# Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees the global coordination of the DNS root zone, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol resources. [[Jon Postel]] founded and ran IANA informally from USC's Information Sciences Institute beginning in 1988, building on his earlier work as the original maintainer of protocol parameter registries since the ARPANET era. IANA's core functions include managing the DNS root zone, allocating IP address blocks to Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), and maintaining protocol parameter registries for the [[Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)]]. Following Jon Postel's death in 1998, IANA was transitioned to operate as a department of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a nonprofit organization established that same year. [[Vint Cerf]] served as ICANN's founding chairman from 1998 to 2000, helping guide this transition. In 2016, the IANA stewardship transitioned from U.S. government oversight to the global multistakeholder community, marking a significant milestone in Internet governance. Today, IANA continues to perform its critical coordination role, ensuring the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. ## Related - [[Jon Postel]] - [[Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)]] - [[Internet Society (ISOC)]] - [[Vint Cerf]] - [[Domain Name System (DNS)]] ## References - https://www.iana.org - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Assigned_Numbers_Authority - https://www.internetsociety.org/ianatimeline/