Kentik Blog
An AS-SET is a special object that represents a group of ASNs and forms the basis for IRR-based route filtering. However, many AS-SETs in circulation today have grown so big that they effectively whitelist much of the routing table, rendering them ineffective. According to recent analysis, there are currently 2,192 AS-SETs which expand to over 1,000 ASNs each! In this blog post, we’ll describe what an AS-SET is, its role in route filtering, and how to deal with excessively large AS-SETs.
While AI offers powerful benefits for network operations, building an in-house AI solution presents major challenges, particularly around complex data engineering, staffing specialized roles, and maintaining models over time. The effort required to handle real-time telemetry, retrain models, and manage evolving environments is often too great for most IT teams. For enterprise networks, partnering with a vendor that specializes in AI and network operations is typically a more efficient, scalable, and sustainable approach.
AI can be a transformative tool in network operations — but only when it’s tied to clear, measurable outcomes. Rather than chasing hype, IT and NetOps teams should focus on solving specific operational challenges like reducing MTTR, cutting costs, and stabilizing infrastructure. AI has real potential when strategically applied, and when aligned with business goals, it becomes a powerful ally in modern network operations.
Cloud Pathfinder simplifies cloud troubleshooting by visually mapping connectivity paths between cloud endpoints and integrating the power of AI, identifying where and why traffic is being blocked. By analyzing cloud configuration metadata, it provides instant, actionable insights into routing and security issues — saving engineers hours of manual work.
In this edition of Beyond Their Intended Scope, we take a look at last week’s BGP leak by a DDoS mitigation company which impacted networks around the world. We look at the impacts in both BGP and traffic data, and discuss how RFC 9234’s “Only to Customer” BGP Path Attribute could have helped.
Today, we’re excited to launch Cloud Pathfinder, an AI-powered path assessment service built into Kentik Journeys. Read on to learn how Cloud Pathfinder gives you instant, turn-by-turn insight into cloud routing—mapping out every hop, gateway, VPC/VNet, and attachment along the way.
Starlink moves beyond being strictly a direct-to-consumer service provider with the recent activations of its Community Gateways. In recent months, Starlink has become a transit provider to a small but growing number of service providers in remote parts of the world as its unique and groundbreaking service continues to evolve.
On March 18, 2025, North Korea’s BGP routes became RPKI-invalid due to the publication of a faulty ROA. In this post, we’ll visualize the impact on the propagation of affected routes and what North Korea (and you too!) can do to avoid problems with the optional maxLength attribute.
AWS NAT Gateways are essential for private subnet access but can quickly become a costly burden, even when idle. With Kentik, cloud and network engineers gain deep visibility into NAT Gateway traffic, allowing them to identify underutilized gateways, analyze high-cost usage, and explore cost-saving alternatives like VPC Endpoints, Internet Gateways, or direct peering. By optimizing traffic routing and eliminating unnecessary NAT Gateway expenses, teams can significantly reduce cloud networking costs while improving efficiency.
Modern network operators need modern observability tools. In this post, we explore why Deepfield — a traditional network flow analytics platform — falls short in providing comprehensive insights required for today’s network operations, and how Kentik’s modern data platform is purpose-built for today’s infrastructure teams.