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Frequently Asked Questions


What is BGP-Inspect?

While BGP routing datasets, consisting of raw routing data, are freely available and easy to obtain, extracting any useful information is tedious. BGPInspect is a tool that allows users to easily access and extract information from pre-processed and indexed routeviews data. BGPInspect also attempts to compute commonly used statistics on the data, which can guide researchers and network operators in their data analysis.

Who can use BGP-Inspect?

Everyone is welcome to query the BGPInspect database.

When is the database updated?

The database is updated nightly. BGPInpect can continue to be queried at that time, but responses might be a bit slower. Every night the database is updated with the previous days worth of data from routeviews.

For what dates is data available in the database?

The current BGPInspect database incorporates data from August 1, 2005 till the present.

How do I run a query for my AS number?

In order to query for a specific AS number you can use the following steps:
- From home page you need to use the bottom half of the query page: "Raw Data Analysis"
- Select one routeviews peer for which you wish to run the query(e.g. 12.0.1.63-ATT)
- Select the query-type= "AS"
- In the text entry box enter your as number, eg. for AS237 enter: "237"
- Select the start and end date for your query
- Click "Submit Query"

How do I run a query for my prefix?

In order to query for a specific prefix you can use the following steps:
- From home page you need to use the bottom half of the query page: "Raw Data Analysis"
- Select one routeviews peer for which you wish to run the query(e.g. 12.0.1.63-ATT)
- Select the query-type= "Prefix-Exact"
- In the text entry box enter your prefix number, eg. "12.0.0.0/8"
- Select the start and end date for your query
- Click "Submit Query"

Is someone else announcing a more-specific prefix?

In order to query for a specific prefix you can use the following steps:
- From home page you need to use the bottom half of the query page: "Raw Data Analysis"
- Select one routeviews peer for which you wish to run the query(e.g. 12.0.1.63-ATT)
- Select the query-type= "Prefix-More Specific"
- In the text entry box enter your prefix number, eg. "198.108.0.0/14"
- Select the start and end date for your query
- Click "Submit Query"

Is it possible for me to run something similar for my data?

Yes, it is possible for you to operate a similar site for your own BGP data. If you are interested in doing this please send email to (mkarir at merit dot edu). You will need to obtain the BGP-Inspect code and setup some form of BGP update message collector. We are working on attempting to make this process simpler than it currently is. Please note that we are short on funding for this project(actually we have none), so we may not be able to devote as much as we would like in helping you with this.