Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis
CAIDA is a non-profit research unit at UC San Diego that operates global Internet measurement infrastructure (Ark, BGPStream, ITDK, Network Telescope) and produces large-scale datasets and open-source analysis tools for academic, government, and network-operator researchers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersLa Jolla, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis does
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) is a non-profit academic research unit housed at the San Diego Supercomputer Center within UC San Diego, founded in 1997. Its function is to conduct network research and to build research infrastructure that supports large-scale collection, curation, and distribution of Internet measurement data to the scientific community. Its product surface spans active-probing and passive-capture infrastructure, open-source analysis tools, and longitudinal datasets: the Ark measurement platform operates approximately 142 vantage points across 52 countries; BGPStream provides an open-source framework for live and historical BGP analysis; the Internet Topology Data Kit (ITDK) supplies router-level topology graphs with alias resolution via MIDAR, iffinder, and SNMP; the Network Telescope monitors a globally routed /8 to capture DDoS backscatter and scanning traffic; and newer additions include FANTAIL (a traceroute archive query platform), BGP2GO (MRT file indexer), and 100 GB Anonymized Passive Traces. The organization also runs the ASRank ranking, the Spoofer toolkit, Hoiho geolocation inference, and bdrmapIT operator inference.
CAIDA's revenue model is grant-based rather than commercial: it is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation, with additional support from the Department of Homeland Security and other sponsors, and operates under UC San Diego governance. Datasets and tools are made available to academic researchers at no cost, while certain restricted datasets (e.g., 100 GB passive traces, BGP2GO) require membership, SSO authentication, or a formal data request. Industry sponsorship and a public donation channel supplement grant funding. Customers are functionally research consumers — academic researchers, US government agencies focused on critical infrastructure and cyber threat intelligence, network operators, and DNS operators — rather than revenue-paying buyers. Distribution runs through the CAIDA Resource Catalog, GitHub repositories, and workshop/training programs (AIMS, CAIDA-WIDE, ESCALATE).
Recent strategic emphasis has been on expanding passive-capture capacity (transitioning to a new Los Angeles–Dallas 100 GB link in 2025), broadening query/search capability over large archives (FANTAIL, BGP2GO), and beginning an AI-assisted research analytics effort via the NAIRR Pilot, in which large language models are used to assess dataset utility in scientific papers. KC Claffy serves as Principal Investigator, with Bradley Huffaker as Co-Principal Investigator on the NAIRR Pilot.
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis
- Legal name
- Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis
- Website
- https://caida.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CAIDA is a non-profit research unit at UC San Diego that operates global Internet measurement infrastructure (Ark, BGPStream, ITDK, Network Telescope) and produces large-scale datasets and open-source analysis tools for academic, government, and network-operator researchers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Internet Measurement Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fault & Performance Monitoring (SNMP/Telemetry/APM for Networks) (HDAFAMAA)
Keywords
Where Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- La Jolla
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CAIDA develops and operates Internet measurement infrastructure including the Ark active probing system with vantage points across 52 countries, passive traffic capture via the Network Telescope, and analysis tools (BGPStream, scamper, MIDAR) for studying Internet topology, routing security, and macroscopic network behavior. The organization also curates a large archive of Internet measurement datasets (ITDK, ASRank) and produces research publications for academic, government, and industry use.
Product overview
CAIDA is a research organization at UC San Diego's San Diego Supercomputer Center that conducts network research and builds research infrastructure to support large-scale Internet data collection, curation, and distribution. CAIDA's portfolio consists primarily of open-source software tools, datasets, and visualization platforms for Internet measurement and analysis. Core tools include BGPStream (software framework for BGP data analysis), Ark (global measurement infrastructure with ~142 vantage points), scamper (active probing tool), and specialized tools like MIDAR (alias resolution), Hoiho (geolocation), and bdrmapIT (operator inference). Key datasets include ASRank (AS ranking), ITDK (topology data kit), Network Telescope data, and 100 GB Anonymized Passive Traces. Platforms include FANTAIL (traceroute archive query system), BGP2GO (MRT file index), and DatCat (data catalog). These products support research in Internet topology, routing, DNS, security, and measurement, distributed through a mix of public access and restricted researcher access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ark Internet Measurement Infrastructure
Companies that use Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability6 records
Feature10 records
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered key and core.
- Internet2keyCollaboration on Internet security project benefiting US education and research networks, detecting and fixing hidden internet routing vulnerabilities.
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)coreCAIDA is based at SDSC, a pillar of the UC San Diego School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences. SDSC provides computational infrastructure and institutional support for CAIDA's operations.
- University of California San DiegocoreCAIDA is headquartered on the UC San Diego campus, operating under university policies and governance.
- University of WaikatokeyCollaboration with Matthew Luckie at University of Waikato on Spoofer measurement system upgrades for IPv4 and IPv6 spoofing capabilities.
