BGP Prefix Lookup
Check if an IP prefix is announced in the global BGP routing table. See origin ASN, visibility score, RPKI/ROA status, and AS-PATH details from RIPE RIS collectors worldwide.
What is BGP Visibility?
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) visibility refers to whether an IP prefix is announced and reachable on the global internet. When a network operator announces a prefix via BGP, route collectors around the world observe this announcement. The visibility score indicates what percentage of these collectors can see the prefix — a higher score means better global reachability. RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) validation ensures that the AS announcing the prefix is authorized to do so, preventing route hijacking.
How Does This Tool Work?
This tool queries RIPE Stat API, which aggregates data from RIPE RIS (Routing Information Service) route collectors deployed worldwide. It checks the routing status of the prefix, identifies the origin ASN, calculates a visibility score based on how many collectors see the prefix, validates RPKI/ROA status, and provides sample AS-PATHs showing how traffic reaches the prefix from different vantage points.
Frequently Asked Questions
When a prefix is "Announced," it means a network operator is actively advertising that IP range via BGP to the global routing table. Routers worldwide learn about this prefix and can route traffic to it. If a prefix is "Not Announced," it is not visible in the global routing table and traffic cannot be routed to those IPs.
A visibility score above 90% is considered excellent, meaning the prefix is seen by the vast majority of route collectors worldwide. Scores between 70-90% are acceptable but may indicate some filtering. Below 70% could suggest partial announcements, filtering by upstream providers, or recent changes that haven't fully propagated.
RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) uses ROAs (Route Origin Authorizations) to cryptographically verify that an AS is authorized to announce a specific prefix. A "Valid" status means the ROA matches the announcement. "Invalid" means there is a mismatch (potential hijack). "Not Found" means no ROA exists for this prefix.
An AS-PATH is the sequence of Autonomous Systems (ASNs) that a BGP route traverses from origin to destination. For example, "3333 1234 5678" means the prefix originates from AS5678, passes through AS1234, and reaches AS3333. Shorter AS-PATHs generally indicate more direct routing.
The Announcement History shows which Autonomous Systems (ASNs) have announced this prefix over time, including the date ranges when each ASN was the origin. This is valuable for detecting route hijacks, understanding prefix ownership changes, and verifying that a prefix has been consistently announced by the expected network. If you see unexpected ASNs in the history, it could indicate a past hijack or a legitimate transfer.
A prefix might not be visible for several reasons: it has not been announced by any router, the announcement has been filtered by upstream providers, the prefix size is too small (many networks filter prefixes smaller than /24), or there are RPKI issues causing the route to be rejected.