
			rootprobe
						April 2002
						WIDE Project

"rootprobe" is a program which measures the response time of the DNS root
name servers.  This program was developed to collect measurement data from
many locations around the world.

Our goal is to collect measurement data to understand the current status
of the root servers. (e.g., analyzing the performance and stability of the
servers, identifying under-served regions.)
The data will be a basis for discussions on various issues such as
	- how to improve the root server system as a whole
	- possible future reconfiguration of the root servers
The results will be reported to the ICANN DNS Root Server System Advisory
Committee.  The data is used only for a research purpose.

We are looking for volunteers to collect data, especially from
developing countries.

Requirements:
	1. the programs run on UNIX variants
	2. the host machine should be able to send DNS queries.
	   (e.g., no DNS packet filtering at the firewall)
	3. the host machine should be able to send e-mail by /usr/bin/mail

	- you don't need root-privilege to run the programs.
	- the programs work even behind NAT.

Installation:
	the latest version of the software is available from
	http://mawi.wide.ad.jp/mawi/dnsprobe/rootprobe.tar.gz

		% tar xvzf rootprobe.tar.gz
		% cd rootprobe

	(for Solaris, edit Makefile and uncomment LDFLAGS (and CC).)

		% make

	it creates 2 progarams: rootprobe and cctldprobe.
	(these two are actually the same program with different names.)

Running the programs:
	please adjust the clock of the machine before running the
	programs (although a drift of a few minutes is acceptable).

		% ./rootprobe
		% ./cctldprobe

	the programs run in background.
	rootprobe sends queries to the root servers every 5 minutes,
	and cctldprobe sends queries every 2 hours.
	(cctldprobe is a ccTLD version of rootprobe, and sends queries
	 to the ccTLD servers instead of the root servers.)
	the programs send reports to the WIDE project by e-mail,
	and exit after 2 weeks. (they won't start after January 1, 2004.)

Results:
	the measurement results are available at
	http://mawi.wide.ad.jp/mawi/dnsprobe/results/

	the web data is updated once a day so that your results should
	appear within 24 hours.

Site information: (optional)
	we would appreciate it if you send additional site information.
	please fill the following form and e-mail it to "kjc@wide.ad.jp".

----------------------------------------------------------------------
		rootprobe site information
host info:
[IP address]
[city]
[state]
[country]
[site type] (university, company, home, etc)
[additional info] (e.g., the Internete link is a T1 to a local ISP.)

[comments] (optional)

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About WIDE:
	The WIDE Project is a reserach consortium in Japan.
	Its research areas include IPv6, DNS, measurement,
	mobility, QoS, online education and Internet cars.
	WIDE operates the M-root name server.
	http://www.wide.ad.jp/


