RIPE Atlas

What is RIPE Atlas?

Devices that collect data

Thousands of devices called probes and anchors measure the Internet and collect data on Internet connectivity around the world. This network is called RIPE Atlas. Anyone can plug a probe in at home and start measuring the Internet connectivity where they live.

Volunteers host probes and anchors across the globe, helping RIPE Atlas reach new places every day. Together, probes and anchors create the RIPE Atlas network which provides valuable insights into Internet connectivity and traffic.

Internet measurement tool

RIPE Atlas provides an unprecedented understanding of how the Internet is working, in real time. It provides insights for people around the world who use the data to take measurements and troubleshoot their networks, look at connectivity or improve the Internet. Anyone can start measuring today using our pre-made measurements. If you would like to make custom measurements, RIPE Atlas uses a credits system where you can 'earn' and then 'spend' credits on making your own measurements.

Data Visualisations

The vast majority of data that RIPE Atlas collects is freely available to anyone to browse, download or use the built-in RIPE Atlas measurements.

RIPE Atlas is a leading Internet measurement network that provides live and historical information about the connectivity of networks around the world. We run this globally distributed network to collect data on Internet infrastructure, usage and development. The data that RIPE Atlas provides can be used to analyse the operation and growth of the Internet. Operators can use RIPE Atlas to monitor network reachability from thousands of vantage points around the globe, investigate and troubleshoot network issues and conduct customised measurements for valuable data about their own networks.

RIPE Atlas devices are called ‘probes’ and ‘anchors’ and these measure Internet connectivity and traffic. Volunteers host probes and anchors across the globe, helping RIPE Atlas reach new places every day.

Probes and anchors

Together, probes and anchors create the RIPE Atlas network which provides valuable insights into Internet connectivity and traffic.

Probe: Either a small device which attaches to your home Internet router with a cable or a piece of software you install at home.

Anchor: A large capacity probe and a measurement target intended to be run on large networks like those used by large organisations.

Volunteers

Making measurements

The RIPE NCC collects the data from probes and anchors and displays the results as Internet maps, visualisations and tools. Anyone can access RIPE Atlas maps and statistics, which are open and available to the public, the raw data is also available too.

This data is valuable for network operators, researchers, the technical community, and anyone interested in the state of the Internet the world over.

Volunteers who host probes can also make their own customised measurements using the entire RIPE Atlas network, which can provide valuable information about the performance of their own network.

Kinds of measurements

You can now measure Internet connectivity and traffic across the globe, using our 11,000+ vantage points. You can measure ping, traceroute, SSL/TLS, DNS, NTP and HTTP (only for anchors).

Enter the IP address or domain name you want to check, and RIPE Atlas will automatically run measurements from 100 randomly selected probes for ping and 5 probes for traceroute measurements.

Credits

RIPE Atlas is free, but operates using a credit system to ensure fair use. You need credits to run measurements, and you can receive credits by:

Hosting a probe
Hosting an anchor
Sponsoring RIPE Atlas
A transfer from another RIPE Atlas user

A host receives 15 credits for each minute that their probe is connected to our network, so assuming that your probe is connected continuously, you should earn roughly 21,600 credits every 24 hours.

You can then spend these credits to run user-defined measurements.

How we collect data

RIPE Atlas Internet measurement devices only monitor the network traffic data through the following measurements: ping, traceroute, SSL/TLS, DNS, NTP and HTTP. Probes and anchors cannot detect the content you send or receive over the Internet.

Hardware probes are small, USB-powered hardware devices that hosts attach to an Ethernet port on their router via a network (UTP) cable. A software probe is downloaded onto your personal computer and measures connectivity in the same way. They conduct different measurements and relay this data to the RIPE NCC, where it is aggregated with data from the rest of the RIPE Atlas network.

RIPE Atlas anchors are both enhanced RIPE Atlas probes with much more measurement capacity, as well as powerful regional measurement targets within the greater RIPE Atlas network. They provide valuable information about the local and regional connectivity and reachability of the Internet.

RIPE Atlas Ambassadors help us to build the largest Internet measurement network in the world. They help distribute probes and expand the RIPE Atlas network so that the entire Internet community can benefit from the data we collect about Internet performance.

Ambassadors

We welcome anyone who is willing to distribute RIPE Atlas probes at conferences, training courses, within their organisation or to friends and family. In addition, RIPE Atlas ambassadors must be willing to help us keep track of the probes they distribute.

Benefits for RIPE Atlas ambassadors

Get a RIPE Atlas t-shirt!
Serve the Internet community by supporting this project
Help us expand the RIPE Atlas network across the globe

We're especially looking for ambassadors who can help us distribute probes to regions that are currently under-represented in the RIPE Atlas network. You can see these regions on the map showing the percentage of probes per country.

