AS3333 RIPE-NCC-AS Reseaux IP Europeens Network Coordination Centre RIPE NCC

RIPE-NCC-AS is the network of the RIPE NCC in Amsterdam, the Regional Internet

Registry for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia — the body that

allocates the IP addresses and AS numbers used across its region.

What it's used for

• Hosting the RIPE NCC's own services: the RIPE Database and whois, the registry's web presence, RPKI infrastructure, and the systems members use to manage their allocations.
• Measurement and research infrastructure, including the route collectors and probe systems the NCC runs to observe the global routing system.

Notable

• One of the most recognisable AS numbers in the world, largely by accident: its memorable digits made it the standard example in BGP documentation, tutorials and lab exercises for decades.
• The registry does not sell transit or hosting — this is an institutional network whose job is to keep the registry itself reachable.

Interesting

• Because so much teaching material uses AS3333 as the stand-in for "some AS", it turns up in misconfigured lab gear and copy-pasted configs leaking into the real internet more often than any other number.