GeoFeed

A GeoFeed is a standardized mechanism for publishing geographic location information about IP address prefixes, helping associate IP blocks with real-world locations for better geolocation accuracy, latency mapping, and network topology documentation.

Standards

RFC Description
RFC 8805 Defines the CSV-based GeoFeed file format
RFC 9632 Specifies referencing GeoFeeds from RPSL objects via geofeed: attribute
RFC 9877 RDAP extension for automated GeoFeed discovery

File Format

A UTF-8 CSV file with the following fields:

# prefix,country_code,region_code,city,postal
172.20.0.0/24,FR,FR-ARA,Lyon,69123
fd42:1234::/48,FR,,,

Fields follow ISO 3166 conventions. Unused fields may be left empty.

Publishing on DN42

  1. Host the file - Serve your GeoFeed over HTTP/HTTPS. Hosting within DN42 is strongly recommended so that the file remains accessible to all DN42 participants regardless of public internet connectivity, and to keep DN42 infrastructure self-contained.
  2. Reference in the registry - Add a geofeed: attribute to your inetnum and inet6num objects:
inetnum:    172.20.0.0/24
geofeed:    http://example.dn42/geofeed.csv

⚠️ Hosting your GeoFeed on the public internet means it may be unreachable to peers who access DN42 exclusively through the internal network. Always prefer a DN42-reachable URL.

Best Practices

  • Ensure the URL remains reachable and update the registry if it changes
  • Maintain consistent node names and clear comments for easier automation and identification
  • Keep locations accurate
  • Store your GeoFeed in version control (e.g., Git) for easier management

Further Reading