IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset

This dataset contains information useful for studying the topology of the Internet. Data is collected by a globally distributed set of Ark monitors. TNT is an extension to Paris traceroute for revealing most (if not all) hidden MPLS tunnels along a path. The data is generated by Yves Vanaubel and Benoit Donnet, University of Liege, Belgium.

Description

The data collection has been implemented within scamper, We collect global traceroute data with scamper using the same methodology as The Ark IPv4 Routed /24 Topology Dataset (please see the description of this dataset for details of scamper and the collection methodology.) TNT works in two steps: (i) along with traceroute probes, it identifies evidence of a potential tunnel presence and, (ii) launches additional dedicated probing to reveal the content of the tunnel, if required.

Invisible MPLS tunnels:

Shortly after collecting a baseline traceroute path with scamper toward a target destination, we perform additional traceroutes to all IP addresses appearing in the traceroute path to infer router signatures. For each of these traces, we look at the last three hops and infer hops revealed from invisible tunnels. A new trace is then launched towards those hops as an attempt to reveal more hops. This recursive process stops either if no new addresses are revealed or if the new trace does not go through a potential endpoint of an invisible tunnel revealed by the original trace. For more information see:

Data has been collected continuously since September 25, 2018, and daily measurements are available in warts format.

Reading TNT Data

You can analyze this data (in warts format) using Python scripts included in the TNT distribution package.

You can use additional tools (warts-dump and rb-wartslib, as described in The Ark IPv4 Routed /24 Topology Dataset, to read the baseline traceroute paths, but generally speaking, you will want to use the above TNT-specific tool to read the TNT data.

Data availability

  • Data older than one year is available as a public dataset. You can obtain access using this form.
  • The most recent one year of data is available for use by academic researchers and US government agencies. This data is also available for corporate entities (including corporate researchers) who participate in CAIDA's membership program.

    Please, complete and submit the online form to request access to the most recent TNT data. It usually takes about two to three business days to process your request. Upon approval you will receive an email with instructions on how to download the data you requested. If you have any questions or problems using this form, please contact data-info@caida.org.

Acceptable Use Agreement

Access to these data is subject to the terms of the following CAIDA Acceptable Use Agreement

When referencing this data (as required by the AUA), please use:

IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset - <dates used>,
https://www.caida.org/catalog/datasets/ipv4_tnt_dataset/

You are required to report your publications using this dataset to CAIDA.

Request Data Access

  • Access the publicly available IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset (and other topology data)
  • Request Access to the restricted IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset

Topology Datasets

References

For more information on the "IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset" see:

For more information on CAIDA topology measurements, see:

For more information on topology measurements in general see:

Related Objects

See https://catalog.caida.org/dataset/ark_ipv4_tnt to explore related objects to this document in the CAIDA Resource Catalog.
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