Private Enterprise Numbers (PENs) are created and maintained by the Internet Assigned Number Authority in a public registry, including a publicly revealed email address and "contact name'. Any private enterprise (organization) may request, at no cost, a Private Enterprise Number (PEN) to be assigned. All applications are reviewed manually, and the requirements are not explicitly documented. Although the list of PENs includes contact names like "Engineering MIB Administrator", IANA may reject applications if the contact name doesn't 'look like' it corresponds to a real person.

Enterprise numbers are commonly used in the Management information base

Management information base

A management information base is a virtual database used for managing the entities in a communications network. Most often associated with the Simple Network Management Protocol , the term is also used more generically in contexts such as in OSI/ISO Network management model...

 (MIB) files of Simple Network Management Protocol

Simple Network Management Protocol

Simple Network Management Protocol is an "Internet-standard protocol for managing devices on IP networks. Devices that typically support SNMP include routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, modem racks, and more." It is used mostly in network management systems to monitor...

(SNMP).

External links

• IANA Private Enterprise Numbers