# RippleNet addressing scheme

RippleNet addresses are allocated by the *RippleNet Committee* to institutions based on the following agreed format and are consistent with the open Interledger Protocol (ILP) [global allocation scheme](https://interledger.org/rfcs/0015-ilp-addresses/#global-allocation-scheme).

**Warning:** RippleNet addresses must be allocated by the RippleNet Committee before use on RippleNet.

**Caution:** You cannot change your RippleNet address after peering with a partner.

## RippleNet address scheme and requirements

RippleNet addresses follow a scheme based on the following agreed format:

`{NETWORK_ALLOCATION}_{COUNTRY_CODE}_{INSTITUTION}_{NODE_ADDRESS}`

Each segment MUST contain one or more of the following characters:

* Alphanumeric characters, upper or lower case. (Addresses are case-sensitive so that they can contain data encoded in formats such as base64url.)
* Underscore (_)
* Tilde (~)
* Hyphen (-)


### Network allocation scheme

RippleNet supports the following *network allocation schemes*:

- `uat.` (User Acceptance Testing)
- `test.` (Customer Development and System Integration Testing)
- `rn.` (Production)


**Note:** In production, RippleNet uses the prefix `rn.` and not `g.` as defined by [ILP](https://interledger.org/rfcs/0015-ilp-addresses/#global-allocation-scheme).

### Country code

The *country code* must be in [ISO3166-1-Alpha-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-3) format to ensure correct routing.

The following entries are examples of valid **ISO3166-1-Alpha-3** country codes:

- `usa.` (United States)
- `gbr.` (Great Britain)
- `tha.` (Thailand)


**Note:** For Customer Development and System Integration Testing (SIT) instances hosted on AWS or EKS, the country code is substituted with the `.cloud.` infix.

### Institution

The *institution* entry must be approved by the RippleNet Committee to confirm that it is unique, and there is no conflict with an existing network partner.

The following entries are examples of valid example institution scheme components.

- `north_bank.` (North Bank)
- `south_bank.` (South Bank)
- `mighty_bank.`  (Mighty Bank)


**Note:** A testing partner to a Customer Development and SIT instance should have `-testpeer` added to its institution infix. For example: `test.cloud.north_bank-testpeer`

### Node address (optional)

The *node address* (of the installed Ripple software) may be allocated as required by the partner institution to identify branches and services. They can include child nodes.

## Example: `rn.tha.mighty_bank.regional.east`

The string `rn.tha.mighty_bank.regional.east` is an example of a well-formed RippleNet address name that could refer to an address with the following traits:

- **Network allocation scheme**: A production RippleNet network allocation.
- **Country code**: Based in Thailand.
- **Institution**: Operated by the Mighty Bank.
- **Node address (optional)**: Referring to the regional instance for remittance services.