Google-backed tool detects Net filtering, blocking

WASHINGTON--Is your Internet provider interfering with your network traffic, and perhaps even running afoul of Net neutrality principles? Google and some like-minded folks believe they've come up with what amounts to an early warning system.

The idea behind the so-called Measurement Lab, or M-Lab, is that just about anyone interested in Internet regulation--including consumers, regulators, and content providers--could use more details about their network's performance. Google, the Democratic Party-affiliated New America Foundation, and the PlanetLab Consortium (a university-business consortium devoted to next-generation networks) announced M-Lab on Wednesday.

The launch's timing is probably no coincidence: M-Lab may become especially relevant if the Net neutrality wars between Google and broadband providers in Washington heat up again. If Democratic legislators get their way, the so-called stimulus package expected to become law will require federal regulators to define and enforce "open access" rules for certain broadband and wireless networks. The 2007 discovery that Comcast was throttling BitTorrent traffic showed that it can be difficult to determine when network providers are interfering.

(Credit: M-Lab)

M-Lab aims to bring more transparency to network activity by allowing researchers to deploy Internet measurement tools and share data. The platform launched Wednesday with three Google servers dedicated to the project, and within six months, Google will provide researchers with 36 servers in 12 locations around the globe. All the data collected will be made publicly available.

Sascha Meinrath, research director of the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program, said his organization's role in M-Lab is to translate the data collected into meaningful and understandable information for policymakers. M-Lab founders and supporters told an audience here at the New America Foundation headquarters that more information would lead to better policymaking from anyone's perspective.

"I'm going to argue no matter what position you take on Net neutrality, you should be happy things like M-Lab are being built," said Ed Felten, a computer science and public affairs professor from Princeton and the director of the Center for Information Policy.

"If you believe the government should take more active steps to mandate Net neutrality...it will help you gather the evidence you need" to support such policies, he said. On the other hand, he said, more transparent networks would give Internet service providers true market incentive to behave in consumer-friendly ways.

Meinrath, however, said they do not intend to use M-Lab data for any kind of political agenda.

"The goal is not to be actively involved in using that ammunition," he said. "It's just creating results."

For now, M-Lab is running three diagnostic tools for consumers: one to determine whether BitTorrent is being blocked or throttled, one to diagnose problems that affect last-mile broadband networks, and one to diagnose problems limiting speeds.

Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist, said that while such information may be hard for some consumers to understand, it would help them explain their Internet problems to people with more expertise.

"This data could be made available to someone who is trying to help you," he said, "but instead of getting anecdotal information like, 'Gee, this is slow,' you could actually send this data."

"You'd have some raw data coming from the customer's point of view," he continued. "Maybe it will allow people to start businesses like 'Call a Geek' to figure out what's wrong with their Internet connection."

CNET's Declan McCullagh contributed to this report

[solu1978]

Nice i will use this.

[conchchowder]

Nice that you have a tunnel to use it on... Most don't know how to set the resident IpV6 protocol in the control panel, THEN go to one of the few tunnel hosts and dl a client...not much use...only 10 or so BT programs for downloading, and most of the goods on IpV6 are media related such as Icecast streaming through VLC media player and the Olympics site. Otherwise, it's a mall with a 99% vacance rate waiting for tenents to move in.

[sarah_oneill]

While Google probably has its own agenda, these tools have the potential to be extremely important in protecting net neutrality. There's a related interesting article here:
http://www.atelier-us.com/internet-usage/article/net-neutrality-watch-dog-tools-from-m-lab-by-google

[justasking99]

Along with the appointment of Michael Copps as interim FCC Chairman, this is great news. Remember, the commercial Internet was created by the High Speed Computing and Communications Act of 1991, and originally belonged to the Federal Government under the auspices of the National Science Foundation. The NSF turned the Internet over to the telcos in 1993 with the understanding that it be operated for the common good. If the telcos are attempting to renege on this deal, then it is entirely appropriate to re-think ownership of the commercial Internet. Having the Us operate the Internet as a public utility for the common good is perhaps the best bet for the future.

