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Day in the Life of RIPE Atlas: Operational Insights and Applications in Network Measurements

Yevheniya Nosyk, Malte Tashiro, Qasim Lone, Robert Kisteleki, Andrzej Duda, Maciej Korczyński

TL;DR

RIPE Atlas is a large-scale Internet measurement platform; the paper analyzes a single representative day to reveal how measurements and results are produced, including the dominance of anchors and built-ins and regional biases. Using 50.9k measurements and 1.3B results, it demonstrates how anchoring, built-in, and user-defined measurements contribute differently and shows case studies on traceroute symmetry, censorship, and unusual address usage. The study provides best-practice guidelines for ethical, reproducible, and efficient use of RIPE Atlas data and advocates for higher transparency and data reuse. This work informs researchers and operators about platform dynamics, measurement biases, and actionable methods for robust Internet measurement.

Abstract

Network measurement platforms are increasingly popular among researchers and operators alike due to their distributed nature, simplifying measuring the remote parts of the Internet. RIPE Atlas boasts over 12.9K vantage points in 178 countries worldwide and serves as a vital tool for analyzing anycast deployment, network latency, and topology, to name a few. Despite generating over a terabyte of measurement results per day, there is limited understanding of the underlying processes. This paper delves into one day in the life of RIPE Atlas, encompassing 50.9K unique measurements and over 1.3 billion results. While most daily measurements are user-defined, it is built-ins and anchor meshes that account for 89% of produced results. We extensively examine how different probes and measurements contribute to the daily operations of RIPE Atlas and consider any bias they may introduce. Furthermore, we demonstrate how existing measurements can be leveraged to investigate censorship, traceroute symmetry, and the usage of reserved address blocks, among others. Finally, we curate a set of recommendations for researchers using the RIPE Atlas platform to foster transparency, reproducibility, and ethics.

Day in the Life of RIPE Atlas: Operational Insights and Applications in Network Measurements

TL;DR

RIPE Atlas is a large-scale Internet measurement platform; the paper analyzes a single representative day to reveal how measurements and results are produced, including the dominance of anchors and built-ins and regional biases. Using 50.9k measurements and 1.3B results, it demonstrates how anchoring, built-in, and user-defined measurements contribute differently and shows case studies on traceroute symmetry, censorship, and unusual address usage. The study provides best-practice guidelines for ethical, reproducible, and efficient use of RIPE Atlas data and advocates for higher transparency and data reuse. This work informs researchers and operators about platform dynamics, measurement biases, and actionable methods for robust Internet measurement.

Abstract

Network measurement platforms are increasingly popular among researchers and operators alike due to their distributed nature, simplifying measuring the remote parts of the Internet. RIPE Atlas boasts over 12.9K vantage points in 178 countries worldwide and serves as a vital tool for analyzing anycast deployment, network latency, and topology, to name a few. Despite generating over a terabyte of measurement results per day, there is limited understanding of the underlying processes. This paper delves into one day in the life of RIPE Atlas, encompassing 50.9K unique measurements and over 1.3 billion results. While most daily measurements are user-defined, it is built-ins and anchor meshes that account for 89% of produced results. We extensively examine how different probes and measurements contribute to the daily operations of RIPE Atlas and consider any bias they may introduce. Furthermore, we demonstrate how existing measurements can be leveraged to investigate censorship, traceroute symmetry, and the usage of reserved address blocks, among others. Finally, we curate a set of recommendations for researchers using the RIPE Atlas platform to foster transparency, reproducibility, and ethics.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 38 sections, 12 figures, 4 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background on RIPE Atlas
  3. Building Blocks
  4. Measurements
  5. Related Work
  6. Day in the Life of RIPE Atlas
  7. Dataset
  8. Probes and Anchors
  9. First Connection Dates and Uptimes.
  10. IP Connectivity.
  11. Geographical Distribution.
  12. Key takeaways.
  13. Measurements
  14. Measurement Types.
  15. Measurement Results.
  16. ...and 23 more sections

Figures (12)

  • Figure 1: Ongoing measurements and active RIPE Atlas probes per day between Jan 1, 2024 and Mar 31, 2024.
  • Figure 2: Cumulative distribution of dates of the first connection of probes and anchors.
  • Figure 3: Cumulative distribution of total uptimes in days for probes and anchors.
  • Figure 4: Number of RIPE Atlas probes and anchors connected to the platform on Feb 21, 2024, per IP prefix.
  • Figure 5: Number of RIPE Atlas probes and anchors connected to the platform on February 21, 2024, per AS.
  • ...and 7 more figures