MAPPING MOBILE IPV6 PROVIDERS

Abstract

Despite the exponential increase of IPv6 addresses and traffic on the Internet, relatively little is known about the topology of this space compared to the IPv4 Internet. However, recent discoveries in IPv6 probing have created rich datasets based on traceroutes across the IPv6 infrastructure. This thesis explores what constitutes a mobile autonomous system and analyzes this IPv6 topology data in order to classify which IP addresses belong to mobile providers. Topology maps have been created at the router-level of cellular ASes in order to visualize and define the characteristics of these IPv6 mobile providers. Mobile networks are of special interest due to the dominance of mobile devices in the IPv6 space. Understanding this topology is critical in numerous applications such as designing protocols, distributing content, and improving security, which benefits researchers, ISPs, and network administrators.