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bgp.tools November 2023 Changelog

Last month was spent mostly on backend improvements to support scalability, as bgp.tools expands on more IXPs and brings up more sessions. However there has been a one visible change to the site:

Improvements to BGP graphs

BGP graphs found on the Network Policy and Prefix sections now contain a “Short Name” under each AS number, this helps comprehension of the graph since you no longer have to remember what/who the AS number is!

This short name is by default algorithmically made from the name that is seen on the ASN Information page, however if the site gets it wrong, or if there is a better “nickname” then you can go to the edit tab on the ASN Information page and request a change to be applied.

Improved feed session alerting

Sometimes bgp sessions to bgp.tools are not set up correctly, Historically this has been the role of me to find these sessions and email the contact information about it to get it fixed. However as the session list grows this task is now automated in the same way that sessions that have been down for too long have automatic reminders.

Networks will be automatically notified when their sessions are:

  1. Flapping constantly
  2. Sending a unexpectedly small amount of advertised prefixes
  3. Their eBGP sessions have a very low IP TTL/HL, risking a session flap

The flapping/low prefix alerts also come with automatic deletion timers (Typically a few weeks). As broken sessions are a large maintenance burden to bgp.tools.

NANOG 89 Overview

While not technically a change to the site, A decent amount of last month was spent at NANOG 89, There was also a presentation about the inner workings of bgp.tools! You can find a recording of the talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83NJllv0q9U

Small fixes/changes

  1. SolarFlare MAC addresses now have their own vendor icon
  2. The IXP RouteServer button’s back button now works when started in it’s own tab
  3. BGP Communities have better text description filtering
  4. BGP Sessions established over IXP collectors can now have MD5 passwords
  5. MAC addresses in “dash” notation (B0-F2-08-00-00-00) are now supported
  6. MAC address lookups are now better supported on the whois server interface
  7. Billing portal has been improved to provide better experience when subscriptions lapse
  8. Looking glass sponsor Logos now link to their respective ASN page
  9. New IXP collector on Netnod Stockholm, Netnod Copenhagen,