iGDB: connecting the physical and logical layers of the internet

Scott Anderson, Loqman Salamatian, Zachary S. Bischof, Alberto Dainotti, Paul Barford

Abstract: Maps of physical and logical Internet connectivity that are informed by and consistent with each other can expand scope and improve accuracy in analysis of performance, robustness and security. In this paper, we describe a methodology for linking physical and logical Internet maps that aims toward a consistent, cross-layer representation. Our approach is constructive and uses geographic location as the key feature for linking physical and logical layers. We begin by building a representation of physical connectivity using online sources to identify locations that house transport hardware (i.e., PoPs, colocation centers, IXPs, etc.), and approximate locations of links between these based on shortest-path rights-of-way. We then utilize standard data sources for generating maps of IP-level and AS-level logical connectivity, and graft these onto physical maps using geographic anchors. We implement our methodology in an open-source framework called the Internet Geographic Database (iGDB), which includes tools for updating measurement data and assuring internal consistency. iGDB is built to be used with ArcGIS, a geographic information system that provides broad capability for spatial analysis and visualization. We describe the details of the iGDB implementation and demonstrate how it can be used in a variety of settings.