Your Network. Your ASN. Your Routing Identity.

No. An ASN identifies a network (an autonomous system); an IP address or prefix identifies hosts and routes. BGP uses your ASN to describe which networks originate and carry which prefixes.

In practice, yes. An ASN only becomes useful once it originates prefixes over BGP sessions with upstreams or peers. Without BGP-capable connectivity, an ASN is just a registered number.

ASN resources are assigned under the applicable RIPE NCC process. Hexraa provides sponsorship / administrative services through the applicable sponsoring arrangement.

Yes. RIPE independent resources are not tied to one sponsoring relationship, so they can be transferred between sponsoring LIR arrangements subject to the applicable RIPE NCC process and the terms of your current agreement.

An IPv6 prefix can be arranged as part of the ASN + IPv6 service, along with addressing-plan and configuration assistance. Whether it is a PA assignment or a PI allocation depends on the sponsoring arrangement, which we confirm before you commit.

An IRR route (or route6) object is a record in an Internet Routing Registry that links a prefix to the ASN authorised to originate it. Upstreams and peers use IRR data to build prefix filters, so keeping your route objects accurate is what gets your prefixes accepted.

Sponsorship is lighter and cheaper: you hold the resources as an End User and a sponsoring LIR maintains them for you, with no RIPE NCC membership fee. A direct LIR membership costs more and carries more administrative responsibility, but lets you hold your own PA allocation and assign address space to customers. Sponsorship suits an organisation routing its own network; a direct LIR suits an ISP, host or data center that resells or assigns IP space. Independent resources held under sponsorship can move with you if you later open your own LIR.

The standard service assigns an IPv6 PA (Provider Aggregatable) /48 from the sponsoring LIR allocation. It is announced once an upstream accepts it, but global routability is never guaranteed. A PA prefix depends on the sponsor, its ROA is managed by Hexraa, and ending the service means withdrawing the prefix and renumbering. PI (Provider Independent) space is portable between sponsors but is a separate request with its own eligibility check and fee, not an upgrade that keeps the same addresses.

Confirm the ROA origin and prefix match what you will announce and add any IRR route objects your upstream requires. Install a BGP daemon (BIRD 2 or FRRouting are common). Then collect session parameters from each upstream or peer and bring the sessions up. Configuring BGP on your own routers is not part of the sponsorship service; our ASN + BGP Infrastructure option covers that separately. See the RIPE NCC registration guide for the full sequence.

The common reasons are multi-homing (connecting to more than one upstream), running your own BGP routing policy, reducing dependence on a single provider, and establishing a stable network identity that does not change when you switch transit providers.

Not by itself. An ASN and IP resources are assigned separately. You can request an IPv6 prefix alongside the ASN, and IPv4 space can be arranged through transfer or lease, subject to availability and the applicable RIPE NCC policies.

Yes. RIPE independent resources are not region-locked in the way provider-aggregated space is, so the routing works wherever you can establish BGP sessions, including with Indian transit providers and at Indian internet exchanges. Eligibility still follows the applicable RIPE NCC policies.

Not necessarily. A BGP-capable VPS may be offered as an optional infrastructure service. Whether additional network presence or peering arrangements are required depends on the applicable RIPE NCC requirements and your network configuration.

No. ASN sponsorship and Internet transit are separate services. Sponsorship covers the administrative registration of the resource; transit is the actual carriage of your traffic, which you arrange with one or more connectivity providers.

Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) lets a resource holder publish a cryptographically signed Route Origin Authorization (ROA) stating which AS is allowed to originate a prefix. Networks that validate RPKI can then reject routes that conflict with a published ROA. It reduces the impact of certain route leaks and misoriginations but does not prevent every routing incident.

Processing time depends on application completeness, verification, sponsoring arrangements, and RIPE NCC processing. We do not promise a fixed turnaround and will not claim instant assignment.

Individuals, registered organisations and registered sole traders can all apply, through the same review. An individual provides a valid passport or national ID; an entity provides registration documents. Every application still needs a policy-compliant network purpose connected to the RIPE service region.

For a PA prefix from the sponsoring LIR, RPKI authority sits with Hexraa, which creates, changes and withdraws the ROA on request. You cannot manage it yourself in the RIPE NCC Portal. Send us the prefix, origin ASN and maxLength you need before you bring up BGP, and verify the result on RIPEstat. For PI space, ROA control depends on the PI sponsoring arrangement.