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Netalyzr: illuminating the edge network

Published:01 November 2010Publication History

ABSTRACT

In this paper we present Netalyzr, a network measurement and debugging service that evaluates the functionality provided by people's Internet connectivity. The design aims to prove both comprehensive in terms of the properties we measure and easy to employ and understand for users with little technical background. We structure Netalyzr as a signed Java applet (which users access via their Web browser) that communicates with a suite of measurement-specific servers. Traffic between the two then probes for a diverse set of network properties, including outbound port filtering, hidden in-network HTTP caches, DNS manipulations, NAT behavior, path MTU issues, IPv6 support, and access-modem buffer capacity. In addition to reporting results to the user, Netalyzr also forms the foundation for an extensive measurement of edge-network properties. To this end, along with describing Netalyzr 's architecture and system implementation, we present a detailed study of 130,000 measurement sessions that the service has recorded since we made it publicly available in June 2009.

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      • Published in

        cover image ACM Conferences
        IMC '10: Proceedings of the 10th ACM SIGCOMM conference on Internet measurement
        November 2010
        496 pages
        ISBN:9781450304832
        DOI:10.1145/1879141
        • Program Chair:
        • Mark Allman

        Copyright © 2010 ACM

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        Publication History

        • Published: 1 November 2010

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