9

I see Google has 8.8.8.8 and CloudFlare has 1.1.1.1. How do I get myself a distinctive IP address? What's involved in acquiring something that has a pattern in it?

Roger Lipscombe
  • 2,177
  • 6
  • 24
  • 37
ProfessorManhattan
  • 217
  • 1
  • 5
  • 5
    maybe safe your energy before betting on a dying horse IPv4 ... and go for IPv6 where many addresses are still available – eagle275 Mar 13 '20 at 10:42
  • 11
    IPv4 has been dying for like what, 20 years by now? – htmlcoderexe Mar 13 '20 at 13:28
  • 4
    The IPv4 experiment was supposed be properly re-engineered 40 years ago. It escaped to production and has been legacy ever since. https://youtu.be/-Uwjt32NvVA – John Mahowald Mar 13 '20 at 14:15

1 Answers1

25

Roughly this:

  1. Become a LIR (Local Internet Registry)
  2. Obtain and set up your AS (Autonomous System)
  3. Decide what address you'd like to use (e.g. 7.7.7.7)
  4. Find out who currently has it assigned: whois 7.7.7.7. Ok, it's US army, try a different one: whois 77.77.77.77 - cool someone from Iran.
  5. Contact them and offer them loads of money for transferring the 77.77.77.0/24 allocation to you.
  6. Propagate it from your AS and enjoy!

Alternative way: use your loads of money to buy the entire company that owns the block you like.

boycy
  • 103
  • 3
KeepLearning
  • 665
  • 7
  • 10
  • 2
    Actually, the longest IPv4 mask that other ISPs will accept as an advertisement from you is `/24`. You will need to acquire the `/24` or shorter prefix from the current holder, and you will need the consent of your RIR for that, too. – Ron Maupin Mar 13 '20 at 01:35
  • 1
    You probably don't need to become a LIR, and you could get someone else to advertise for you, so you probably don't need to get an AS. There are also rules about PI/PA adverting that may prevent some sub-blocks to be transferred (no idea how/if this is enforced nowadays, it's been a looooong time since I dealt with that). – jcaron Mar 13 '20 at 16:26
  • 1
    I could definitely see Google buying a company primarily for a cool IP address. Are there any recorded examples of this happening? – axus Mar 13 '20 at 16:59
  • 1
    Steps 1 and 2 could probably be simplified by providing somewhat reasonable amounts of money to an entity that is already a LIR with an AS. However, it would be best to choose that entity so it depends on the same RIR as the IP you want. – Law29 Mar 13 '20 at 18:33
  • frankly though, I suspect most companies who could reasonablly consider getting vanity IPs are probablly LIRs already. – Peter Green Mar 14 '20 at 03:18
  • 1
    and ultimately step 5,. spend a lot of money is the key detail. As long as you have money to burn everything else can be managed; if you don't have a pile of money it's not going to happen under any circumstances. – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight Mar 14 '20 at 17:19
  • Although for someone subject to US law, like OP, giving loads of money to 'someone' in Iran might well be a sanctions violation and land you in prison. Where, TTBOMK but not IME, you usually aren't permitted _any_ Internet access. – dave_thompson_085 Mar 14 '20 at 23:24