[DrewClark]

BroadbandCensus.com has been using the Network Diagnostic Tool of Internet2 since January 2008 as a means of comparing actual internet speeds with those offered by carriers. All of the information on the site has been made publicly available under a Creative Commons license, with the goal of using transparency and accountability to allow consumers to understand the limitations of their connections. See http://broadbandcensus.com/blog/?p=1301, or Take the Broadband Census at http://broadbandcensus.com/census/form

[conchchowder]

Great if you are a doctorate student in computer science at a major university using IpV6...but it doesn't do squat for IpV4 users. This is useless.

[SandyEggo]

No surprise Comcast, a Microsoft company, was caught doing something unethical. Like the old days of Microsfot planting bugs in the O/S so competetors software would run slow and buggy.

[bsharkey]

"No surprise Comcast, a Microsoft company, "

????? a "Microsoft" company? ***?

[Super2online]

Microsoft was an investor. Investing does not make it your company. They have just sold 100% of that stock in the last 2 months. Try keeping your hatred in check long enough to get your facts straight.

[conchchowder]

How is this relative to the common user who is on IpV4? 90% of the tests are for IpV6 users. This is like a city having massive trafic jams and doing a test on a rural road that has few users to determine the problems occuring on the city traffic grid. Hey rocket scientists...how about a battery of tests for IpV4 users...the 99% of internet traffic today. Sheesh.

[bsharkey]

great point

[Robespierre1848]

I applaud America for always trying its best to make sure the Internet remains a safe haven for pedophiles, swindlers, pirates and all kinds of scumbags. Down with the rule of law, and long live the ad-hoc libertarianism. And then you guys wonder why the world hates you.

[unknown unknown]

What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with creating a safe haven for scumbags or bring down the rule of law.

[sponderelli]

RE: "And then you guys wonder why the world hates you."

Didn't I just see you trying to sneak into America ;-)

[man_w_balls]

Are you one of the Chinese Internet Army? Sounds like some kind of Freedom-hater.

Last time I checked, the world officially stopped hating us when Bush was banished back to Texas.

BTW, this article is about a very good thing, which is Google offering tools to help make sure the Internet is not unfairly restricted. It is not about intentionally allowing illegal activity. You confuse Freedom with the intent to do wrong, and they are very different. It is sad to see how people living under the iron thumb of oppression fear what Freedom might allow them to do, instead of thinking of all the good things they could do if they were Free.

Another BTW, down with Authoritarianism and long live Libertarianism (Ron Paul 2012 !!!)

[celticbrewer]

Envy,.. hate... close enough.

I'm sure they hate all the money we pour into their 3rd world nations. $122.8 billion of foreign aid was provided by Americans in 2005. 79% came from the private sector.

I'm sure they also hate how we've virtually eradicated serious diseases and provided 15 billion in AIDS drugs to Africa.

If you don't like us, stop using our Internet that we created.

[contentcreator--2008]

Transparency is a good thing. Consumers can see what their ISP is doing, and businesses can see what consumers are doing. Consumers can run BitTorrent, and the content providers can see them running it and verify what they are offering.

@SandyEggo- "Comcast, a Microsoft company" -- don't know what annual report you're reading there. ;-) "...was caught doing something unethical" --- throttling service to customers doing something unethical. It's kind of like the robbers who sue when they get shot while robbing a house.

[bsharkey]

exactly

[unknown unknown]

Except in Comcast's case their throttling was not based on unethical behavior merely the use of a specific protocol.

[A41202813]

is this test any reliable ?

http://www.ip-adress.com/speedtest/

[A41202813]

is this test any reliable ?

http://www.ip-adress.com/speedtest/

[A41202813]

The Most Reliable One...

http://www.speedtest.net/