Quantifying the effects of circuitous routes on the latency of intra-africa internet traffic: A study of research and education networks

Josiah Chavula, Nick Feamster, Antoine Bagula, Hussein Suleman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite an increase in the number of Internet eXchange Points (IXP) in Africa, as well as proliferation of submarine and terrestrial fibre optic cable systems, the level of peering among Africa’s Internet service providers remains low. Using active network measurements, this work characterizes the level of interconnectivity and peering among Africa’s National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), and examines the performance of traffic exchange in terms of latencies. This paper shows that over 75% of Africa’s inter-university traffic follows circuitous inter-continental routes, and is characterised by latencies that are more than double those of traffic exchanged within the continent.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicatione-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries - 6th International Conference, AFRICOMM 2014, Revised Selected Papers
EditorsJulianne Sansa-Otim, Amos Nungu, Bjorn Pehrson
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages64-73
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)9783319168852
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
Event6th International Conference on e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries, AFRICOMM 2014 - Kampala, Uganda
Duration: Nov 24 2014Nov 25 2014

Publication series

NameLecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, LNICST
Volume147
ISSN (Print)1867-8211

Other

Other6th International Conference on e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries, AFRICOMM 2014
Country/TerritoryUganda
CityKampala
Period11/24/1411/25/14

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Computer Networks and Communications

Keywords

  • Active topology measurements
  • Internet exchange points
  • Latency
  • National Research and Education Networks
  • Peering
  • Round-trip time

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Quantifying the effects of circuitous routes on the latency of intra-africa internet traffic: A study of research and education networks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this