Become an Ambassador

If you are interested in becoming a RIPE Atlas ambassador, please send an email to atlas@ripe.net with the following information:

RIPE Atlas account email (this is the email you used to create your RIPE NCC Access account, which is also used to log in to the RIPE Atlas website)
Destination(s) where you will distribute the probes
Names and dates of events where you will distribute the probes
Delivery address for us to send you the probes
We will assess your application and let you know if we think you're a good candidate for becoming a RIPE Atlas ambassador.

We will let you know if your application has been successful by email.

As a RIPE Atlas Ambassador, you will:

Distribute RIPE Atlas probes at conferences and training courses
Distribute RIPE Atlas probes within your organisation and to friends and family
Keep track of the probes you distribute (we provide access to an easy-to-use platform for this)

Types of measurement

This data is valuable for network operators, researchers, the technical community, and anyone interested in the state of the Internet the world over. Volunteers who host probes can also make their own customised measurements using the entire RIPE Atlas network, which can provide valuable information about the performance of their own network.

Credits

The RIPE Atlas credit system allows us to recognise participants' contributions to the system. RIPE Atlas probe hosts earn credits for the time their probes remain connected, and for the number of measurement results they generate, and in return can spend these credits to request user-defined measurements, called UDMs from it. It is meant to serve as a means of measuring the level of contribution to, and consumption of, resources in the RIPE Atlas system.

Learn more

You can read more about taking measurements in our RIPE Atlas documentation (in English).

Make your first measurement!

If you don't have one, create a RIPE NCC Access account
Launch RIPE Atlas
Navigate to the Measurements tab
You can use the RIPE NCC’s measurements or create your own

Volunteers from across the world help RIPE Atlas reach new places every day by hosting probes, the building blocks of our measurement network. Hosting a RIPE Atlas probe is easy. You can either apply to host a hardware probe, which we will ship to you for you to plug it into your router, or a software probe, which you can install and run on your own infrastructure.

You’ll earn credits you can use for your own customised measurements. Probes perform the active measurements RIPE Atlas uses to collect data on Internet connectivity and reachability.

RIPE Atlas probes come in three forms: hardware devices, software installations and anchors. Anchors have different requirements and do more than regular probes.

Hardware probes

Need less technical knowledge to install and operate because they are install and forget
Once the device is in place, it automatically connects and in general 'just works'.
They automatically update to use the newest available firmware.
They are not always in stock, you may have to apply and wait for one.

You can apply for a hardware probe in four easy steps:

Create a RIPE NCC Access account
Apply for a hardware probe through your account
If your application is approved, we'll send you a probe
Register your probe through your account and plug it in

Software probes

They need more technical knowledge to install and operate - since you’re installing and running the software yourself.
They are likely to become co-tenants on a device; they share resources with other services and software on that device
They can be installed on a number of Linux variants (Debian, RedHat, OpenWrt, Raspberry)
You supply the hardware (can be a VM as well) to run on a home router, a Pi laying around, your own server, etc...
You will need to upgrade the software every now and then, when new versions of the firmware become available

Note: To meet availability expectations, we recommend installing a software probe on a device that is generally online 24/7, as opposed to a laptop, for example.

You can set up a software probe in three easy steps:

Create a RIPE NCC Access account
Install the software package suitable to your environment
Apply for a software probe through your account

Learn more

You can read more about probes in our RIPE Atlas documentation (in English).

What are anchors?

Anchors are powerful Internet measurement devices. Anchors are RIPE Atlas probes designed to be installed in a highly-available network and physical environment to operate as a stable measurement device. They are not suitable for use in home networks.

RIPE Atlas anchors are both enhanced RIPE Atlas probes with more measurement capacity, as well as regional measurement targets within the greater RIPE Atlas network.

Targets for probes

In addition to performing more measurements themselves, RIPE Atlas anchors also act as well-known and co-operating targets for user-defined measurements set up by probe hosts throughout the RIPE Atlas network, and are located at hosts with sufficient bandwidth to support this larger number of incoming measurements.

Additional measurements

Any host of any probe can direct measurements towards an anchor. The anchor names are encoded in such a way that they display their country and city location as well as the Autonomous System Number in which it is situated.

This way, RIPE Atlas users get to choose from a list of regional targets (anchors) in different networks and in different geographical locations. Each RIPE Atlas anchor can be used as a target for the following measurements: ping, traceroute, DNS, HTTP(S).

The RIPE NCC schedules baseline measurements, called anchoring measurements, towards the anchors.

Benefits for RIPE Atlas anchor hosts

Anchor hosts get to access to the results of anchoring measurements (ping, ping6, traceroute, traceroute6) scheduled by the RIPE NCC towards your anchor from all the other anchors and several hundred probes, providing a continual overview of regional reachability.

We promote anchor hosts by displaying their logo on our Community page.

Anchor hosts earn ten times as many credits as regular probe hosts, which they can use to perform their own customised measurements, gaining valuable information about the health of their own networks.

Host an Anchor

Create a RIPE NCC Access account
Apply for an Anchor through your account
If your application is approved, you can purchase the hardware.
Install your anchor

Learn more

You can read more about anchors in our RIPE Atlas documentation.