Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, DNS root zone management, and other Internet protocol assignments. It is operated by ICANN.Prior to the establishment of ICANN for this purpose, IANA was administered primarily by Jon Postel at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California, under a contract USC/ISI had with the United States Department of Defense, until ICANN was made to assume the responsibility under a United States Department of Commerce contract.
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<body, networking> (IANA) The central registry for various "assigned numbers": Internet Protocol parameters, such as port, protocol, and enterprise numbers; and options, codes, and types. The currently assigned values are listed in the "Assigned Numbers" document STD 2. To request a number assignment, e-mail iana@isi.edu.
(1994-12-06)