IPv6 PI or PA, which one do you need
The difference between a provider-independent assignment and a sub-allocation from NovaNode's own space, who may announce each, and what happens to the addresses when you leave.
NovaNode offers IPv6 space in two forms: a PI assignment and a PA sub-allocation. They look alike on an invoice and both start at /48, but they are different things under RIPE policy and under our Terms of Service, and the difference matters most when you want to leave.
The two in one table
| IPv6 PI | IPv6 PA sub-allocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Comes from | A block the RIPE NCC assigns directly to you | NovaNode's own allocation from the RIPE NCC |
| Registered to | Your organisation | Your organisation, inside NovaNode's block |
| RIPE rules | Independent resource: sponsoring contract required (ripe-637) | LIR to customer; no separate RIPE contract |
| Size | /48; larger only with strict justification | /48 up to /32, with justification above /48 |
| Announce it yourself with BGP | Yes, from your own AS number | Yes, from your own AS number, as a more specific of our block |
| Give parts to other organisations | No. PI "cannot be further sub-assigned to other organisations" (ripe-738, section 7) | Yes, that is what a sub-allocation is for: your own customers and sites |
| If you leave NovaNode | The prefix stays yours; you need a new sponsoring LIR before the contract ends | The prefix returns to NovaNode (Terms of Service, section 5.5) |
| Price | See the LIR services page | See the LIR services page |
PI: your own prefix
Provider-independent space is assigned by the RIPE NCC to your organisation, with NovaNode as sponsoring LIR. The RIPE NCC's IPv6 policy (ripe-738) sets the minimum at /48 and requires a contract with a sponsor. Because the block is yours, it goes with you when you change sponsor, and it does not change when you change transit provider.
The same policy sets the limits. PI is for your own network. You may put your own devices, sites and users on it, but you may not assign parts of it to other organisations. If your plan is to give each customer a /48, PI is the wrong product.
PA sub-allocation: a slice of ours
A sub-allocation is a part of NovaNode's own IPv6 allocation, set aside for you and registered to you in the RIPE database as a more specific of our block. The RIPE NCC leaves the size and conditions of LIR-to-customer sub-allocations to the LIR (ripe-738, section 5.3), so the conditions are NovaNode's: the size you justify, from /48 up to /32, and the right to assign parts of it onwards to your own customers and sites.
The drawback is in the last row of the table. Addresses that NovaNode allocates are NovaNode network resources under section 5.5 of the Terms of Service. When the service ends, the sub-allocation returns to us and the addresses stop being routable for you. Section 5 of Switching and export says the same from the other side.
Which one, in practice
- You run or plan to run a network under your own AS number, and you want addressing that survives any change of provider or sponsor: PI.
- You are a hosting company, an ISP or an integrator and you hand address blocks to customers: PA sub-allocation, because PI does not allow it.
- You want the cheapest way to have a routable /48 of your own and you are fine with it being tied to NovaNode: PA sub-allocation.
- You want both an AS number and the prefix in one order: the ASN + IPv6 PI or ASN + IPv6 PA products combine them.
Announcing it
Both kinds are meant to be announced with BGP from your own AS number; neither comes with a BGP session or transit from NovaNode. If you have no AS number yet, Request an AS number through NovaNode explains what the RIPE NCC asks for. If you only need public addresses on a router at home or in an office and do not want to run BGP at all, the IP Tunnel is the simpler product.
Renewal
Both renew on 1 December every year, billed per year. What a sponsoring LIR is and what it is responsible for is in What a sponsoring LIR does.
Policy references: ripe-738 (IPv6 Address Allocation and Assignment Policy) and ripe-637 (Contractual Requirements for Provider Independent Resource Holders), as published by the RIPE NCC on the date at the top of this page.
Not a customer yet?
Prices, specifications and the order form are on the product page.
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