Hechenberger, Stephan

English

SJSU ScholarWorks

SWITCH Volume 17 Number 4 The data_flux project Article 1 2-16-2002 The data_flux project: Visualization of Vectored Streams in Networked Systems Stephan Hechenberger Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/switch  Archived from http://switch.sjsu.edu/archive/nextswitch/switch_engine/front/front.php%3Fartc=98.html. Documentation of the preservation processes used for this collection is available at https://github.com/NickSzydlowski/switch. Recommended Citation Hechenberger, Stephan (2002) "The data_flux project: Visualization of Vectored Streams in Networked Systems," SWITCH: Vol. 17 : No. 4 , Article 1. Available at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/switch/vol17/iss4/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in SWITCH by an authorized editor of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@sjsu.edu. front.php_artc=98.html[1/18/22, 10:32:51 AM]all #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18+ ++ + The data_Flux_project can beseen as a prerecorded video:..::> full video..::>multi-track video(needs a fast computerotherwise synchronization willbe off)+ + + + +The data_flux project Visualization of Vectored Streams in Networked SystemsStephan Hechenberger on Feb 16 2002 the data_flux projectIn the course of a one semester lecture at the CADRE Laboratory for NewMedia the data_Flux_project has been realized. Its purpose is to seize theprinciples of networked systems and visualize date as it occures as networktraffic. The data_flux project implements a linear data processing route which resembles waysthrough the internet as they often emerge out of the otherwise net-like topology. Thishappens because major service providers first collect all the data packages of a certainarea, send them over their backbone and redistribute them in another area. In thatsense the implementation comprises several computers (nodes) which are connected ina linear fashion. Each node has a limited influence on a dataflow which streamsthrough the whole network model. That influence determines how and when a particlein the stream is sent to the next node. The stream itself is visualized as particlesmoving from one side of the screen to the other side so that the impression of acontinuous flow through all the nodes arises. The data flow and not the networktopology or the single nodes are in the center of interest. Watching data from thisvantage point an observer will be challenged to emerge insights in the nature of dataand its independent behavior. It is yet another step away from the notion that data isthe pixels on your screen.  The data_flux software is capable of depicting the principles of data according to ourcontemporary notion of network systems:(1) Data gets streamed through networkperipherals, phone wires, satellite up/down links and gets acted on by an arbitrarynumber of nodes on its way from the sender to the receiver. (2) Data has long agogiven up the dependence on a specific hardware. Pixels are not the bright dots on acomputer screen any more in the same way as an IP-package is not about a certainconfiguration in a memory chip. Both have become concepts which are prevalent intheir most abstract forms and are defined on an abstract metalevel."This software construct is about advocating the supremacy of newmedia concepts over their implementation."front.php_artc=98.html[1/18/22, 10:32:51 AM]about | contact | credits | subscribeTechnical Description The program which is running on each node is a multithreaded server/clientimplementation written in C with visual output to an openGL graphic engine. Currentlythedata_Flux_software is running in the CADRE labs on SGI O2 workstations (IRIX OS)connected via 100Mbps ethernet. Although the network bandwidth needs are small tomoderate, quite a lot processing power is needed to handle the openGL routines and allthe particle streaming logic. It is conceivable to port the program to Linux and run themodel on high end PCs. Preferable a number of five workstations should be arranged inone line with a relatively small space in between. Fast ethernet connection is neededbetween all of the nodes and internet access should be a matter of course. Currentlythe software samples local network traffic to generate the stream which could beeverything from SQL requests to http-postings. As a basic principle the data source isnot a decisive factor only a trendy one.   |  | ::CrossReferencelast 5 articles posted by Hechenberger:: Welcome To Issue 18! - Apr 2 2003:: A Pierre Lévy Project - Apr 2 2003:: Data Flux - Mar 27 2003:: The data_flux project - Feb 16 2002:: Contact Us - Feb 10 2002:: Credits - Feb 7 2002:: The data_flux project - Feb 2 2002view all posts made by Hechenberger

The data_flux project: Visualization of Vectored Streams in Networked Systems

https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1197&context=switch

The data_flux project: Visualization of Vectored Streams in Networked Systems

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

SJSU ScholarWorks