- Ark Hosting Siteskey142 organizations worldwide hosting Ark vantage points for global Internet measurement, enabling CAIDA's distributed probing infrastructure.
- RouteViews Project (University of Oregon)keyCollaboration on BGP routing data collection, ASRank derived from RouteViews data combined with CAIDA's Archipelago infrastructure.
- RIPE NCCkeyPartner in DITL data collection, operating k.root-servers.net and contributing BGP data for research.
- DNS-OARCkeyDNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center - collaborative partner for DNS root server measurement and data collection events.
- ISC (Internet Systems Consortium)keyOperator of f.root-servers.net and collaborator on DNS measurement projects including DITL collection events.
- WIDE ProjectkeyJapanese research network contributing DNS data and campus network traffic traces to DITL experiments.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- BGPMon: Commercial BGP route monitoring and hijack alerting service that produces operational outputs derived from the same underlying BGP data streams CAIDA consumes, with a narrower scope (BGP only) and a paid product model aimed at network operators.
- Internet2: U.S. research and education network operator that collaborates with CAIDA on Internet security and routing vulnerability detection projects; a peer in the sense of operating research-grade measurement and serving the academic networking community with overlapping stakeholder base.
Direct peers
- OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference): Non-profit project under the Tor Project that measures Internet censorship and network interference globally; shares CAIDA's non-profit, research-data-driven model and methodology of distributed global probing, although its measurement goals are oriented to censorship detection rather than topology and routing.
- RouteViews Project (University of Oregon): Long-running academic project collecting BGP routing data from a global network of monitors; CAIDA's ASRank and BGP2GO directly consume RouteViews data, and the two organizations are deeply operationally intertwined despite being separate institutions.
- DNS-OARC: Operations, Analysis, and Research Center focused on DNS measurement and infrastructure—a direct CAIDA partner on DITL (Day in the Life of the Internet) experiments and complementary in providing DNS-specific measurement tooling and data archives.
- RIPE Atlas: Global, distributed active Internet measurement network operated by RIPE NCC using probe hardware hosted by volunteers—functionally the closest infrastructure analog to CAIDA's Ark platform, with overlapping methodology (traceroute, ping, DNS) and partially overlapping vantage point coverage.
Broad incumbents
- ThousandEyes (Cisco): Commercial network intelligence platform that collects BGP, routing, and end-to-end performance data at scale similar to CAIDA's datasets, but delivers it as a SaaS product to enterprise network operations and security teams rather than as open research datasets.
- RIPE NCC: Regional Internet Registry for Europe, Middle East, and parts of Central Asia that operates RIPE Atlas, a global active measurement infrastructure analogous to CAIDA's Ark, and contributes BGP and DNS data to joint research efforts. CAIDA directly partners with RIPE NCC on DITL data collection, making it both a peer and a collaborator.
- Team Cymru: Commercial provider of BGP routing visibility, threat intelligence, and darknet/telescope data with global measurement infrastructure that overlaps with CAIDA's Network Telescope and BGPStream outputs, serving security operations customers rather than the research community.
Others
- MaxMind: Provider of IP geolocation databases (GeoLite2) that CAIDA uses as a free data dependency for router and AS geolocation in ITDK; an enabling ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor, but comparable in producing Internet measurement-derived commercial datasets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis
What does Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis do?
CAIDA develops and operates Internet measurement infrastructure including the Ark active probing system with vantage points across 52 countries, passive traffic capture via the Network Telescope, and analysis tools (BGPStream, scamper, MIDAR) for studying Internet topology, routing security, and macroscopic network behavior. The organization also curates a large archive of Internet measurement datasets (ITDK, ASRank) and produces research publications for academic, government, and industry use.
Is Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis a public or private company?
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis founded?
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis based?
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis is headquartered in La Jolla, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are BGPMon and Internet2. Direct peers are OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference), RouteViews Project (University of Oregon), DNS-OARC and RIPE Atlas. Broad incumbents are ThousandEyes (Cisco), RIPE NCC and Team Cymru. MaxMind is listed as an others.
Does Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis have an API?
Yes. CAIDA provides multiple APIs: (1) BGPStream - open-source software framework for live and historical BGP data analysis, supporting scientific research, operational monitoring, and post-event analysis. BGPStream V2 adds native support for true real-time data access via BMP and performance improvements. (2) FANTAIL API - built on web standards, provides access to the Facilitating Advances in Network Topology Analysis platform for searching traceroute measurement data archives. (3) Hoiho API - provides geolocation inference using DNS-based heuristics and RTT measurements. (4) BGP2GO API - platform for indexing and finding MRT files containing specific resources, requires CAIDA-authorized account with bgp2go-api:read role. Developer documentation is at bgpstream.caida.org.
What industry is Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis in?
Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis's product category is Internet Measurement Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAFAMAA, Fault & Performance Monitoring (SNMP/Telemetry/APM for Networks). Its NAICS code is 518210 and its SIC code is 7370.