Invited PAM 2026 Conference Paper on AS112 Deployment Characteristics

We were invited to collaborate with researchers from the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science and the University of St Andrews on a paper titled Black Holes and Prisoners: Understanding AS112 Deployment Characteristics. The co-authors include Elizabeth Boswell, Stephen McQuistin, and Colin Perkins. The paper was presented at the 27th International Conference on Passive and Active Measurement (PAM 2026), a leading venue in network measurement research, and has now been published in the conference proceedings.

The paper examines AS112, a distributed, volunteer-run anycast DNS service that helps absorb leaked DNS queries for private and link-local resources, thereby reducing unnecessary load on core DNS infrastructure. Using RIPE Atlas measurements and 33,646 open recursive resolvers, the study identifies 469 AS112 sites operated by 97 organisations and evaluates their deployment and performance. The results show that AS112 generally achieves lower response times and shorter query distances than DNS root servers, while also revealing its reliance on a relatively small number of major operators.

Our group contributed expertise in computing the geographic coverage and spatial reach of the discovered AS112 sites, linking network measurement results with geospatial analysis. This invited collaboration demonstrates how geospatial techniques can enhance network measurement research and highlights the importance of cross-disciplinary work between computing and geography.

The paper is now available in the Springer proceedings of PAM 2026, and we look forward to building on this interdisciplinary partnership.