[Podcast] The APNIC Labs measurement system

By on 5 Sep 2024

Category: Tech matters

Tags: , , , ,

Blog home

Man using a theodolite
Adapted from the original at The Ordinance Survey.

In this episode of PING, Joao Damas from APNIC Labs explores the mechanics of the lab measurement system. Starting over a decade ago with an ‘ActionScript’ (commonly known as ‘Flash’) mechanism and a static ISC Bind DNS configuration cycling through a namespace, APNIC Labs’ advertising measurement system has evolved significantly. It now samples over 15 million end users daily. The system uses JavaScript and a custom DNS setup that dynamically generates DNS names. This setup allows the system to test various Internet Protocol transport options, packet sizes, DNS and DNSSEC parameters, and conduct various Internet routing-related experiments.

Joao explains how the system works, and the mixture of technologies used to achieve the goals. There’s almost no end to the variety of Internet behaviour that the system can measure, as long as it’s capable of being teased out of the user in a javascript-enabled advert backed by the DNS!

Read more about measurement at APNIC Labs:

Subscribe and share your story

You can stream and subscribe to PING via the following channels:

If you’re interested in sharing your insights or research, please get in touch — we’re always looking for great stories from the community. Please let us know what you think of the podcast and the APNIC Blog so we can keep improving.

Rate this article

The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top