The Internet has revolutionised, amongst others, the way we communicate, access information, and do business. As a result, organisations of all types and sizes heavily rely on it to connect with their customers and partners. Devices and networks connecting to the Internet are identified using IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers.
A network with direct global reach requires a set of Public IP addresses which they can get from their Service Providers, or directly from a Regional Internet Registry.
The rapid growth of the Internet has seen a phenomenal rise in the number of Internet users, estimated at 5.3 Billion in 2023, putting a strain on the limited number of IPv4 addresses available, with just under five million IPv4 addresses left for delegation globally, according to the Number Resource Organisation (NRO) statistics report.
In this article, we will highlight the many benefits of getting dedicated IP address space from AFRINIC for your business, the value adding services and opportunities available to AFRINIC resource members.
Who is AFRINIC?
AFRINIC is a non-profit, member-based organisation delegated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to manage IP Number Resources (IPv4 addresses, IPv6 addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs)) for Africa and the Indian Ocean region. AFRINIC started its operations in 2005 and provides services in a neutral and impartial manner to Internet Service Providers, content providers, and end-users within its service region.
Who is Eligible To Get IP Resource From AFRINIC
IP Resource membership is open to any organisation meeting the following:
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Legally incorporated within, and providing services in the African service region
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Must be involved in using, or business of providing, open system protocol network services.
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Able to justify its need for the right to use Internet Number Resources to AFRINIC
The IP addresses delegated by AFRINIC can either be:
- to a Service provider, also referred to as Local Internet Registries (LIR), who will then assign or sub-allocate to their end-user customers or other downstream service providers respectively. This type of IP address delegation is known as “Allocation” and the IP resources issued are referred to as Provider Aggregatable (PA) IP prefixes,
- to End-Site institutions that are not in the business of Internet and Internet based service provision; but require the IP resources to operate their enterprise or campus network with the ability to control their routing policies, this second type of delegation is known as “Assignment” and the IP resources issued are referred to as Provider Independent (PI) IP Prefixes.
Advantages of Having Directly Delegated IP Space from AFRINIC
Having your own dedicated IP address space brings a number of advantages to your network. We highlight below, some of these key advantages:
Online identity independence: By having dedicated IP addresses, you have a distinct identity that allows you to build and promote your brand effectively. Your online presence is an extension of your business or organisation, as it reflects your values, vision, and mission. If you are going to host your own services like websites, email servers and more, it is quite necessary to have a dedicated IP address space. By having dedicated IPs, people will reach your services via your own IP addresses and not IPs that are registered with your ISP’s identity. If your organisation is using an IP space given by your ISP, it implies that you are using your ISP’s identity on the Internet, and this identity is also being shared with the other customers of your ISP.
While sharing IP space from your ISP with third parties; in case, one of the networks either intentionally or not, is involved in online malicious activities, such as spamming, DDOS, or more will suffer the consequences, once this shared IP space is blacklisted. Such situations may affect email deliverability, website performance, traffic filtering and other online services.
Control over your routing policy and ease of multi-homing: Having a dedicated IP address space also gives you full control over your routing policy, which means you can decide how your traffic flows and how people access services on your premises.
These IPs will also enable you to route your traffic over multiple upstream service providers in a multi-homing configuration; thus ensuring the high availability of your services should any of your links goes down.
Control over your Routing Security: With directly delegated IP resources, you also have controls over the management of your routing security through your own access to Internet Routing Registry (IRR) and Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) services offered by AFRINIC.
Flexibility and Scalability: Directly delegated IP space makes it easier to migrate when moving away from one ISP to a new one, you will not need to renumber your servers and network devices significantly, thus reducing service downtime.
Additionally; you can easily and quickly increase the number of network devices by provisioning the available IPs from your delegated pool without relying on an upstream provider.
Additionally; you can easily and quickly increase the number of network devices by provisioning the available IPs from your delegated pool without relying on an upstream provider.
AFRINIC Services
In addition to the benefits we have shared so far, having an IP space assigned or allocated to you by AFRINIC, gives you access to a range of additional AFRINIC’s services at no extra cost. Here are some of the key services from AFRINIC:
Routing Security and Performance
Internet Routing Registry (IRR)
AFRINIC's IRR is a database that allows members to publish their routing policies, connect to other IRRs worldwide and exchange routing information with other networks. IRR helps with routing filter generation which is key to improving the stability and security of the Internet.
