bgproutes.io: A next-gen BGP data collection platform#

Thomas Holterbach - University of Strasbourg

• Why: RIPE RIS and RouteViews only see best-path, post-filter BGP — the "top of the iceberg." Route leaks, hijacks, and zombie routes often live in the invisible majority of routes. This platform attacks exactly that, and every operator can feed it.
• What: bgproutes.io, a next-gen collection platform launched ~1.5 years before the talk. Direct contributions from ~100 networks, plus aggregation of RIS, RouteViews, PCH, and CGTF data into a single database covering >5,000 vantage points (111 in Switzerland alone). It runs ~39 BMP sessions with 19 networks — BMP exports all route updates from every peer at every stage of the BGP decision process, including pre-filter, which even BGP Add-Path cannot do (one network, Edge-connect AS328365, exports everything it receives from 465 peers). Every collected route is annotated with RPKI ROV and ASPA validation status at receipt time. A public API (endpoints: vantage_points, updates, rib, topology) and Python client replace the pain of intermingled 1000+-file MRT archives; users can filter updates by ROV/ASPA status. Current ASPA reality check from their data: 99.3% of downstream paths are Unknown, with fewer than 1,000 ASPA objects existing (Feb 2026).
• How: Automated peering establishment (authenticate via PeeringDB, fill a form, start feeding); central aggregation of all existing collectors; BMP where operators can provide it. Perpetual data retention is a priority alongside coverage, where RIS/RouteViews deprioritize it.
• Where applicable: Broadly applicable — routing monitoring, hijack/leak detection, research. Any ASN can contribute a BGP or BMP session; BMP contribution multiplies visibility per session. Not a deployment dependency, purely a monitoring/analysis win.