Native IP vs. Broadcast IP and Anycast
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Native and Broadcast compare an IP's registration country or territory with its current usage country or territory. Anycast describes one address served from several network locations.
Native: registered and used in the same place
IPLense shows Native when the registration and usage codes agree. State, province, and city differences within the same country do not change the result to Broadcast.
Broadcast: registered in one place, used in another
When the two country or territory codes differ, IPLense shows Broadcast. Here, Broadcast means that the registration and usage locations differ.
Anycast: one IP serves traffic from several locations
Anycast lets the same IP provide service from multiple network locations. Routing sends a visitor to one reachable node. DNS, CDNs, and other global services commonly work this way.
Because an Anycast address can serve traffic from several locations, its Native or Broadcast result appears as Unknown.
Unknown can also mean the location data is incomplete
If registration or usage data lacks a valid country or territory code, the two values cannot be compared and the result also appears as Unknown.