WHEREIS: IP Address Registration Geo-Consistency
Robert Beverly, Amreesh Phokeer, Oliver Gasser

TL;DR
This paper introduces WHEREIS, a measurement-based method to geolocate IP address prefixes at RIR-region granularity, revealing registration data inconsistencies and informing policy and security considerations.
Contribution
We develop a systematic geolocation approach to assess IP registration geo-consistency and analyze discrepancies across RIRs, especially focusing on AFRINIC.
Findings
Over 98% of prefixes are consistent with geolocation inferences
IPv6 registrations are as inconsistent as IPv4
Inconsistencies affect commercial geolocation databases
Abstract
The five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) provide the critical function of IP address resource del egation and registration. The accuracy of registration data directly impacts Internet operation, management, security, and optimization. In addition, the scarcity of IP addresses has brought into focus conflicts between RIR policy and IP registration ownership and use. The tension between a free-market based approach to address allocation versus policies to promote fairness and regional equity has resulted in court litigation that threatens the very existence of the RIR system. We develop WHEREIS, a measurement-based approach to geolocate delegated IPv4 and IPv6 prefixes at an RIR-region granularity and systematically study where addresses are used post-allocation and the extent to which registration information is accurate. We define a taxonomy of registration ``geo-consistency''…
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Taxonomy
TopicsIPv6, Mobility, Handover, Networks, Security · Network Traffic and Congestion Control · Software-Defined Networks and 5G
