Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I just got an email from RIPE NCC that made me smile. It was a “birthday” message for my RIPE Atlas probe – celebrating 12 years of continuous operation with an impressive 89.69% uptime. Along with the congratulations came over 10 million credits to spend on custom measurements! Not a bad return on investment for what amounts to plugging in a small device and forgetting about it.
But this email got me thinking. Many folks in our industry probably don’t know about RIPE Atlas, and those who do might not fully appreciate what they’re missing by not participating. So let me tell you why hosting a probe is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself, and for the Internet at large.
Chris Grundemann: Chris Grundemann is a strategic technology leader dedicated to driving business transformation through innovative networking and automation strategies. As Executive Advisor, Network Infrastructure Strategy at Khadga Consulting, he helps organizations unlock the full potential of their network infrastructure through technological and cultural transformation. Chris has been using technology, marketing, and strategy to build businesses and non-profit organizations for two decades. He holds 8 patents in network technology and is the author of two books, an IETF RFC, a personal weblog, and a multitude of industry papers, articles, and posts. He is a co-founder of the Network Automation Forum, the organization behind the AutoCon series of events. Chris is a co-founder, Director, and Chair Emeritus of IX-Denver, the largest internet exchange in the Rocky Mountain West, he's also the Chair of the Board of Directors of OIX, the global data center and interconnection standards body. He has held previous volunteer positions with The Imposter Syndrome Network Podcast (creator and co-host), CO ISOC (founding chair), ISOC-NY (Vice President), ARIN, NANOG, SANOG, AfPIF, CEA, UPnP, DLNA, RMv6TF, and several others. Chris has given presentations in 34 countries on 5 continents and is often sought out to speak at conferences, NOGs, and NOFs the world over. Currently based in West Texas, Chris can be reached via LinkedIn.
I just got an email from RIPE NCC that made me smile. It was a “birthday” message for my RIPE Atlas probe – celebrating 12 years of continuous operation with an impressive 89.69% uptime. Along with the congratulations came over 10 million credits to spend on custom measurements! Not a bad return on investment for what amounts to plugging in a small device and forgetting about it.
But this email got me thinking. Many folks in our industry probably don’t know about RIPE Atlas, and those who do might not fully appreciate what they’re missing by not participating. So let me tell you why hosting a probe is one of the smartest things you can do for yourself, and for the Internet at large.
Chris Grundemann: Chris Grundemann is a strategic technology leader dedicated to driving business transformation through innovative networking and automation strategies. As Executive Advisor, Network Infrastructure Strategy at Khadga Consulting, he helps organizations unlock the full potential of their network infrastructure through technological and cultural transformation. Chris has been using technology, marketing, and strategy to build businesses and non-profit organizations for two decades. He holds 8 patents in network technology and is the author of two books, an IETF RFC, a personal weblog, and a multitude of industry papers, articles, and posts. He is a co-founder of the Network Automation Forum, the organization behind the AutoCon series of events. Chris is a co-founder, Director, and Chair Emeritus of IX-Denver, the largest internet exchange in the Rocky Mountain West, he's also the Chair of the Board of Directors of OIX, the global data center and interconnection standards body. He has held previous volunteer positions with The Imposter Syndrome Network Podcast (creator and co-host), CO ISOC (founding chair), ISOC-NY (Vice President), ARIN, NANOG, SANOG, AfPIF, CEA, UPnP, DLNA, RMv6TF, and several others. Chris has given presentations in 34 countries on 5 continents and is often sought out to speak at conferences, NOGs, and NOFs the world over. Currently based in West Texas, Chris can be reached via LinkedIn.
