An Analysis of QUIC Connection Migration in the Wild
Aurélien Buchet, Cristel Pelsser
TL;DR
This study quantifies real-world QUIC connection migration support via Internet-wide measurements and a bespoke client-side migration tool. Using ZMap-based probing, IPv6 seed data, and DNS-assisted domain mapping, the authors assess handshake success and path migration capability across major providers and protocols. Key findings show rapid growth in QUIC responsiveness but uneven migration support, with substantial improvements when Server Name Indication is present and strong concentration of migration support among a few providers, particularly for IPv6. The work highlights privacy- and performance-oriented migration opportunities while identifying practical deployment barriers and offering a pathway for ongoing monitoring of QUIC’s migration ecosystem.
Abstract
As QUIC gains attention, more applications that leverage its capabilities are emerging. These include defenses against on-path IP tracking and traffic analysis. However, the deployment of the underlying required support for connection migration remains largely unexplored. This paper provides a comprehensive examination of the support of the QUIC connection migration mechanism over the Internet. We perform Internet-wide scans revealing that despite a rapid evolution in the deployment of QUIC on web servers, some of the most popular destinations do not support connection migration yet.