It's Time for An Internet-wide Recommitment to Measurement
Paul Vixie · 2016
There has never been a greater need for comprehensive Internet metrics than now. Even basic security-critical facts about the Internet, such as "How many systems are botted?" or "What networks still don't do Source Address Validation?" remain murky and poorly quantified. Likewise, traffic characterization and summary inter-AS flow data typically remain closely-held proprietary information, rather than routinely-shared basic operational data. Without trustworthy Internet measurements of this sort, we're "driving blind" and will routinely make suboptimal choices about critical technical policies, including issues as fundamental as network neutrality. System and network measurements were once an integral part of Internet practice, something that was hardly surprising given the Internet's roots in the university community. Scientists naturally make observations, record data, and analyze that data to document phenomena and advance the state-of-the-art. More recently, however, a variety of factors have created an online environment that's hostile to legitimate academic Internet measurement and monitoring efforts. Major drivers contribute to that public hostility, including overly-aggressive marketing analytics and domestic pervasive monitoring by the intelligence community. It all feels like eavesdropping to the public, even though important real differences exist and reforms have taken place. Bottom line, the public is having none of any of it.