README ⮕ | Introduction | Datasets | Tasks | Notebook

How the Internet assigns and uses Autonomous Systems (ASes)

Learning Objectives

The goal of this assignment is to understand Autonomous Systems, how organizations use them, and the concept of an AS's customer cone by processing data sets that describe how ASNs are globally distributed across networks and countries. This assignment is a building block for studying the macroscopic topology of the Internet.

Overview

Start by reading Introduction to get the background needed to understand the assignment. Datasets explains each dataset and how to download it.

• step 1 read the introduction
• step 2 read dataset overviews
• step 3 review the tasks
• step 4 log into NRP's JuypterHub, upload and complete the nids-asn-introduction. ipynb
  • Details intructions to access nrp: How to access NRP
  • complete each task by replacing the # YOUR CODE HERE sections
  • answer all six questions
• step 5 download your finished notebook ⬅ deliverable
• step 6 commit and push to github

Directory Structure

nids-asn-introduction
├- Introduction.md                     # Introduction and background
├- Datasets.md                         # Dataset overview and download instructions
├- Tasks.md                            # Task checklist and instructions
├- nids-asn-introduction.ipynb     ⬅  # Complete / Commit / Push

Glossary

• AS (Autonomous System): An independently operated network on the Internet, identified by a globally unique ASN, that manages its own routing policy.
• ASN (Autonomous System Number): A unique number assigned to an AS by a Regional Internet Registry, used to identify the AS in global routing protocols.
• Customer cone: The set of all ASes reachable from a given AS by following only provider-to-customer links. It is used as a metric of an AS's size and influence in the routing system.
• Provider-Customer relationship: A business relationship in which a customer AS pays a provider AS for Internet transit — access to the rest of the Internet.
• RIR (Regional Internet Registry): An organization that manages and allocates Internet number resources (IP addresses and ASNs) within a geographic region. The five RIRs are ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC, LACNIC, and AFRINIC.
• WHOIS: A query protocol used to look up registration records for Internet resources such as IP addresses, ASNs, and domain names.

README ⮕ | Introduction | Datasets | Tasks | Notebook