Google helps to test whether your ISP blocks BitTorrent

It's no secret that Google is a keen supporter of net neutrality legislation. Now, in an effort to further their cause, Google's Vint Cerf announced on the company's blog that it has launched an initiative called M-Lab (Measurement Lab) aimed at testing end users' Internet connections for various types of interferences. Consumers can use M-Lab's servers to test whether their ISPs block Bittorrent, Poker, VoIP and other protocols and services. From the Google Blog:

"Over the course of early 2009, Google will provide researchers with 36 servers in 12 locations in the U.S. and Europe. All data collected via M-Lab will be made publicly available for other researchers to build on."

Google concur with established research projects by supplying 36 servers to 12 locations in the U.S. and Europe to get M-Lab going, and one of the projects that benefits from the search giant's server power is Glasnost - a web-based tool that aims to find IP-based interference for Bittorrent file transfers.

It's infrastructure should help alleviate some of these problems and also draw more attention to ISPs that do block Bittorrent. From Google's announcement:

"Transparency has always been crucial to the success of the Internet, and, by advancing network research in this area, M-Lab aims to help sustain a healthy, innovative Internet."

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