"direct assignment" is an ARIN term for PI space :P think what you mean is this: a direct payment relation between the end-user of PI space and RIPE NCC, with no LIR in between "direct assignment" end-users have PI space for their own setup, and are a direct customer of ripe (pay about the same as LIRs so then they can just as well become a LIR while they're at it ;) there is virtually no advantage to this structure over just becoming a lir. they cannot make sub assignments (as its PI, not PA space) and lately ripe is even making trouble about it being used for shared webhosting as that "appearantly" also assigns ips to "end users of the end user".. (ehh.. how is webhosting different from lets say a gameserver or a telephone exchange - ripe is on crack - with shared webhosting there is also no such thing as "sub assigning individual ips to individual end-users, you assign an x-amount of users to an ip, not an x-amount of ips to 1 end-user ;) they only recently started to make problems about that tho ;) LIRs can request both PI (for customers) and PA space/ASNs (and delegate it to customers or themselves) when registering PI space (what arin calls "direct assignment"), RIPE will usually try to get your customer to become a LIR themselves, and seems to confuse LIRs with ISPs quite a lot (making it quite useless to be a lir as its pretty much impossible to do what a lir is supposed to do, make money on PI and ASN registrations, as each and every time ripe will try to sell -them- a LIR-membership themselves ;) ofcourse a LIR is simply a buro that registers PI address space or PA ip subdelegations and ASNs on behalf of third parties, and does not nessesarily even -own- infrastructure itself, but ripe seems to somehow confuse LIRs with ISPs.. (despite the fact that you can perfectly well treat PA space as PI space and simply not route the parts of it you pimp out to customers, which they can then route themselves, so even with their attempts to "prefer" PA over PI, you can still just give customers semi PI space without much trouble ;) (nobody ever said you had to route it over your OWN ASn's ;) -- Greetings, Sven Olaf Kamphuis, CB3ROB Ltd. & Co. KG ========================================================================= Address: Koloniestrasse 34 VAT Tax ID: DE267268209 D-13359 Registration: HRA 42834 B BERLIN Phone: +31/(0)87-8747479 Germany GSM: +49/(0)152-26410799 RIPE: CBSK1-RIPE e-Mail: sven@cb3rob.net ========================================================================= <penpen> C3P0, der elektrische Westerwelle http://www.facebook.com/cb3rob ========================================================================= Confidential: Please be advised that the information contained in this email message, including all attached documents or files, is privileged and confidential and is intended only for the use of the individual or individuals addressed. Any other use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. On Wed, 13 Jul 2011, AXINET -- Laurent wrote:

Dear sir, Dear madam,

I need some precisions please.

Can you explain me the difference between "Direct Assignment Users" and "LIRs" ?

The LIRs can make IP assignments for their own customers (for example) and Direct Assignment Users can't. Is it correct ?

Best regards, Laurent Clin AXINET France