DIP: distance information protocol for IDMaps

The Internet distance map service (IDMaps) [P. Francis, S. Jamin, C. Jin, D. Raz, Y. Shavitt, and L. Zhang, 2001] provides distance estimates between any pair of hosts connected to the Internet. The IDMaps system comprises two component types: tracers that measure distance between IP address prefixes, and servers that collect measurement results and answer distance queries. The distance information protocol (DIP) is used for tracers to report measured distance data to servers. The dynamics on the Internet topology, the distributed nature of autonomous tracers and servers, and the vast size of the data set require that DIP provide highly adaptive and scalable data dissemination from tracers to servers. DIP is a soft-state announce/listen protocol and scales independently from the total amount of measurement data by all tracers. DIP achieves its scalability through combination of staged timers, positive feedback, and feedback suppression techniques, which enable DIP to disseminate only the most useful measurement data to servers in a dynamic way. Simulations verified DIP's scalability and adaptability under various network conditions.