How does IP-Whois Work?

Hello dear reader!

Today I want to talk a little about IP-whois services and databases. We will see what is it, how does it work and how it can be used.

As far, as you maybe know, whole the Internet is built over Internet Protocol (IP). In other words, it is designed in a way, where each device in a network (like your laptop, or mobile phone) is identified by a unique IP-address. This address is assigned to your device by your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

But where your ISP has got this address and how an IP-assignement process is managed over the World?

Yeap, friend, at top level there is a special organisation which rule the global process. It is IANA - Internet Assignment Numbers Authority. This organisation is responsible for allocation of huge ranges of an IP-address space (IP-address blocks) to a regional authorities. Thus, there are five regional authorities over the world - one for each continent. Them are:

ARIN - American authority

LACNIC - Latin-american authority

RIPE - European authority

APNIC - Asia and Oceanian authority

AfriNIC - African authority

Then each regional authority has an ability to assign a lesser IP-address blocks to a regional providers. And then providers assigns an IP-address to the end users (yes, right, to the user's devices). But to know which block of address assigned to whom there are created, existing and maintained special databases to collect, store and retrieve all this important information. These databases are distributed between each reagional authorities. IANA, of cource, also has its own database. We know this set of distributed databases as WHOIS service.

It's a really good name for such kind of service, because it reflects its essence. Yes, it answers the question: "Who is an owner of this address?". To get an answer for this question you, usually, need to use special tools, as far, as databases are distributed over the network (most known "whois" CLI tool in a different operating systems). Or you can visit a website of one of the appropriate regional authority listed above. Usually they provide an ability to make requests to the database them maintain on-line.

As far, as usually you are trying to search an information by IP, you cant get stucked. Which authority to request for an information? For major number of cases it does not matter, because each authority will respond an actual info you are searching, or will point you to an apropriatete authority, where this info stored with a referal answer. If no, you canye always make a request to IANA's database to retrieve an information which authority holds a data for a given IP-address. So if to choose this way you will probably need to make several requests to a different locations before you'll get an info you need.

Another way is to use specific tool, like RWhois (referral whois), which takes care itself about searching an appropriate authority and makes a request with just a single call of the command. You can install and use this tool from comman-line or even find a GUI version if you like.

Or you can use similar on-line services. There are plenty of them over the Internet, but I, personally, like this IP-Whois service. It's working perfectly, and has one advantage. Doesn't matter which one of services was used to retrieve the data - response will be always in the same readable format (yes, each regional service provides their data in a different formats)