Sample Route Object: A route object tells the world which network (ASN) has the right to originate(use) and IP space.
List of routing registries
Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI)
AFRINIC's RPKI service is a mechanism to validate the relationship between IP prefixes and the respective ASNs authorised to originate these prefixes in global routing. This enables AFRINIC resource members to secure their routing information by cryptographically signing their IP address prefixes and origin ASNs. This helps to prevent prefix hijacking and route leaks which are very harmful to Internet users.
Sample ROA, serves the same purpose as the route object in the IRR, but is cryptographically signed.
Reverse DNS (rDNS)
Reverse DNS accomplishes the opposite of the forward DNS, it is used to resolve IP addresses to hostnames or IP prefix range to a domain name.
For any IP address blocks that IANA allocates to AFRINIC, they also delegate the corresponding reverse DNS zones within their centrally administered 'in-addr.arpa' and 'ip6.arpa' zones (i.e 196.in-addr.arpa) such that AFRINIC can further delegate to its resources members.
Resource members can request reverse DNS delegation for the IPv4 and IPv6 resources they received from AFRINIC. The domain name requires that a resource member provides hostnames of their authoritative name servers.
This enables AFRINIC to direct DNS queries to the correct authoritative name servers for your reverse domain, where applications can fetch the correct information to map an IP address to a hostname.
The rDNS service is crucial for the proper functioning of your mail server and mail originating applications, as well as spam mitigation.
AFRINIC encourages that resource members must ensure that their name servers are properly configured for these reverse domains and responding authoritatively before requesting delegation from AFRINIC, and this tool https://afrinic.net/whois/lame is helpful to determine if your servers are properly configured.
For any IP address blocks that IANA allocates to AFRINIC, they also delegate the corresponding reverse DNS zones within their centrally administered 'in-addr.arpa' and 'ip6.arpa' zones (i.e 196.in-addr.arpa) such that AFRINIC can further delegate to its resources members.
Resource members can request reverse DNS delegation for the IPv4 and IPv6 resources they received from AFRINIC. The domain name requires that a resource member provides hostnames of their authoritative name servers.
This enables AFRINIC to direct DNS queries to the correct authoritative name servers for your reverse domain, where applications can fetch the correct information to map an IP address to a hostname.
The rDNS service is crucial for the proper functioning of your mail server and mail originating applications, as well as spam mitigation.
AFRINIC encourages that resource members must ensure that their name servers are properly configured for these reverse domains and responding authoritatively before requesting delegation from AFRINIC, and this tool https://afrinic.net/whois/lame is helpful to determine if your servers are properly configured.
Capacity Building
In addition to the benefits we have shared so far, having an IP space assigned or allocated to you by AFRINIC, gives you access to a range of additional AFRINIC’s services at no extra cost. Here are some of the key services from AFRINIC:
AFRINIC offers a range of training programmes to help its members build their technical capacity and expertise. These programs cover a variety of topics, including IPv6 deployment, IPv6 routing, Securing your routing with IRR and more.
The AFRINIC Deployment programme, which was launched in 2018, offers two ways of supporting AFRINIC resource members - Deployathon and DO Helpdesk.
AFRINIC's Deployathons are hands-on workshops that provide engineers with the skills and knowledge they need to securely deploy IPv6 and other Internet technologies within the guidelines of industry best practices.
AFRINIC's Deployathons are hands-on workshops that provide engineers with the skills and knowledge they need to securely deploy IPv6 and other Internet technologies within the guidelines of industry best practices.
Here is a blog on the top five countries AFRINIC supported in IPv6 deployment in 2022:
Internet Development Programs: Fellowships, Sponsorships, and Grants
AFRINIC is committed to supporting the development of the Internet in Africa through impactful initiatives. Our Internet Development Programmes offer a range of opportunities for individuals and organizations working towards improving Internet access and infrastructure on the continent.
