With the Internet of today, customers can be enticed and excited by new avatars like AI, IoT, and machine learning. Each device in this vast network is uniquely identified by its IP address.
Security and customer confidence are improved by dedicated IP addresses. Due to the exponential growth of the Internet, IP address battles have become quite aggressive. Due to the massive upfront investment required for network devices, the transition to IPv6 is moving at a snail’s pace despite highly depleted IPv4 address space.
In the case of IPv4 addresses, it creates an ever-widening gap between supply and demand. IPv4 addresses become more expensive when they become scarce, which creates demand. In order to fulfil your dedicated IP requirements at a lower cost, it is a better option to lease an IPv4 address.
What makes leasing attractive?
The foremost advantage is the cost. IP addresses can be owned for a specified period of time without incurring substantial costs.
Regional Internet Registries (RIR) manage the IPv4 allocations. Due to the severe scarcity, while purchasing, one needs to provide a convincing justification for his IP requirement which is a tricky process. Especially between RIRs, transferring ownership is a time-consuming process.
You can avoid all these steps if you lease IPv4 since there is no ownership change involved. It makes leasing a much faster and more efficient way for IP allocation.
In addition, you can define the period of your lease, which could last several months or even years, making the whole process highly cost-effective.
The onus of setting up the network to route traffic through the leased IP is often with the ISP. This disengages you from the worries of network management.
Lease IPs Address Space: The Benefits.
In most cases, getting a new IPv4 block involves becoming a Local Internet Registry (LIR) or a member of the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). End-users of network services are assigned IP addressing space by LIRs. Typically, LIRs are Internet service providers whose customers are end users of their networks. Your RIR will need to approve your request for becoming an LIR by opening a ticket. Most likely, you won’t know if you’re approved for a couple of months.
The first thing you’ll notice is that we have run out of IP addresses. It is becoming increasingly difficult for RIRs to maintain their IPv4 pools. Consequently, IPv4 space is becoming more difficult to obtain. Having IP address space leased is a great way to avoid having to become an LIR, which is cumbersome and time-consuming.
Other Key Benefits From Leasing IP Address Space?
- Directly renting from an owner is possible. Rather than leasing IP address space from a broker, it is easier, cheaper, and more efficient to rent it directly from the owner. By eliminating middlemen, streamlined processes are cheaper and faster.
- Make sure your dedicated IP addresses are not blacklisted. There might be a situation where domain names share an IP address with other domains in services such as app/website hosting. Getting blacklisted by your neighbour (shared IP address) will also affect your domain. Make sure your IP addresses are clean and dedicated to avoiding this.
- Make sure you have a large IPv6 address space and start migrating. It is a great time to start thinking about IPv6 migration now that everyone is running out of IP addresses (IPv4 in particular). The only way to start your IPv6 migration is with a small-medium IPv4 address block.
How to lease an IP address?
The question may arise, where can one lease IP addresses if the IPv4 address space has been exhausted?
There is no compatibility between IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. An organization can have left unused IPv4 addresses after switching to IPv6 natively. Besides that, there are several so-called “legacy space” addresses out there that are being slowly recovered by the RIRs.
In addition to operating in different regions, with different regulatory requirements, the RIRs also operate in different languages and have different currencies. Leasing agreements (i.e. memberships) can become tedious and complicated.
Since the market hasn’t matured, there is ambiguity in all areas of IPv4 leasing outside the RIRs. IPv4 brokers, commonly referred to as third-party providers, act as a bridge between the seller and buyer to ensure a seamless transaction. Keeping the show on the road depends on the brokers.
The steps to lease an IP address are
- Choose the right IP broker.
Brokers can help you make leasing happen by connecting you with their contacts in different areas. IPv4 transactions across different regions should be carried out by a broker who is transparent about its terms, such as service fees.
PMTA Setup has performed all kinds of IPv4 transactions, including leasing, for many years. IPv4 address leasing is a fair and straightforward process due to our industry-wide recognition and extensive experience.
With their extensive experience, our dedicated team handles all aspects of IPv4 leasing, including price negotiations, IP reputation evaluations, and lease agreement drafting, punctually and professionally.
- Prequalification checks
Verify several documents, such as the RIR registration records, to make sure the seller is the current owner or the legal successor. With our detailed checks, we ensure that your IP or IP block is using the right protocol, is reputable, and has no inaccuracies in the RIR records.
- Setting up the terms of the lease agreement
The leasing agreement is negotiated with the seller after the prequalification checks, focusing on price, lease duration, time, currency, and complying with the law.
- Payment Facilitation
We assist in the smooth transfer of funds between parties by creating invoices and providing an interface.
- Issue of LOA
You can inform your ISP to announce and divert traffic through the new IP block once the seller receives payment and provides a Letter of Authorization (LOA).
If you require a dedicated IP address, renting an IPv4 address can be an effective solution. But the broker’s efficiency determines the texture of the entire transaction.
A responsible approach to IPv4 longevity
There is a global problem with IPv4 exhaustion that needs long-term solutions. Despite its advanced capabilities, IPv6 still has not succeeded in replacing IPv4 even 27 years after it was invented.
During this period, IPv4 leases have proven to be the best solution to the IPv4 depletion crisis. Despite this, IP holders have relatively little experience with this solution. The monetization potential and leasing benefits must be made more widely known.
It is unfortunate that IP addresses are limited in number and can only be monetized and leased. Leasing, on the other hand, is still an attractive market. While enabling other companies to scale, many companies can monetize their unused IPv4 addresses.
There is a good chance that IPv6 will solve the current issues in the future. We must, however, ensure sustainable and responsible use of IPv4 addresses before that can happen. For today’s internet to remain sustainable for decades to come, we need to keep innovating the IP lease market.
