If you noticed network traffic from this IP address — this is not a malicious scan or an attack. This VM is part of a scientific research project studying LEO satellite network topologies.
About This Project
This IP address belongs to a virtual machine used for a Bachelor's thesis research project at the University of Osnabrück. The research focuses on analysing routing topologies and Anycast catchment behaviour within Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks.
This server performs only highly restricted, low-volume background tasks for target selection and administrative monitoring. It does not conduct the active topology measurements itself — it acts solely as a control and coordination node.
Yes. All measurements strictly adhere to ethical measurement standards. Probing rates are kept to an absolute minimum to avoid network congestion or triggering rate-limiting mechanisms. The study is conducted under university supervision.
Tasks Performed by This IP
| Task | Tool / Protocol | Frequency | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liveness Checks | ZMap (ICMP / TCP SYN) | Occasional | Discover active IP addresses within publicly announced Geofeeds for target selection — avoids probing inactive network segments |
| Geofeed Monitoring | HTTP HEAD / GET | Periodic | Fetch publicly available feed.csv files to track administrative update intervals of IP Geofeed records |
Broader Project Context
Active topology measurements (Traceroutes, Ping) are not conducted from this IP address. They are distributed across established global measurement platforms: RIPE Atlas, LEOScope, and the TANGLED Anycast testbed.
This server's role is strictly limited to control and coordination — selecting measurement targets based on Geofeed data and liveness results, then dispatching tasks to the distributed measurement infrastructure.
Research focus: The project studies routing topology in Starlink's LEO satellite network — examining how traffic is routed through PoPs and how prefixes are assigned geographically.
Data collected: Only publicly routable IP addresses, routing metadata, and Geofeed records. No personal data, no payload content, no application-layer data is recorded or stored at any point.
Opt-Out & Contact
We strictly adhere to ethical measurement standards and limit our probing rates to an absolute minimum to avoid causing network congestion or triggering rate-limiting mechanisms.
If our measurements are causing any inconvenience, or if you wish your network prefix to be excluded from our study, please send an email to: [stom@uni-osnabrueck.de]
We will immediately add your IP range to our exclusion list.