[[lug] DSL, static IPs and the hunt for red october.]

[Kevin]

Allow me to inturrupt with some facts here and an overview of domain
names  and IP allocation. ;)

You can register a domain name with any of the accredited domain
registrars like network solutions or register.com or opensrs. This gives you
control (but not always ownership) of a particular domain name. (see
http://www.domainnamebuyersguide.com/m001/webpages/registrarranking/registrarrankings01.htm
if you are shopping for a registrar.) also, take a look at: 
http://slashdot.org/articles/00/05/12/2141250.shtml if you are still
using network solutions. :)

Once you have a domain name this does not imply it has an IP
address. You can hold a domain name just fine with no IP associated
with it. In order to assign an IP to it you need to request an IP or
block of IP's from your ISP. 

The entity that controls IP allocation (In the us at least) is a non
profit called ARIN. (http://www.arin.net). They are the "top level" of
allocators. They won't assign anything less than a /16 network (thats
16 of the old class C's). So, typically they deal with the very large
upstream providers and assign them blocks of IP's. Those providers in
turn subnet and assign smaller portions to their customers and so on. 
It costs $500 to be a ARIN member. The smallest tier provider will pay
$2500/year for a /16 network. This results in a cost of at least
$156.25 for a class c network (/24). See:
       http://www.arin.net/regserv/feeschedule.html 

For example, in my case my internet provider is the boulder internet
coop (http://www.coop.net). I asked them for IP's when they connected
me, and they gave me a /27 network (32 IP's). They in turn got those
from ARIN (the coop are ARIN members). 

There are two "kinds" of IP blocks. portable and non portable. Most
IP's you will see these days are non portable. This means that if you
change ISP's, you can't take your IP's with you. You must get a new
block assigned from your new ISP. If you are lucky enough to have
portable IP's, then you can indeed get them to move to a new
ISP. There is usually a lot of hassle involved in this, and fees from
arin. See: http://www.arin.net/regserv/transfer.html

If one was to want a portable class C these days, here is how I see
the procedure going: You call your ISP and ask for it. They have you
fill out approprate ARIN paperwork indicating what you want to use it
for and that you are going to be using it in the next 3 months. Then
they assign you the space if they have it. If they do not, then they
have to request more space from ARIN. The top level ISP's charge would
be at least 156.25 (and I would imagine they would want to make a
profit on it as well), then the next tier ISP takes a cut, etc...

another issue that arises is that ARIN is pretty picky about making
sure an ISP that they issued a IP block to is using at least 80% of it
before they get any more. This means that most ISPs try and only give
customers just the number of IP's they need. In the past you might get
an entire class c per company, but now, ISP's are likely to start you
with a /29 or the like and only give you more when you are done using
up those. 

hope that helps someone out there...

kevin