Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (acronym is IANA) is the entity that oversees the global allocation of IP addresses, autonomous systems, DNS domain name root servers, and other resources related to Internet protocols. It is currently a department operated by ICANN.

In its early days, IANA was primarily managed by Jon Postel at the University of Southern California (USC) Information Sciences Institute (ISI), under a USC/ISI contract with the Department of Defense of the United States, until ICANN was created to assume responsibility under a contract from the Department of Commerce.