Projects /RIPE Atlas

The RIPE Atlas project is an epic attempt to measure the Internet. That is to say, it's network built within the internet that the public can use to capture useful data like ping times from multiple targets to a single destination, traceroutes from any number of places to a single point, or even DNS lookups by region.

It's a product of my employer's Research and Development department, and when I heard about the project, I jumped at the opportunity to get involved. The whole thing is managed by way of thousands of tiny physical probes, seeded around the world, on server racks, and family basements. The diversity of the entry points is what gives Atlas its strength: if you have need of a way to measure DNS requests from seven continents, this is how you can do it, and it's free to use.

A portion of the network

My role in the project at present is two fold: I build and maintain the RESTful API service, and I've inherited the site front end with a view to make it more user-friendly. I've also worked heavily on the economy system, and building some CMS features into the site.