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If you ever expect to communicate on the Internet, as opposed to just connecting a few hosts together locally with no outside connections, you or your Internet Service Provider (ISP) must apply to a Network Information Center (NIC) for a domain name and an IP network address.
If you want to connect your network to the Internet, you must obtain an IP address for it that defines a range of host addresses that you can use. If you do not want to change existing network addresses, you will probably need to connect via an address translation gateway. Other information that you need to register includes your domain name and address-to-host lookup information (your IN-ADDR.ARPA domain). If you are setting up a gateway as an autonomous system (AS) that will use the EGP or BGP routing protocols to pass reachability information to other systems, you will also need to register this.
In the first instance, contact a local ISP if you want to connect a corporate network to the Internet. The service provider should be able to register the details of your organization's networks for you. You would normally only register directly with a Network Information Center if you are setting up an autonomous system or intend to provide Internet services yourself.
The NICs prefer that administrators obtain an IP address range for their networks from an Internet Registry (IR). This will usually be done via a service provider. If you do not know of a suitable service provider, most NICs will forward requests for connection to a mailing list of suitable ISPs. The service providers will then contact you if they are interested.
If you want to register a domain name, contact your service provider rather than an NIC or a domain administrator. Only the InterNIC handles the registration of three-letter domain names such as COM, ORG, and NET. The other NICs do not handle domain name registration. If you want to register a domain within a two-letter top-level domain (such as the geographical domain uk), you must contact the administrator for that domain. You can obtain more information about who to contact for domain registration from the NICs.
Information about registering domain names with InterNIC Registration Services is given at the URL http://rs.internic.net. InterNIC Registration Services may be reached using the contact information given at the URL http://www.networksolutions.com.
Information about registering IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) with the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is given at the URL http://www.arin.net/regserv.html.
Networks that will be connected/located within the geographic region maintained by the Asia Pacific NIC can obtain more information at the URL http://www.apnic.net.
European network applications can obtain more information at the URL http://www.ripe.net.