Tech Note: Measuring DNS Behaviour

The DNS is a very simple protocol. The protocol is a simple query / response interaction where the client passes a DNS transaction to a server with the query part of the transaction completed. The server fills in the answer part and possibly adds further information in the additional information…


Diving into the DNS

If you are at all interested in how the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS) works, then one of the most rewarding meetings that is dedicated to this topic is the DNS OARC workshops. I attended the spring workshop in Amsterdam in early May, and the following are my impressions from…


The Internet of Stupid Things

In those circles where Internet prognostications abound and policy makers flock to hear grand visions of the future, we often hear about the boundless future represented by “The Internet of Things”. This phrase encompasses some decades of the computing industry’s transition from computers as esoteric piece of engineering affordable only…


The Mobile Internet

It has been observed that the most profound technologies are those that disappear


NANOG 63: The DDOS Conversation

In some ways the details of specific case of DDOS attacks are less material than the larger picture. The Internet always had the potential issue that the aggregate sum of I/O capacity of the edge was massively larger than the interior, and the sum of multiple edge outputs was always…


NANOG 63: BGP Route Hijacks

This presentation looked at a number of specific examples of route hijacking. The examples included: Network hijacking to support the creation of bitcoin farms and bitcoin mining via hijacked pool of servers, which, in turn, may use a hijacked pool of routes. The scope of a Canadian hijack was limited…


NANOG 63: The FCC and the Open Internet

The Proposed FCC order on the regulation framework for ISPs in the US will be voted on by the FCC’s Commissioners on Feb 26. The proposal is rumoured to be one that pulls in ISPs into the common carrier provisions of the US Telecommunications Act, with just, reasonable and non-discriminatory…


NANOG 63: Update on the IANA Transition

ARIN’s John Curran referenced the 14 March 2014 announcement that the USG planed to transition oversight of the IANA functions contract to the global multistakeholder community. He references the NTIA’s conditions, namely supporting the multistakeholder model, security and stability and robustness. It explicitly states that it would not accept a…


NANOG 63: Operators and the IETF

One view of the IETF’s positioning is that as a technology standardisation venue then the immediate circle of engagement in IETF activities is the producers of equipment and applications, and the common objective is interoperability. What is the role of a technology standards body? Should it try and be all…


Decision Time for the Open Internet

On February 26 of this year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States will vote on a proposed new ruling on the issue of “Network Neutrality” in the United States, bringing into force a new round of measures that are intended to prevent certain access providers from deliberately…