How asymmetric is the Internet? A Study to Support the use of Traceroute

Wouter Bastiaan de Vries, José Jair Cardoso de Santanna, Anna Sperotto, Aiko Pras

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    6 Citations (Scopus)
    187 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    A network path is a path that a packet takes to reach its target. However, determining the network path that a host uses to reach it's target from the viewpoint of the latter is less trivial than it appears. Tools such as Traceroute allow the user to determine the path towards a target (i.e. the forward path), but not the path from the target to the source (i.e. the reverse path) due to routing asymmetry. Routing asymmetry means that the network path between two hosts may be different in opposite directions. Although previous studies have shown that this asymmetry is widespread, a more detailed characterization is lacking. In this paper routing asymmetry is investigated in depth using large scale measurements with 4.000 probes distributed world wide. The main goal of this paper is to provide characteristics about Internet asymmetry based on recent large scale measurements. Our findings contribute to a conclusive overview of Internet asymmetry, which assist researchers and engineers in making valid assumptions about routing asymmetry.
    Original languageUndefined
    Title of host publicationIntelligent Mechanisms for Network Configuration and Security, Proceedings of the 9th IFIP WG 6.6 International Conference on Autonomous Infrastructure, Management, and Security, AIMS 2015
    EditorsSteven Latré, Marinos Charalambides, Jerome François, Corinna Schmitt, Burkhard Stiller
    Place of PublicationSwitzerland
    PublisherSpringer
    Pages113-125
    Number of pages13
    ISBN (Print)978-3-319-20033-0
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2015
    Event9th IFIP WG 6.6 International Conference on Autonomous Infrastructure, Management, and Security, AIMS 2015 - Ghent, Belgium
    Duration: 22 Jun 201525 Jun 2015
    Conference number: 9

    Publication series

    NameLecture Notes in Computer Science
    PublisherSpringer International Publishing
    Volume9122
    ISSN (Print)0302-9743
    ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

    Conference

    Conference9th IFIP WG 6.6 International Conference on Autonomous Infrastructure, Management, and Security, AIMS 2015
    Abbreviated titleAIMS 2015
    Country/TerritoryBelgium
    CityGhent
    Period22/06/1525/06/15

    Keywords

    • EWI-26164
    • Large scale measurements
    • IR-98041
    • Asymmetry
    • METIS-314924
    • Internet

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