The Original Internet Map
An ambitious attempt to visualise the Internet as a single interconnected network — and the project that helped inspire a new generation of network mapping.
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Could we map the entire Internet?
The original Internet Report mapping project began with a deceptively simple question: what would the Internet look like if we could visualise its routers and the connections between them?
The aim was to go beyond conventional geographic maps or network diagrams. Rather than showing where infrastructure sits physically, we wanted to explore how Internet traffic travels through interconnected networks.
We used Internet measurement techniques, particularly traceroutes, to observe the routers encountered along network paths. From those observations, we could construct a graph of discovered nodes and connections.
As the collection grew, we began to see the enormous complexity of the Internet emerge through the data.
Turning network measurements into artwork
Collect network paths
Traceroutes were used to discover responding routers along paths to Internet destinations, revealing portions of the network structure.
Connect the observations
Discovered addresses and observed relationships were brought together to build an expanding graph of the Internet's visible infrastructure.
Render the network
The topology was transformed into a large visual composition, allowing complex network relationships to be explored as an image.
A beautiful, complicated picture
The original map became a striking circular composition filled with interconnected points, dense regions, colours and overlapping paths.
From a distance, the image resembled something astronomical — a planet, a nebula or an enormous constellation.
But every part of it originated from observations of real Internet infrastructure.
The project demonstrated both the potential of Internet topology visualisation and the challenges of displaying such an enormous interconnected system in a single image.
When more data stopped adding clarity
As the network graph expanded, the image became increasingly dense. Connections overlapped, individual networks became difficult to distinguish, and much of the underlying structure disappeared into the visual complexity.
The challenge was not simply the size of the image or the processing required to generate it. The greater problem was readability.
A single global map could show the scale and complexity of the Internet, but it was far less useful for studying individual countries, Internet providers or autonomous systems.
Rather than continuing indefinitely with the same presentation, we began exploring a more focused approach.
The original artwork remains a historical snapshot of that work. The mapping idea wasn't abandoned; the way we present the topology evolved.
From one enormous map to a global atlas
Visualise the Internet as a whole
Discover Internet routers and observed connections, bringing them together in one global topology visualisation.
A large-scale global network map
Produce a detailed visual representation showing the vast scale of Internet connectivity and its complex relationships.
Scale creates visual complexity
As the map became denser, distinguishing networks and understanding their connections became increasingly difficult.
Country-by-country topology mapping
Develop a more focused mapping pipeline, separating countries into individual visualisations with ASN-based colours and historical snapshots.
Hop Atlas
Give the mapping project its own identity and dedicated website, making network topology easier to explore, compare and appreciate.
The original map still matters
Although the mapping approach has evolved, the original Internet map remains an important part of the Internet Report project's history.
It represents the early ambition to discover and visualise Internet infrastructure at scale. It also helped demonstrate why smaller, more focused topology maps can provide a clearer view of how networks interconnect.
We're preserving this artwork both as a historical research snapshot and as a piece of data-driven digital art.
Internet Report continues to develop its research into Internet connectivity, network behaviour and performance, while Hop Atlas carries the visual mapping work forward.