Articles / 27/02/2019

How We Reinvented IP Address Management

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Introduction

With the recent brand transformation, Heficed announced the world’s first automated IP address management and network engineering platform – IP Address Market. It’s a unique self-service-based platform, empowering Heficed customers to manage their IP resources better and faster than ever before.

What are IP resources, and why are they important in the digital world? IP (Internet Protocol) is a technical format, used to address devices such as smartphones, computers, etc. That connect to and communicate over a network. Each device is assigned a unique IP address.

IPv4 vs. IPv6

You probably heard of two different versions of Internet Protocol: IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 is the earlier and most widely deployed version of Internet protocol. It uses a 32-bit address scheme that allows for a total of just over 4 billion IP addresses. With a growing number of Internet users and devices used worldwide, the IPv4 resources will eventually run out.

Therefore, the newest version of Internet Protocol, IPv6, was introduced. Unlike IPv4, it uses a 128-bit scheme, increasing the address space up to 2^128 addresses, or 3.4 x 10^38 addresses, which is likely to last for a much longer time.

The transition process from IPv4 to IPv6 has no deadline and no regulations. That means it‘s more of a natural process, at least for now. Being the newer version, IPv6 lacks reach to the majority of Internet resources. While IPv4 addresses reach 100% of the Internet, IPv6 can now only reach 25% of it.

With all Heficed services, according to your preference, you can use both IP versions. Cloud Hosting and Bare Metal servers are all IPv4, and IPv6 enabled.

Why Switch?

The switch is the world‘s first IP address management platform, developed by Heficed. Why is it the first in the world? How does it contribute to the complete reinvention of IP address management? Get a glimpse of its functionalities and simple navigation:

So, what makes Switch special and different from other IP address management platforms? Providing customers with self-service it helps to overcome a number of obstacles. You‘re granted with more control over Heficed services, can make more complex and faster decisions:

  • With Switch, you can easily manage IP addresses by yourself—review geolocation and blocking information before purchasing IP resources.
  • After you choose particular IP addresses, you can attach them to particular Heficed Bare-Metal Servers or Cloud Hosting.
  • Submit your requests for geolocation information changes directly from Switch to particular IP Intelligence providers.
  • Just after purchasing 8 or more IP addresses, the registrar databases (WHOIS and RDAP) are instantly refreshed, so you get to see the latest information.
  • One of the upcoming Switch functionalities is the possibility to check the blocking status of a particular IP address, i.e., in what list exactly is the particular IP address blocked. Customers will be able to instantly submit the IP address unblock request directly to the blacklist owner.

The switch is an intermediary platform. It‘s meant to save your time and eliminates a huge part of human interaction and communication with institutions. For instance, communicating with various RIRs can be complicated because of different regulations and rules.

Reinvented IP Address Management

We at Heficed have been continuously working on automating the world around us. Now we‘re glad to introduce you to the result – the complete reinvention of IP address management.

The switch enables simple IP address management without any third-party tools and having everything placed under one account. You can browse, select, and attach IP addresses to particular servers in one platform. And it’s not it yet!

Process automation means that Heficed customers acquire more control over their services. Now you can skip the communication with your account manager and procedures with different RIRs while purchasing IP addresses. Browse, modify, and check their blocking status (and submit an instant unblock request!) to blacklist owners.

Further Development

While further developing Switch and together with already planned and scheduled updates, we’re inviting you to submit your own ideas. What other features would you like to see in the platform to make the IP address management even more convenient and efficient?

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