Special Use IPv4 Addresses
RFC 5735

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                         M. Cotton
Request for Comments: 5735                                     L. Vegoda
BCP: 153                                                           ICANN
Obsoletes: 3330                                             January 2010
Category: Best Current Practice
ISSN: 2070-1721

                       Special Use IPv4 Addresses

Abstract

   This document obsoletes RFC 3330.  It describes the global and other
   specialized IPv4 address blocks that have been assigned by the
   Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).  It does not address IPv4
   address space assigned to operators and users through the Regional
   Internet Registries, nor does it address IPv4 address space assigned
   directly by IANA prior to the creation of the Regional Internet
   Registries.  It also does not address allocations or assignments of
   IPv6 addresses or autonomous system numbers.

Status of This Memo

   This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   BCPs is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5735.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2010 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must

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RFC 5735               Special Use IPv4 Addresses           January 2010

   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
2.  Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
3.  Global and Other Specialized Address Blocks  . . . . . . . . .  3
4.  Summary Table  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
5.  Assignments of IPv4 Blocks for New Specialized Uses  . . . . .  6
6.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
7.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
8.  Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
9.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
  9.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
  9.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Appendix A.  Differences between This Document and RFC 3330  . . . 10

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1.  Introduction

   Throughout its history, the Internet has employed a central Internet
   Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) responsible for the allocation and
   assignment of various identifiers needed for the operation of the
   Internet [RFC1174].  In the case of the IPv4 address space, the IANA
   allocates parts of the address space to Regional Internet Registries
   (RIRs) according to their established needs.  These RIRs are
   responsible for the registration of IPv4 addresses to operators and
   users of the Internet within their regions.

   On an ongoing basis, the IANA has been designated by the IETF to make
   assignments in support of the Internet Standards Process [RFC2860].
   Section 4 of that document describes that assignment process.

   Small portions of the IPv4 address space have been allocated or
   assigned directly by the IANA for global or other specialized
   purposes.  These allocations and assignments have been documented in
   a variety of RFCs and other documents.  This document is intended to
   collect these scattered references and provide a current list of
   special use IPv4 addresses.

   This document is a revision of RFC 3330 [RFC3330], which it
   obsoletes; its primary purpose is to reflect the changes to the list
   of special IPv4 assignments since the publication of RFC 3330.  It is
   a companion to [RFC5156], which describes special IPv6 addresses.