Ann Arbor-based Merit Network Inc. says its Routing Assets Database, the world's largset public Internet routing registry, has new functions to provide users with critical information on the health of their networks.

According to Merit Network's Director of Research and Development, Manish Karir, the new features represent a fundamental shift in Merit RADb.

"In the previous version of Merit RADb, the Database provided value because it was a repository for information that was used for route troubleshooting, backbone configuration, network planning and more.  The new features introduced today add to that value," Karir said. "Merit RADb now sends important information back to users through the portal interface, identifying suspected spam or botnet activity. The improved object framework provides convenient and powerful asset management and diagnostic tools."

Merit Network will present a live demonstration of Merit RADb's new features at NANOG51, Jan. 30 - Feb. 2 in Miami, Fla.

Added Merit Network President and CEO Don Welch: "The new features leverage the current database to tell you more about the health of your network." 

Merit RADb's latest addition, "Routing Asset Health," features two new functions that focus on the stability of routes that have been registered in the database and the reputation of individual hosts within those routing blocks.

"Prefix Alerts" inform users about potential anomalies related to their registered prefixes.  Merit RADb accomplishes this by analyzing registered BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) tables and historical origin ASN (Autonomous System Number) information in reference to what is observed in real-time.

Merit RADb has partnered with a number of data providers including Spamhaus, SpamCop, and Shadowserver, as well as several commonly used open data sources such as UCEPROTECT, DShield, and WPBL to better identify suspicious behavior originating from hosts inside a user's network. 

"Host Reputation" is a new function that aggregates a substantial amount of security information from this diverse set of data sources about network hosts and displays it all in one accessible location. 

"The correlation across multiple data sources is a much stronger indication of true positives that deserve investigation and can help you monitor the perceived health of your network," Karir said.

Merit RADb has improved its user interface, making it easier to view and modify existing information. RADb now features a simplified process by which users access and view core IRR (Internet Routing Registry) function information, registered data consistency, and RIR (Regional Internet Registry) prefix content.

Merit RADb is a public registry of routing information for networks in the Internet. Hundreds of organizations that operate networks -- including ISPs, universities, and business enterprises -- publicly publish, or register, their routing information in Merit RADb to facilitate the operation of the Internet. Organizations worldwide use the information in Merit RADb to troubleshoot routing problems, automatically configure backbone routers, generate access lists, and perform network planning.  Any Internet user may query Merit RADb for free. Currently, Merit RADb receives about two million queries daily from over 2,000 unique hosts. More than 1,800 organizations have registered their routing information in Merit RADb, with new organizations registering every day.

More at www.radb.net.