How to use the command 'sc_analysis_dump' (with examples)

The sc_analysis_dump command is a utility from the Centre for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA), part of the Scamper suite, that allows users to extract traceroute data stored in WARTS format files and present it in an easily parsed format. The WARTS format is a binary format used by Scamper for storing network measurement data, such as traceroutes, in a compact form. This tool is invaluable when you need to analyze large datasets of network measurements efficiently. By transforming data into a format that’s easier to handle, sc_analysis_dump facilitates the processing, analysis, and visualization of internet measurement results.

Use case: Output the traceroute of warts files one after the other in an easy-to-parse format

Code:

sc_analysis_dump path/to/file1.warts path/to/file2.warts ...

Motivation:

The primary motivation for using this command is to seamlessly convert network measurement data from binary WARTS files into a text-based format that is considerably easier to analyze and manipulate. Imagine you are a network researcher or engineer working with a collection of traceroutes. These might be produced as part of a regular network monitoring regimen or collected to study internet performance and connectivity patterns. Parsing these files manually would be cumbersome; hence, this command helps streamline your data processing workflow, allowing you to focus on analyzing the results rather than wrestling with data formatting.

Explanation:

• sc_analysis_dump: This is the command that initiates the process of dumping data from WARTS files.
• path/to/file1.warts path/to/file2.warts ...: These are the positional arguments that specify the paths to one or more WARTS files whose traceroute data you wish to parse. Each file contains a collection of network measurements. By providing multiple file paths, you can process and output data from several files consecutively.

The files are processed in the order they appear in the command, and the output is combined into a single easy-to-parse format. This output can be redirected or piped into other tools for further processing.

Example output:

traceroute 1234567 1.0 "2023-10-01T10:00:00Z" 8.8.8.8 "1.0.0.1"
  1  192.168.1.1        1.263ms
  2  10.0.0.1           0.784ms
  3  172.16.0.1         1.114ms
  4  203.0.113.1        2.569ms
  5  * * *
  6  204.13.10.1        34.252ms

In this output, each traceroute is annotated with a measurement ID and timestamp, followed by the target IP address and the source IP. Each subsequent line shows a router IP address encountered along the path, together with the round-trip time (RTT) in milliseconds. Lines with * * * indicate unreachable hops where no ICMP reply was received.

Conclusion

The sc_analysis_dump command is a practical tool for those working with complex network datasets, enabling efficient conversion of data from a binary format to one that is more accessible. By allowing users to output multiple traceroute files in sequence, it offers flexibility and ease of use, making it a critical tool in the toolkit of a network researcher or engineer. Whether used for academic research, network diagnostics, or performance monitoring, sc_analysis_dump empowers users to gain insights into network paths and performance with minimal effort.