Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The entity that oversees global IP address allocation, DNS root zone management, and other Internet protocol assignments.
It is operated by ICANN
Prior to the establishment of ICANN for this purpose, IANA was administered primarily by Jon Postel at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California, under a contract USC/ISI had with the United States Department of Defense, until ICANN was formed to assume the responsibility under a United States Department of Commerce contract.