There’s cool non-profit organization called Dataplane.org that you’ll enjoy getting data from.

Dataplane.org is a provider of data, analysis, and statistics about the Internet.  They monitor anomalies, risks, and statistics from over 300 nodes in 65 metro areas on 6 continents around the world.  In 2022 they ingested 585GB worth of data and then presented analysis of this data at conferences, in newsletters, and on their web site.

As they describe themselves on their website:

Dataplane.org started in 2016 on the heels of past and planned research projects conducted by our founder John Kristoffand is run by Dataplane.org NFP a charitable 501(c)(3) organization. He began by deploying sensors across various networks to observe and report on unsolicited Internet application communications. His PhD work led to ongoing BGP, DNS, IPv6, and RPKI experiments being incorporated into the suite of Dataplane.org activities. Today, Dataplane.org helps foster a more robust and healthier Internet through data, analysis, and statistics.

What kind of data are we talking about?  Some examples:

• The top 10 unsolicited DNS queries
• Stats on how many unique SSH passwords are used.  Did you know the longest observerd was 377 characters?  That’s someone who takes those “pick a secure password” guides seriously.
• IP protocol 41 stats.  That’s IPv6 over IPv4.
• How many people are still using telnet (please, just stop)

And lots more!

In fact you may already be using this data, as they feed a lot of Internet services – there’s a list on their home page.

Built on Community Providers

One cool aspect of Dataplane is that their far-reaching network is built on LowEnd community providers.  You’ll see tons of familiar faces on their providers list.  From AlexHost to Zappie, it’s a who’s-who of providers we shop with.

Very cool to see so many great providers on this list, and also great that Dataplane is so transparent from top to bottom about their methods.

Drink From the Firehose

Not only is Dataplane’s analysis available but the data itself is open source.  You can download the datasets and do your own analysis.

• Go here for their statistics and data.
• Read their analysis.
• Check out their newletter articles and subscribe.
• Learn more about their leadership.

And if you find their work helpful or decide to incorporate it in one of your projects, don’t be shy about clicking the Donate button on their site.

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raindog308

Dread Lord of LowEnd Content at LowEndBox

I'm raindog308, techno polymath and long-time LowEndTalk community Administrator. My technical interests include all things Unix, perl, python, golang, shell scripting, vintage operating systems such as MVS, and relational database systems such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

I also enjoy using LEBs! I have an empire of little guys for VPNs, larger guys for apps, and big guys for databases and storage. When I'm not in front a screen I'm into German Shepherd dogs, quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop roleplaying games, and forest hiking.

I enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox to help people get more out of their systems. You can find me on LowEndTalk @raindog308

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