Why Internet Monitoring Matters: Lessons from the IODA on Telemetry Now
“Democratizing Internet Monitoring with IODA” - Telemetry Now Podcast S02E43
In this episode of Telemetry Now, host Philip Gervasi sits down with Amanda Meng and Zachary Bischof from Georgia Tech, along with Internet measurement expert Doug Madory, to explore the Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA) project.
What is IODA?
IODA, developed at Georgia Tech, is a groundbreaking project designed to monitor and analyze global Internet connectivity in near real-time. Its core mission is to provide open, actionable data about Internet outages-whether caused by natural disasters, government shutdowns, power disruptions, or technical failures. The project’s public dashboard (accessible at IODA.live) allows anyone-from advocacy groups to governments and private industry-to visualize and investigate Internet disruptions at the country, regional, or network level.
Meet the Guests
- Amanda Meng is a research scientist with a background in civic data and advocacy. She focuses on making IODA’s data accessible and actionable, especially for organizations promoting digital rights and Internet freedom.
- Zachary Bischof is a research scientist with an expertise in Internet measurement. His journey began with analyzing peer-to-peer networks and evolved into using diverse data sources to detect Internet outages, including during major events like the Arab Spring and the 2011 Japan tsunami.
- Doug Madory is the director of internet analysis at Kentik and a longtime user and advocate of IODA, using its data to support his own analyses of global Internet events. Doug was dubbed “The man who can see the internet” by the Washington Post. He has made significant contributions to the field of internet measurements and is highly respected in the Internet Freedom community.
How Does IODA Work?
IODA aggregates multiple data sources-such as BGP routing data, active measurement through Active Probing, and unsolicited traffic, referred to as Telescope, to provide a comprehensive, multi-perspective view of Internet health. This approach enables IODA to detect and validate large-scale disruptions more reliably than any single data source could.
For example, during a recent power outage in Chile, BGP data showed little impact (suggesting core network infrastructure stayed up), while other signals revealed that end users were offline. This multi-signal approach helps distinguish between localized technical issues and broader, systemic outages.
IODA’s Real-World Impact
IODA’s dashboard is used globally by human rights defenders, journalists, researchers, and even governments, industry and regulators. The team collaborates on reports-such as a recent one with Amnesty International about unannounced Internet shutdowns in Mozambique-providing crucial evidence when governments or ISPs do not disclose disruptions.
Amanda highlights IODA’s commitment to building capacity in advocacy groups, training them to use the data for their own monitoring and reporting. In the episode, Doug notes the ease and intuitiveness of IODA’s dashboard, which allows users to quickly spot and investigate anomalies.
Why Measuring The Internet at a Macro Level Matters
Internet connectivity is now a vital part of civil society. Outages can signal everything from natural disasters to government censorship. By democratizing access to real-time, trustworthy data, IODA empowers a wide range of stakeholders to respond to outages, advocate for open Internet policies, and hold authorities accountable.
Key Takeaways
- IODA democratizes Internet monitoring by providing free, real-time data on global connectivity.
- Multiple data sources are combined for robust outage detection and analysis.
- Advocacy and capacity-building are central to IODA’s mission, supporting digital rights and transparency.
- IODA’s public dashboard is a valuable tool for anyone interested in understanding or responding to Internet outages.
Listen to the full episode for a deep dive into the technical, social, and political dimensions of global Internet monitoring with IODA.