摘要：The current system of managing Internet address space involves Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), which together share a global responsibility delegated to them by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). This regime is now well established, but it has evolved over ten years from a much simpler, centralized system. Internet number spaces were originally managed by a single individual "authority," namely the late Jon Postel, co-inventor of some of the most important technical features of today's Internet.It is important to understand that the evolution of the RIR system was not simply the result of Internet growth and the natural need to refine and decentralize a growing administrative task. On the contrary, it arose from, and closely tracked, the technical evolution of the Internet Protocol, in particular the development of today's IP addressing and routing architecture.In a relatively short time, the Regional Internet Registry system has evolved into a stable, robust environment for Internet address management. It is maintained today through self-regulatory practices that are well established elsewhere in the Internet and other industries, and it maintains its legitimacy and relevance by firmly adhering to open, transparent, participatory decision-making processes.
