Introducing the GeoIP2 Beta

We are happy to announce the public beta of GeoIP2. GeoIP2 is the successor line of products and services to the GeoIP brand of IP intelligence data (Note: not all GeoIP ‘Legacy’ products and services will have GeoIP2 counterparts).

The transition to GeoIP2 is an ongoing project and this blog post is intended to provide an accessible summary of what GeoIP2 is all about. The latest updates will be documented throughout our main site and our developer site. What are the advantages of GeoIP2 over GeoIP Legacy?

  • Availability of both IPv4 and IPv6 data in downloadable database
  • Localized location name data in selected languages
  • New/modified data fields
    • Different types of country data including the country an IP is registered in and the country represented (e.g., for military bases) for content licensing, legal regulation compliance, and other similar use cases
    • Multi-level region data for countries with several region subdivisions
    • Country information is returned in some cases even when IP is an anonymous proxy or allocated by a satellite provider

These differences are explained in more detail on our What’s new in GeoIP2 page .

How will the launch of GeoIP2 affect me?

  • Existing GeoIP Legacy users will have the ability to use or access GeoIP2 versions of products and services that have been purchased (i.e., someone with an active subscription to a GeoIP Legacy City database will be able to download a GeoIP2 City database as well; similarly, someone with GeoIP Legacy City Web Service lookups will be able to use their lookups for the GeoIP2 City Web Service)
  • New users will have the ability to use or access both the GeoIP Legacy and GeoIP2 versions of purchased products and services
  • New and existing users will need to integrate new Client APIs in order to access GeoIP2 data (web services and downloadable databases)
  • MaxMind will provide support for GeoIP Legacy into the foreseeable future, but this may change

Which GeoIP Legacy products or services will have GeoIP2 counterparts?

  • GeoIP Country and City downloadable databases
  • GeoIP ISP and Organization downloadable databases (in some form)
  • GeoLite Country, City, and AS Num downloadable databases
  • GeoIP Country, City/ISP/Org, and Omni Web Services

Which GeoIP2 products and services can I access now?

As of right now, the GeoIP2 JavaScript API is fully released. GeoIP2 Web Service Client APIs in Java, Perl, PHP, and Python are available for beta testing . Please see our GeoIP2 beta page to see our tentative release schedule and to contribute. Suggestions, criticisms, and questions are welcome in the MaxMind Customer Community .

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