We are seeking beta users for our new Anonymized Two-Way Passive Trace dataset, captured on a 100 GB link between Los Angeles and San Jose. Beginning in April 2024, we have been capturing a one-hour trace each month. To protect privacy, we strip all packet payloads after the layer 4 headers, and anonymize IP (v4 and v6) addresses with CryptoPan. The monthly data is provided in two separate files, one for each direction of traffic.

This dataset includes the following metadata fields:

• Monitor Name
• Year and month (including a link to a graphical display of breakup by protocol, application, and country)
• Start time of trace (UTC)
• Stop time of trace (UTC)
• Number of IPv4 packets
• Number of IPv6 packets
• Unknown packets (as a fraction of the total number of packets)
• Transmission rate in packets per second
• Transmission rate in bits per second
• Link load (as a fraction of the nominal maximum load for a 100 GB link)
• Average packet size (bytes) (including a link to a graph of the packet size distribution).

The data is stored in our Swift OpenStack object storage. Each one-directional anonymized pcap file captured monthly is approximately 1TB in size, so users will need more than 2TB of space to download the entire one-hour capture. For those without access to such storage and/or processing capacity, contact us and we will discuss other alternatives. We are also releasing statistical information for each hourly trace.

Academic researchers can request access to the data by filling out and submitting the request form.

We will prioritize users who:

• Have significant experience with network traffic analysis
• Demonstrate a clear plan for how they will use the dataset
• Can commit to regular feedback and participation throughout the beta testing period

We are excited to announce the beta testing phase of the Facilitating Advances in Network Topology Analysis (FANTAIL) platform (https://www.caida.org/projects/fantail/), a cutting-edge topology query system designed to search vast archives of raw Internet end-to-end path (traceroute) measurement data. FANTAIL is poised to support and advance various research domains within the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) field that heavily rely on the emerging sub-discipline of Internet cartography. Key areas of focus include:

• Understanding the intricate ownership and interconnection structures and dynamics of Internet infrastructure.
• Exploring methods for device identification and characterization within the digital landscape.
• Enhancing the ability to detect and respond to network outages and route hijacking incidents.
• Investigating network congestion patterns and their impact on data flow and quality of service.
• Identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities within network topologies.

FANTAIL consists of four components:

1. Interactive Web Interface: FANTAIL Web Interface
2. Application Programming Interface (API): Built on web standards (FANTAIL API Documentation)
3. Full-Text Search System
4. Big Data Processing System

The system’s central data type is the traceroute path, representing the inferred IP-level Internet path that network traffic would take between two hosts, from the measurement vantage point to the destination, as determined with the traceroute technique by scamper (https://catalog.caida.org/software/scamper). FANTAIL leverages annotated and indexed data generated through the utilization of Spark, SQLite, and Elasticsearch, originating from CAIDA Internet traceroute probing data dating back to 2015.

Academic researchers interested in accessing the platform can request access by emailing fantail-info@caida.org.

We will prioritize users who can commit to regular feedback and participation throughout the beta testing period.