Cause of Vultr Traffic On–Off Periodicity

Determine the cause of the provider-specific on–off periodicity observed in traffic from Autonomous System 48090 (TECHOFF SRV) during the CLOUD-NT measurement period.

Background

The CLOUD-NT measurements showed a steep decline in traffic observed through Vultr, primarily because Autonomous System 48090 generated alternating periods of inactivity and substantial traffic bursts. These bursts accounted for 41–74% of total packets on active days and ceased near the end of the observation window.

The paper identifies this behavior as an unresolved provider-specific artifact. Because its cause is unknown, the authors treat the measured Vultr regression slope as descriptive of the particular observation period rather than as evidence of a stable long-term trend.