondence. This suits organisations that need what an LIR offers but don’t want to build registry skills in-house.
Whichever you choose, the decision isn’t permanent. Sponsored end users can become members later, and resources can move with them, subject to the relevant RIPE NCC procedures.
How TACS can help
TACS can act as your sponsoring LIR for PI space and ASNs, or set up and run an LIR in your own name, handling RIPE NCC requests, database objects and RPKI for you. Start with our LIR services, or contact us to talk through which model fits your network.