This document discusses routing visualization tools available on RIPEstat. RIPEstat is a modular and extendable toolbox that provides web-based access to Internet routing and related data. It allows users to visualize routing data like BGP, IP, and DNS information through various graphs and maps. The document provides examples of how routing concepts like autonomous systems (AS), prefixes, and AS paths can be visualized as a railway network with stations, postal codes, and train routes. It poses questions about how these routing visualizations could help analyze prefix distribution over time, topological distance between ASes, and historical changes to routing states.

1. Routing Visualisation
on demand with
RIPEstat
Vasco Asturiano

2. RIPEstat?
• Modular & extendable Toolbox
• Web-based framework (website, embedding,
sharing, RESTful data access)
• Single-point to Internet related data
• Routing data plays large role
http://stat.ripe.net
Vasco Asturiano - Visualisation Workshop - Amsterdam, January 30, 2012 2

3. Routing Data (in under 2mins)
• Represents a network topology state and its
changes
• RIS (Routing Information System)
• BGP, IP, DNS, TCP, OSPF, ...
• Railway Public Transport Network
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4. The Players
• AS (Autonomous System)
–A node : Train station
– ~1 organisation/ISP
AS24
• Peering
–A link : Railroad track between two stations
– Adjacency between two ASes
AS24 AS56
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5. The Players
• Prefix
– The postal-codes within reach of a station
–A group of addresses associated to a node / AS
193.0.0.0/21
AS24 AS56 53.67.128.0/24
2001:18c8::/32
• AS-path
– Hop sequence: Station route from A to B
–A path through the network
AS15 AS56
AS24
AS89 AS7
Origin Destination
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6. Cheat-sheet
• AS - Train station
• Prefix - Postalcode
• Peering - Link between 2 stations
• AS Path - Station sequence from A to B
Vasco Asturiano - Visualisation Workshop - Amsterdam, January 30, 2012 6

7. The Questions
• "How many prefixes were served by antation over
postcodes s AS
time?"
Vasco Asturiano - Visualisation Workshop - Amsterdam, January 30, 2012 7

8. Size Distribution
• "What are the most common sizes of prefixes in
postcodes
antation ?"
s AS
Prefix / Postcode
size
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9. Historical State
• “On which AS(es) is a certain postcode available
stations prefix
now, and how did this change over time?”
Series
Sections
represent
represent
postcodes
train stations
live example
Vasco Asturiano - Visualisation Workshop - Amsterdam, January 30, 2012 9

10. Historical State
• Challenges:
– Small variations in time
– Noise filtering
– See what’s active now
– Dynamic display of sections
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11. Vector Distance
• “Which main hubs is a certain sASon topologically
tati
closer to or farther from?”
live example
Vasco Asturiano - Visualisation Workshop - Amsterdam, January 30, 2012 11

12. Vector distance
• Challenges:
– Represent sense of topological location/distance
– Use to determine topological adjustments
– Geographical distribution
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13. Technology
• Web-based, queried on demand
• Visualisations rendered by the client (Javascript
based)
• Graphing frameworks: Flot, Highcharts
• GMaps for location
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14. Questions?
http://stat.ripe.net/
vasco@ripe.net