Comparing internet probing methodologies through an analysis of large dynamic graphs

Abstract

The Internet is an evolving, robust system with built in redundancy to ensure the flow of information regardless of any act of nature or man-made event. This makes mapping the Internet a daunting task, but important because understanding its structure helps identifying vulnerabilities and possibly optimizing traffic through the network. We explore CAIDA’s and NPS’s probing methodologies to verify the assentation that NPS’s probing methodology discovers comparable Internet topologies in less time. We compare these by modeling union of traceroute outputs as graphs, and using standard graph theoretical measurements as well as a recently introduced measurement. Ultimately, the researchers verified the NPS’s probing methodology was comparable to the CAIDA’s probing methodology. We also propose additional avenues for further exploration from our initial discoveries. We also introduced a technique that can possibility identify stable core existence among the whole Internet and explore case studies of two country sub-graphs.