Google launches Measurement Lab to monitor the tubes, expose meddling
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jan 29th 2009 2:59PM
posted Jan 29th 2009 2:59PM
There's not exactly a lack of internet measurement tools out there, but there's none quite as ambitious as the new Measurement Lab (or M-Lab) just launched by Google, along with a little help from the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute and the PlanetLab Consortium. While it's apparently just now getting up to speed, the tool will eventually let individuals and researchers of all sorts poke and prod the internet to their heart's content, measuring performance, and exposing attempts by telecoms to meddle with network traffic and clamp down on things like BitTorrent or Skype. Those efforts will be facilitated by 36 servers in 12 locations across the U.S. and Europe that Google will be opening up early this year, and all data collected using M-Lab will be made publicly available for other researchers to expand upon. Complete details are available at the link below, although Google seems to be having some bandwidth troubles of its own with the M-Lab site at the moment.[Via InformationWeek]
it wont surprise me when comcast limits the amount of traffic to this site so you can't even test your connection...
I'm on comcrap, and can't get any of the tools to work.
I wonder how they define "Other Researchers" because I could certainly like to have access to said information, if only out of personal interest. However, if I were to notice any irregularities with my internet connection it would certainly be more worthwhile to have the info.
i'm pretty sure it states in the article the information is public.
great, another beta.
Yeah, free public beta of something useful. How dare you, Google, how dare you.
Great, another Brian.
Having just wandered over from the M-Lab site...
Google still has A LOT of bugs to work out. And the presentation could be prettier. Not user-friendly at all.
Good thing its still... BETA!
@Marc
So is Windows 7. So was Gmail when I first signed up (actually, Gmail still claims to be Beta if you look at the logo on the web portal). So is Chrome. Beta != non-functional. The most basic of tests (the user speed test) can be run on three servers--but every time I ping the server, the appropriate process isn't running and it tells me to run web1000 srv on the remote server [insert IP address here].
I'm all for Betas, but they should at least work. So realistically:
What is your point?
Clearly, his point is that it will be improved.
Also that you suck.
@cmo
What the article states is "All data collected via M-Lab will be made publicly available for other researchers to build on."
Libraries are "publicly available" doesn't mean there isn't some procedure in which you need to follow to gain access to them or their information. Also some of them are only publicly available to residents of certain areas. So the question of public availability to "other researchers" does not mean any tom, dick, or harry on the internet can just stop by and read it.
Won't ISP's be able to script their hardware so that any traffic going to M-Labs ISN'T filtered, fooling M-Labs and the customer into believing that filtering NEVER happens?
the mlab is a place to share tools and learn about possibilities, it is not the actual test area.
and like all things Google, it will say beta till the end of time.
site crashed...probably due to Engadget posting this up.
http://www.measurementlab.net/measurement-lab-tools
Get's a 404 error.
OMG it's a c0nspiracy!! comcast set us up the bombs!
No wait, it can't be that the servers crashed.
Here is Google again defending my freedom and equality. Thank you soooooo much i love youtube.com best website ever and the Android power cellphones like the G1 and 2. Also Gmail best E-mail ever.
Sometimes I wonder if every guy complaining 'bout google out there has had an idea 'stolen' by those bastards. Oops :)