Draft:HiPerConTracer
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HiPerConTracer (High-Performance Connectivity Tracer) is an open-source network measurement framework for performing large-scale Ping and Traceroute measurements to observe path characteristics and round-trip times (RTT) across multiple networks.[3] HiPerConTracer operates as a background service for continuous data collection rather than a single-execution command-line utility. The framework is integrated into the NorNet testbed for research on multi-homing and multi-path transport protocols like MPTCP and SCTP.[4]
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| HiPerConTracer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Other names | High-Performance Connectivity Tracer |
| Original author | Thomas Dreibholz |
| Developers | Thomas Dreibholz, Simula Research Laboratory, Simula Metropolitan Center for Digital Engineering |
| Release | September 22, 2015[1] |
| Stable release | 2.1.14[2]
/ April 23, 2026 |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Linux, FreeBSD |
| Platform | cross-platform |
| Type | Network performance measurement, Ping, Traceroute |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Website | www |
| Repository | github |
HiPerConTracer is distributed in several major software distributions, including Debian[5], Ubuntu[6], and FreeBSD[7].
Features
The framework's measurement features include:
- Multi-Transport Support: Supports ICMP-based and UDP-based Ping and Traceroute.
- High-Precision Timing: Utilizes Linux kernel hardware and software timestamping to achieve nanosecond-level accuracy for RTT measurements.[8]
- Load Balancing Analysis: Uses fixed checksum techniques (denoted as "Oslo Traceroute"[9]) to handle and detect load balancing in the network, ensuring multiple probes in a single round follow the same path.
- Parallelism: Measurement of multiple targets from a single vantage point.
- Database Integration: Includes an "Importer Tool" that stores results into SQL (MariaDB/MySQL, PostgreSQL) or NoSQL (MongoDB) databases for large-scale historical analysis, as well as a "Query Tool" to retrieve results.
Components
The HiPerConTracer framework consists of several specialized tools:
- HiPerConTracer: This is the main measurement tool, which performs the actual probes.
- HiPerConTracer Viewer Tool: Displays and inspects raw result files.[10]
- HiPerConTracer Importer Tool: Imports data from result files into a central database.[11]
- HiPerConTracer Query Tool: Queries results from a central database and exports them into a results file.[12]
- HiPerConTracer Results Tool: Used for merging, filtering, and converting results into formats like CSV.[13]
- HiPerConTracer Sync Tool: A synchronization tool that uses rsync and SSH to securely transfer data from remote measurement nodes to a central collector.[14]
Architecture
The HiPerConTracer framework utilizes a distributed architecture consisting of remote measurement nodes (vantage points) and a central collector. The measurement nodes run the core measurement tool as daemon and store results locally in files. These files are periodically synchronized to a central HiPerConTracer Collector, where the importer service processes them into a database. This allows for long-term monitoring of connectivity and path stability.