NetVizor
Team Members: James Eagan John Stasko Ellen Zegura

Interacting with Transit-Stub Network Visualizations (InfoVis 2003 poster)

Network researchers and administrators often use model network topologies to conduct network experiments. These models can be generated with tools such as the Georgia Tech Internet Topology Modeler (GT-ITM), which generate pseudo-random network topologies that exhibit various properties that have been identified as existing in real-world networks. Still, the question often remains as to whether a model network is a particularly good model for the simulations being run on it. The NetVizor project aims to aid network researchers in better understanding the model networks on which they run simulations and the properties exhibited during the simulation.

While we are focused on the specific problem of visualizing hierarchical data networks such as those found on the Internet, wherever possible we maintain generality. Thus, while NetVizor is specifically a tool oriented around the visualization of computer networks, many techniques used can be carried across to other task domains involving hierarchical graphs.

The NetVizor project leverages the work of the graph drawing community. Given the most effective methods for laying out a graph of any significant size, we examine the interface techniques that can help bring the data represented in the graph to life.