Tutorial: How to use the SCION Registry

SCION networks are required to use globally unique numbers to identify Isolation Domains (ISDs), and it is operationally desirable to use globally unique numbers to identify SCION Autonomous Systems (ASes). ISDs are identified with a 16-bit number, whilst SCION ASes are identified by a 48-bit number.

ISD and SCION AS numbers are assigned and registered by the SCION Registry in order to ensure global uniqueness. This is operated by the SCION Association on behalf of the SCION community, in accordance with the SCION Registry Policy and governed by the Registry Committee.

The SCION Registry records ISD and SCION AS number assignments, the organisations or individuals who have been assigned ISD and/or SCION AS numbers (known as ‘Resource Holders’), and the details of the roles and/or persons who are the administrative and technical contacts for the Resource Holders. The SCION Registry portal allows Resource Holders to assign, update and remove contact information, as well as request ISD and SCION AS numbers. It is also possible for a Resource Holder to assign another organisation to manage resources on their behalf, such as in scenarios where their network management is outsourced.

This tutorial outlines how to create an account for your organisation, assign administrative and technical contacts, and request ISD and SCION AS numbers.

Creating your account

The SCION Registry portal can be found at https://registry.scion.org

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Step 1:

If you don’t already have an account, then click on ‘Create an account’. Enter the email address and password that you wish to use as your personal login. You can later create other personal accounts and role profiles and assign them permissions to manage your SCION number resources and organisational details.

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You will then be sent an email to the email address you provided, asking you to verify it:

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Verify your email address by clicking on ‘Verify link’ in the email:

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Return to the login screen, enter your email address and password, and click ‘Continue’:

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Step 2:

Upon successful login, you can now complete and submit your personal profile and enable two-factor authentication. Please note that your personal information will not be displayed on the public registry website.

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Once your personal profile has been created, you will be assigned a NIC handle (e.g. PERS-KM32-SCION).

Step 3:

The next step is to create your Organization profile. Click on ‘My Applications’ in the top menu:

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Then click on Apply for Org to complete and submit your Organization profile. Please note the organization information may be accessible on the public registry website, so it is advisable to use a corporate postal address, telephone number, and email address.

You need to agree to the Terms and Conditions and to also select a personal profile to be linked to the Admin and Technical (and optionally Abuse) Roles. In this example, there is currently only one personal profile available, but additional personal accounts and role profiles may be created or linked later.

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When your Organization profile has been submitted, you will receive a message that this is pending. Organization profiles must be approved upon creation by the SCION Association, which will normally happen within 1-3 working days.

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Once your organization’s details have been checked and approved by the SCION Association, you will receive an email notification and your Organization application will now show as approved.

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If you click on My Roles in the top menu, you can view the roles (Admin Contact, Technical Contact, and Maintainer) that were automatically created when you created your Organization profile. You may also edit the contact information for these, as well as link additional personal accounts as these are created.

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Requesting SCION AS numbers

When your organisation has been registered in the SCION Registry, you can request SCION AS numbers in accordance with the SCION Registry Policy.

There are two types of SCION AS numbers:

  • A SCION AS number from the range 1 to 4,294,967,295. If you are the registered holder of a BGP AS number (32-bit) in a Regional Internet Registry, you may request the equivalent SCION AS number. This will be verified by the SCION Association with the appropriate Regional Internet Registry (AFRINIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE NCC) database.

  • SCION AS numbers from the range 2:0:0 to 3:ffff:ffff. The minimum assignment is 16 numbers (4 bits), but 256 numbers (8 bits) or 65,535 numbers (16 bits) may be requested with a valid use case.

Please note that assignments incur fees upon approval (starting from 1 January 2027), with larger blocks incurring larger fees, in accordance with the published SCION Registry charges.

Step 1:

To apply for a SCION AS number, click on My Applications in the top menu, followed by Apply for SCION AS. Then complete the request form:

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Step 2:

If you are requesting a BGP-mapped SCION AS number, please select BGP-mapped AS and fill in the BGP AS number you were assigned by a Regional Internet Registry:

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If you are requesting a block of SCION AS numbers, please select SCION-Native Block and the size of the block you are requesting:

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Step 3:

The remaining step is to assign the Admin Contacts and Technical Contacts:

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When your SCION AS number application has been submitted, you will receive a message that this is pending. Applications must be approved by the SCION Association, which will normally happen within 1-3 working days.

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Once your SCION AS number application has been checked and approved by the SCION Association, you will receive an email notification and your application will now show as Approved, awaiting payment if payment is due.

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Once payment has been received by the SCION Association, or if no payment is due, then your application will show as Approved.

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You can further check your SCION AS number assignments by clicking on ‘Public Registry’ in the top menu, and then ‘ASes’:

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Requesting ISD numbers

An ISD number is used to identify a group of SCION ASes that share a common purpose and trust policy (e.g. Secure Swiss Finance Network). An ISD is usually set-up and operated by a small number of SCION ASes within the group known as Voting Members, and only one of these needs to apply for and register an ISD number.

However, if your organisation is a Voting Member of an ISD and is designated to be the holder of the ISD number required to identify it, you can also use the SCION Registry portal to apply for one in accordance with the SCION Registry Policy.

To apply for a ISD number, click on My Applications in the top menu, followed by Apply for ISD. Then complete the request form:

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When your ISD number application has been submitted, you will receive a message that this is pending. Applications must be approved by the SCION Association, which will normally happen within 1-3 working days.

Once your ISD number application has been checked and approved by the SCION Association, you will receive an email notification and your application will now show as Approved, awaiting payment if payment is due.

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Once payment has been received by the SCION Association, or if no payment is due, then your application will show as ‘Approved’.

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