RIPE Atlas devices are called ‘probes’ and ‘anchors’ and these measure Internet connectivity and traffic. Volunteers host probes and anchors across the globe, helping RIPE Atlas reach new places every day.
Together, probes and anchors create the RIPE Atlas network which provides valuable insights into Internet connectivity and traffic.
Probe: Either a small device which attaches to your home Internet router with a cable or a piece of software you install at home.
Anchor: A large capacity probe and a measurement target intended to be run on large networks like those used by large organisations.
Volunteers host probes and anchors across the globe, helping RIPE Atlas reach new places every day. Together, probes and anchors create the RIPE Atlas network which provides valuable insights into Internet connectivity and traffic.
The RIPE NCC collects the data from probes and anchors and displays the results as Internet maps, visualisations and tools. Anyone can access RIPE Atlas maps and statistics, which are open and available to the public, the raw data is also available too.
This data is valuable for network operators, researchers, the technical community, and anyone interested in the state of the Internet the world over.
Volunteers who host probes can also make their own customised measurements using the entire RIPE Atlas network, which can provide valuable information about the performance of their own network.
You can now measure Internet connectivity and traffic across the globe, using our 11,000+ vantage points. You can measure ping, traceroute, SSL/TLS, DNS, NTP and HTTP (only for anchors).
Enter the IP address or domain name you want to check, and RIPE Atlas will automatically run measurements from 100 randomly selected probes for ping and 5 probes for traceroute measurements.
RIPE Atlas is free, but operates using a credit system to ensure fair use. You need credits to run measurements, and you can receive credits by:
A host receives 15 credits for each minute that their probe is connected to our network, so assuming that your probe is connected continuously, you should earn roughly 21,600 credits every 24 hours.
You can then spend these credits to run user-defined measurements.
RIPE Atlas Internet measurement devices only monitor the network traffic data through the following measurements: ping, traceroute, SSL/TLS, DNS, NTP and HTTP. Probes and anchors cannot detect the content you send or receive over the Internet.
Hardware probes are small, USB-powered hardware devices that hosts attach to an Ethernet port on their router via a network (UTP) cable. A software probe is downloaded onto your personal computer and measures connectivity in the same way. They conduct different measurements and relay this data to the RIPE NCC, where it is aggregated with data from the rest of the RIPE Atlas network.
RIPE Atlas anchors are both enhanced RIPE Atlas probes with much more measurement capacity, as well as powerful regional measurement targets within the greater RIPE Atlas network. They provide valuable information about the local and regional connectivity and reachability of the Internet.