The RIPE NCC has run out of IPv4 Addresses
The announcement will not come as a surprise for network operators - IPv4 runout has long been anticipated and planned for by the RIPE community. In fact, it is due to the community's responsible stewardship of these resources that RIPE NCC have been able to provide many thousands of new networks in it service region with /22 allocations after they reached IANA/RIPE last /8 in 2012.
Recovered IPv4 Addresses and the Waiting List
Even though RIPE NCC have run out of IPv4, they will continue to recover IPv4 addresses in the future. These will come from organisations that have gone out of business or are closed, or from networks that return addresses they no longer need. These addresses will be allocated to members (LIRs) according to their position on a new waiting list that is now active.
While we therefore expect to be allocating IPv4 for some time, these small amounts will not come close to the many millions of addresses that networks in RIPE region need today. Only LIRs that have never received an IPv4 allocation from the RIPE NCC (of any size) may request addresses from the waiting list, and they are only eligible to receive a single /24 allocation.
Statistics
- In dark green, you can see the status of 185.0.0.0 (the last /8) which is available for allocation.
- In light green, you can see the other available addresses we have in our pool. This category includes addresses received from IANA’s Recovered IPv4 Pool. It also includes previously allocated or assigned address space that was returned by resource holders in our service region (e.g., when an LIR closes down) which are then added to the available address pool after a quarantine period.
- In blue, you can see the address space that is currently reserved. Included in this category is a /13 for temporary assignments, a /16 for allocations to IXPs, and a /16 for unforeseen circumstances. This also includes recovered address ranges still in quarantine.
- Source: RIPE NCC/ January 2020
