CAREER: Next-Generation Active Internet Measurement

Researchers, businesses, and governments use a variety of technologies to quickly map the Internet and understand how it behaves. Exploring these behaviors lets us understand things such as how networks are attacked. Unfortunately, current technologies largely concentrate on how quickly and how much of the Internet can be explored, and it is very challenging to ensure our understanding is complete and correct. This project will create the next generation of Internet measurement technologies that will improve measurement correctness and completeness by better understanding the structure and connections of networks, temporary behaviors, and the results of measurements. Developing next-generation Internet measurement requires understanding the complex real-world behavior of network operators around the globe. The project has three thrusts. The first will explore and develop methods to understand how routing impacts on-path measurements, globally, with an emphasis on network-based connection disruptions. Second, the project will explore and develop methods understanding how routing impacts end-to-end in-path measurements, focusing on latency, non-determinism, and completeness, with an emphasis on whole-Internet scanning technologies. Third, the project will develop numerous open-source tools and datasets to facilitate the next-generation of path-aware active Internet measurement. Internet measurement is used for a range of tasks as broad as understanding weather-induced network failures. The correctness of active Internet measurements facilitated by the methodologies, datasets, and tools from this project will enable a broad set of stakeholders, such as researchers, industry practitioners, to more effectively and correctly achieve these broad goals. Furthermore, this project will establish a pathways program aimed at the dual goals of preparing students for a successful experience at a research university, while also providing them network and security research opportunities. This integrated pathways program aims to improve the likelihood of such student's successful progression to graduate school. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.