Luuk Hendriks
Ever since his studies at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, Luuk has
had an interest in measuring the Internet, often from a security perspective.
Ranging from intrusion detection algorithms based on network flow data to measuring IPv6 intricacies, he always used and produced open source software to support his research.
After finishing his studies, Luuk found his natural fit at NLnet Labs, the
Amsterdam-based not-for-profit organisation striving for an open and secure
Internet by means of open source software and open standards development in DNS
and routing since 1999. As a Research Engineer working on the Rotonda project,
Luuk now focuses on enabling operators to get better insights on how routing
(security) solutions affect their networks.
Session
Understanding networks' routing behavior has always been important to network
operators, but has become more difficult in recent years. Not only because of
ever-increasing scale, but also because the introduction of RPKI-based routing
security approaches affect routes. Not all routing platforms provide
detailed insights into these effects, emphasizing the need for more transparency
and tools for operators to understand the full picture of their networks.
With Rotonda, we introduce an open-source software package that enables high-scale,
high-performance route information collection. By ingesting routing information
via BMP and BGP, combined with RPKI information via RTR, it provides operators with a
way to analyze and monitor their networks.
Appreciating the fact that no two networks are the same, that every operator has
their own specific questions about their network, route monitoring should be
flexible. Our in-house developed programming language Roto provides that
flexibility. With Roto scripts, operators can filter routes to be stored, and
monitor events and features in a highly customizable way. Because these scripts
are compiled to machine code, the flexibility comes at negligible overhead and
thus enables operators insights in even the hottest parts of the collection
process.
Easy deployment of monitoring solutions is not always a given, and especially
for smaller networks it may feel like a disproportionate effort even though their
monitoring questions and needs are as valid and useful as they are for larger
networks. With Rotonda being a self-contained, single (Rust) binary, we aim to
facilitate operations regardless of scale, whether that's 50 or 50 million
routes.
In this talk, we present an overview of the components of Rotonda, and
show how different combinations of these components serve typical use-cases. It
will also be a call to the community, asking for input and collaborations, with
the sole aim of making Rotonda as useful as can be when it comes to making
sense of our networks today.