Our initiatives include:
Fellowship Program: This program prepares future African Internet leaders by providing opportunities for individuals to participate in AFRINIC events, such as the Africa Internet Summit (AIS) and other conferences. Fellows receive training on various topics related to Internet technology and governance. The program is open to individuals from African countries actively involved in Internet development.
Sponsorships and Grants: AFRINIC provides funding, technical support, and capacity-building opportunities to organizations working on projects aimed at improving Internet access and infrastructure in Africa. We support initiatives such as community networks, Internet exchange points, and capacity-building projects.
Through these initiatives, AFRINIC empowers individuals and organizations to drive meaningful change and innovation in the Internet landscape across the continent. We believe in creating an open, accessible, and secure Internet environment for all Africans.
To learn more about AFRINIC's Internet Development Programmes and the diverse forms these initiatives can take, visit: https://www.afrinic.net/internet-development-programs
Our initiatives include:
Fellowship Program: This program prepares future African Internet leaders by providing opportunities for individuals to participate in AFRINIC events, such as the Africa Internet Summit (AIS) and other conferences. Fellows receive training on various topics related to Internet technology and governance. The program is open to individuals from African countries actively involved in Internet development.
Sponsorships and Grants: AFRINIC provides funding, technical support, and capacity-building opportunities to organizations working on projects aimed at improving Internet access and infrastructure in Africa. We support initiatives such as community networks, Internet exchange points, and capacity-building projects.
Through these initiatives, AFRINIC empowers individuals and organizations to drive meaningful change and innovation in the Internet landscape across the continent. We believe in creating an open, accessible, and secure Internet environment for all Africans.
To learn more about AFRINIC's Internet Development Programmes and the diverse forms these initiatives can take, visit: https://www.afrinic.net/internet-development-programs
Participating in the AFRINIC Community: Voting, Shaping Policies, and Mailing-Lists
AFRINIC is a membership-based organisation, and as such, members have the opportunity to participate in shaping the organisation's policies and governance. Members can contribute to the development of AFRINIC policies by participating in policy discussions and proposing new policies. AFRINIC has a transparent policy development process that is open to all members, and policy proposals are discussed on the AFRINIC’s Resource Policy Discussion (RPD)mailing-lists, where the community can share their views and opinions.
In addition to shaping policies, IP Resource members hold the right to participate in the governance of AFRINIC including casting of votes in Board of Directors elections and other relevant resolutions at the Annual General Meetings. By participating in the AFRINIC community, members can help shape the future of the organisation and the Internet in Africa.
In addition to shaping policies, IP Resource members hold the right to participate in the governance of AFRINIC including casting of votes in Board of Directors elections and other relevant resolutions at the Annual General Meetings. By participating in the AFRINIC community, members can help shape the future of the organisation and the Internet in Africa.
To summarise, as an AFRINIC member you can:
Benefit from services such as the AFRINIC Routing Registry, and RPKI
Participate in AFRINIC’s technical trainings
Vote during AFRINIC elections
Contribute to policies and hence contribute in shaping Africa’s digital future
Obtain free support and guidance from our experts on your network infrastructure
Becoming a member of AFRINIC offers numerous benefits for organisations and individuals working on Internet development in Africa. AFRINIC provides members with the resources, training, and support they need to build and maintain their own online identities, and offer effective services to their customers. Moreover, membership in AFRINIC provides opportunities to participate in the Africa Internet community and contribute to the development of Internet policies and governance in Africa.
Through its various programs, AFRINIC plays a critical role in supporting Internet development in Africa. By offering fellowships, sponsorships, and grants, AFRINIC helps in building capacity and promoting the growth of the Internet ecosystem on the continent. AFRINIC's support to community networks, Internet exchange points, and other initiatives also helps to create a more open, accessible, and secure Internet for all Africans.
Through its various programs, AFRINIC plays a critical role in supporting Internet development in Africa. By offering fellowships, sponsorships, and grants, AFRINIC helps in building capacity and promoting the growth of the Internet ecosystem on the continent. AFRINIC's support to community networks, Internet exchange points, and other initiatives also helps to create a more open, accessible, and secure Internet for all Africans.
Join AFRINIC as a new member using the link here and become a part of the community working to build a better Internet for Africa.