Hi Ronald,
Which LIR issued AS201133?
Is this supposed to be some sort of a secret?
Not really, it is documented in the RIPE database. Here is how you can find it: First search the database for the AS: https://apps.db.ripe.net/search/query.html?searchtext=AS201133 There you see the AS with the sponsoring LIR: sponsoring-org: ORG-LE44-RIPE If you look up that organisation you get the LIR: https://apps.db.ripe.net/search/lookup.html?source=ripe&key=ORG-LE44-RIPE&type=organisation Which is "Lir.bg EOOD" in Bulgaria.
If so, could someone please tell me where I need to go, or who I need to talk to in order to learn the secret handshake necessary to find out how this AS came into being and/or who vouches for the legitimacy and authenticity of its current owner?
No secret handshake required :)
P.S. I've never been very good on geography, so maybe someone can straighten me out on that score also.
The last time I looked, Belieze was not actually within the RIPE geographic region. Was there some rather significant continental drift while I was sleeping?
Not that I can see, but maybe that company from Belize has some presence in our service region. The AS seems to be maintained by Verdina LTD in Belize. What I can see from their website suggests they offer dedicated server hosting with up to 10Gbit/s dedicated connectivity. Maybe they host part of their servers in Bulgaria? I don't know, but that isn't impossible. Cheers, Sander