INANNA Version 0 / Usage

This page explains the features of the maps produced by the INANNA system.

Overview

The format of all maps produced by the Interactive Animated Traffic Analysis system is basically the same. A number of networks clouds or nodes are connected by colored arrows. The color of each arrow is a function of the percent utilization on the link. If you click on a link, you will be taken to the MRTG traffic statistics for that link. Each link also shows network errors in the form of a black bar that grows from the base of the arrow to its tip.

Links

Here is an example of one of the links you might see connecting two elements on the map. Note that each side of the link has a small box near it indicating the current percent utilization on that part of the link. For example, we can see that the connection from the lower left to the upper right is currently using 52% of its available bandwidth, and the connection from the upper right to the lower left is using 98% of its available bandwidth. If you were to click on this link, you would be taken to a Web page showing the daily traffic and error statistics for this link. You could then click on either graph to see the full history data for either traffic or errors. Some maps make use the small boxes to indicate an absolute rate of traffic. In this case, the percent sign (%) will not be present, and there may be a single letter identifying the standard metric multiplier to use to interpret the value. For example, 4.5k means '4,500 bps', and 23M means '23 million bps'.

Legend

The possible colors for the links in the map are shown in a legend like the one seen here. This image shows the most common color scale used; low traffic is green, medium traffic is yellow, and heavy traffic is red. From the legend, we can tell, for instance, that all links with between 30% and 40% will be drawn in a shade of yellow-green.

Errors

When a network link is experiencing errors in excess of 0.001% of total traffic, a black error bar will grow from the base of the arrow towards its tip. The scale is logarithmic; the base of the arrow represents 0.001% errors and the head represents 1% errors. If the error rate is less than 0.001%, no bar will be present. If the error rate is greater than 1%, the full length of the arrow (excluding the head) will be black.

	Here is a link which is experiencing some errors. The error bar is sizeable enough so that it would be advisable to click on the link and investigate further.
	When the error rate begins to recede, the color of the error bar will begin to fade to the current background color of the link. To the left, we can see a case in which the error rate is beginning to drop and the black error bar is fading to the background color of red.

Some maps will also have a high-water mark for the error level that shows the highest level of errors reached in some predefined length of time (typically one day). This high-water mark appears as a black bar across the width of the arrow.

Dead Links

The Interactive Animated Traffic Analysis system also checks the networking equipment at each polling interval to make sure that the link is still functional. If a link goes down, it will be represented on the map with a solid black arrow, as illustrated by the image to the right.

Clock

Each map may also contain an analog clock, as seen to the left. This clock shows the time at which the map was last updated. There may also be a "PM" indicator beside the clock. The primary purpose of the clock is to serve as a reference for the passage of time when you are viewing a traffic movie.

Nodes

A map may have its links terminating in labelled colored circles like those pictured to the right. These represent network nodes; in general, a blue node is one which should have active links terminating in it, and a gray node is one with no active links. If you click on a node, you will be taken to a Web page that shows the daily traffic statistics for each link terminating in that node. You can then click on any individual graph to see the full historical data.

Timestamp

You will also see a timestamp like the one shown to the left on most maps. This is the exact date and time at which the traffic map was last updated. The time zone used is that of the system hosting the Animated Traffic Map system. Note that maps prepared at Indiana University will always show Eastern Standard Time (EST). Indiana does not observe Daylight Savings Time.

Other Links

Below the map you may see two HTML links like those shown to the right. The "Documentation" link points to the page from which you accessed this document. The "Movies" link takes to you a page from which you can request an animated summary of network traffic between two points in time. The method used depends on your browser; Internet Explorer users will receive an animated GIF file, while users of Netscape and other browsers will receive the images through "server push".

Other Notes

• The polling interval for most maps is five minutes.
  
  
• The maps should automatically refresh themselves in your browser at every polling interval.

Interactive Animated Traffic Analysis (INANNA), Version 0.
Copyright 2000 by the Trustees of Indiana University.