Measurements of Forward Path Diversity between Internet Service Providers

Abstract

In this manuscript, we propose methods for collecting and interpreting topological forward path data through different ISPs, with the goal of rapidly estimating provider diversity over large sets of destinations. The main application is rapid estimation of path diversity between Internet service providers in a multi-homed setting. Our measurement is based on parallel traceroute, and analysis involves locating convergence points between the forward paths through different providers. Over large sets of destinations, we estimate which combination of providers may produce the greatest diversity across the Interne middle mile. Data is presented from an initial study involving four providers with points of presence in San Jose, CA, and a selection of 54,952 active prefixes identified using netflow. Using this initial study ad an illustration, we make estimates of forward path diversity for our network viewpoint and targeted list of endpoints.