IPv6 AS Links Dataset

This dataset is useful for studying the topology of the Internet at the level of Autonomous Systems (ASes), which are approximately network(s) under a single administrative control. ASes are an important abstraction because they are the "unit of routing policy" in the routing system of the global Internet. ASes peer with each other to exchange traffic, and these peering relationships define the high-level global Internet topology. For the purposes of analysis, these peering relationships are represented with an AS graph, where nodes represent ASes and links represent peering relationships.

The IPv6 Routed AS Links dataset provides regular snapshots of AS links derived from the ongoing traceroute-like IP-level topology measurements that make up our IPv6 Topology Dataset. We have collected this IP-level IPv6 topology data since December 2008 using our next generation Archipelago (Ark) measurement infrastructure.

Data from the IPv6 Topology Dataset are processed by using RouteViews BGP data to identify the Autonomous System (AS) associated with each responding IP address and collapsing the original probed IP paths into a set of links between ASes. The process of converting IP addresses into Autonomous Systems involves potential distortion due to:

• No AS mapping for the IP address: some IP addresses appear in topology probes but are not advertised by any AS;
• AS Sets: an aggregated set of ASes advertises the prefix;
• Multi-origin ASes (aka MOASes): several separate ASes advertise the same prefix).

Once IP addresses have been mapped to ASes, two types of AS links can be observed: direct links, in which two adjacent IP addresses map to two different ASes, and indirect links, in which two IP addresses in different ASes are separated by one or more hops for which we could not identify an AS (because some hops were non-responding or because we were not able to identify an AS for the IP address at a given hop). Indirect links are annotated with the size of the gap between ASes as measured in IP hops.

Acceptable Use Agreement

Please read the terms of the CAIDA Acceptable Use Agreement (AUA) for Publicy Accessible Datasets below:

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

The IPv6 AS Links Dataset - <dates used>,
https://www.caida.org/catalog/datasets/ipv6_aslinks_dataset/

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

Data Access

Access the current public CAIDA Ark IPv6 AS Links Dataset (December 2008-present)

Topology Datasets

• Freely Available Datasets
  • The Ark IPv4 Routed /24 Topology Dataset (data older than one year only)
  • The Ark IPv4 Routed /24 DNS Names Dataset (data older than one year only)
  • IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset (data older than one year only)
  • Ark Internet Topology Data Kits (ITDK) (data older than one year only)
  • The Ark IPv6 Topology Dataset
  • The Ark IPv6 DNS Names Dataset
  • The IPv6 Routed /48 Topology Dataset
  • IPv4 Routed /24 AS Links (September 2007 - ongoing)
  • IPv6 AS Links (December 2008 - ongoing)
  • AS Rank
  • AS Relationships
  • Skitter Macroscopic Topology Data
  • Skitter Internet Topology Data Kits (ITDK) - April 2002 and April/May 2003
  • Skitter AS Links (January 2000 - February 2008)
  • Skitter Router Adjacencies
  • AS Taxonomy
  • PAM 2010 "Improving AS Annotations" Supplement
• Restricted Access Datasets
  • The Ark IPv4 Routed /24 Topology Dataset (incl. most recent one year)
  • The Ark IPv4 Routed /24 DNS Names Dataset (incl. most recent one year)
  • IPv4 TNT MPLS Topology Dataset (incl. most recent one year)
  • The Ark IPv4 Prefix-Probing Dataset (incl. most recent one year)
  • Ark Internet Topology Data Kits (ITDK) (incl. most recent one year)
  • Complete Routed-Space DNS Lookups

References

For more information on Autonomous Systems:

• RFC1930: Guidelines for creation, selection, and registration of an Autonomous System (AS)

For more information on CAIDA topology measurements, see:

• Internet Topology Data Comparison
• The Archipelago Project (Ark)
• Macroscopic Topology Measurements

For more information on topology measurements in general see:

• University of Oregon Route Views Project
• Paris traceroute