RIPE Atlas is a global network of devices, called probes and anchors, that actively measure Internet connectivity. RIPE Atlas users can also perform customised measurements to gain valuable data about their own networks. At the time of writing, there were 11,009 probes connected, the total number of probes connected is maybe higher than this as probes go offline due to Internet disconnections, power issues especially in under developed/developing countries. All this while, the probes have been hardware devices.