SKNK Field Notes · Point by point
The real difference is who owns the registry relationship: the account, the fees, the policy contact, and the day-to-day administration.
Reviewed against public documentation: 2 August 2026
Compare point by point
Option one · Direct RIPE NCC membership / LIR relationship
You manage the direct account and its obligations.
Option two · Sponsoring LIR relationship
The sponsoring LIR manages the relationship under the agreement.
Option one · Direct RIPE NCC membership / LIR relationship
You prepare and submit the request and account process yourself.
Option two · Sponsoring LIR relationship
You provide the information; the sponsor runs the process — and you confirm every step.
Option one · Direct RIPE NCC membership / LIR relationship
BGP, upstream choices, filtering, and day-to-day network operations remain yours.
Option two · Sponsoring LIR relationship
The sponsor's service boundary ends at the registry relationship; routing operations sit outside it.
Option one · Direct RIPE NCC membership / LIR relationship
Read RIPE NCC's current fee schedule and the obligations of a direct relationship.
Option two · Sponsoring LIR relationship
Read the sponsor's current price, what is in and out of scope, and the agreement.
Option one · Direct RIPE NCC membership / LIR relationship
Follow the account and resource procedures for your direct relationship.
Option two · Sponsoring LIR relationship
Check each resource's lifecycle, portability, and any renumbering work.
Where this can be a useful starting point
Explore a direct relationship when you want to run the full registry relationship yourself and can carry the ongoing administration.
Explore sponsorship when you want a sponsoring LIR to administer the relationship inside a clearly stated boundary.
Before an application or change
Who is named as the End User or resource holder on paper?
Which policy and signed agreement govern this relationship?
What happens to each resource if sponsorship or service ends?
Policies, resource relationships, service boundaries, and upstream filters differ by situation. For price, eligibility, ownership, or service-end questions, use the formal pages and confirm with the responsible party.
SKNK · Sources and scope
Each source supports one kind of conclusion. Source pages, registry records, and routing observations update at different times, so read every result with its source and timestamp.
Registry and IRR records
Useful for checking
Whether a public object exists for this ASN or prefix, who it is registered to, and who maintains it.
Not enough to prove alone
It cannot tell you whether the route is being announced. An object is not an announcement.
Current service terms
Useful for checking
What SKNK publicly states about its service and resource lifecycle.
Not enough to prove alone
It does not replace the signed agreement or RIPE NCC policy.
