Tracking transport-layer evolution with PATHspider
Brian Trammell, Mirja Kühlewind, Piet De Vaere, Iain R. Learmonth, Gorry Fairhurst · 2017
The ossification of the Internet protocol stack, due in large part to mangling of packets by middleboxes, has led to a relatively slow rate of change in today's Internet. We have developed the PATHspider active Internet measurement tool which performs onesided measurements of a variety of transport-layer features and extensions, to investigate these impairments to protocol evolution along an Internet path. Data collected with PATHspider can be used both to determine the degree of support for these features, as well as to detect connectivity issues caused by attempting to use them. The wider aim of this effort is to provide quantifiable input to protocol design and deployment choices that can be based on the level of impairment present in the Internet.