WHOIS
Table of contents
WHOIS Service
The RADb WHOIS-like service is the authoritative public interface to The Routing Assets Database.
The WHOIS service includes objects sourced in RADb along with objects of each IRR that is mirrored by RADb. WHOIS is intended primarily for human consumption and low traffic programmatic usage.
Under typical conditions:
- The WHOIS service will accept a total of five open connections per source
- Committed edits are presented within ten minutes, often instantly
Developers are encouraged to:
- Use an open connection for multiple queries
- Build consumer operated utilities that source data from WHOIS.radb.net
- Set identifiable IPv4 and IPv6 PTR records in DNS, when providing a low-traffic service sourcing data from WHOIS.radb.net
- Build backoff and retry routines when timeouts or failed connections are encountered
Developers are discouraged from:
- Retrieving bulk updates directly from the WHOIS service
- Utilizing high-traffic tools in an automated fashion direct from the WHOIS service
Rate-Limiting
Please note: The RADb WHOIS service is rate-limited. For large queries, we recommend using the RADb API
Our rate-limiting is as follows:
- 4 concurrent connections from a single IP (5th connection rejected via TCP reset)
- 3.3 sessions/second from a single IP or 200 or less Session rate less over the last 60 seconds (connections after this session rate is achieved are rejected via TCP reset)
Need Assistance?
If you have technical questions or need help related to Merit RADb, please contact RADb Support.