NetSage is an open privacy-aware network measurement, analysis, and visualization service designed to address the needs of today’s international networks. Modern science is increasingly data-driven and collaborative in nature, producing petabytes of data that can be shared by tens to thousands of scientists all over the world. The National Science Foundation-supported International Research Network Connection (IRNC) links have been essential to performing these science experiments.
Providing near real-time monitoring and visualization of international data transfers will help ensure that scientific workflows are operating at maximum efficiency. NetSage services provide an unprecedented combination of passive measurements, including SNMP data, flow data, and Bro-based traffic analysis, as well as active measurements, mainly perfSONAR, and longitudinal network performance data visualization. User privacy is a significant concern in this project given the data flowing through the exchange points. NetSage addresses these concerns through the use of a privacy advisory board that will ensure the data gathering activities are conducted to meet all community standards. The proposed work is a partnership between Indiana University, University of California at Davis, and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This uniquely strong team combines backgrounds in production international network support, networking measurement and prediction tools, network-intensive applications and data visualization.