======================== Network Management Tools ======================== There are several service programs that can assist in visualizing or mapping an AREDN |trade| network, as well as for viewing local RF conditions near your node. Some of these programs are discussed below. KG6WXC MeshMap Network Visualizer --------------------------------- `Eric KG6WXC `_ created this useful tool and makes it available as an open source project. MeshMap can be installed on any mesh services computer having `LAMP `_ software, which allows it to run on a Raspberry Pi in your shack or in the field. MeshMap runs continuously and discovers/polls live nodes to display their current configuration, services, and network link information. It maintains a persistent database of all nodes that have been discovered. For additional information visit this link: `KG6WXC MeshMap `_. .. image:: _images/meshmap-kg6wxc.png :alt: KG6WXC MeshMap Display :align: center | KP4MSR MeshMap Network Visualizer --------------------------------- `Manuel KP4MSR `_ originally created this software for the Puerto Rico AREDN |trade| network, with a current fork and rewrite of the code maintained by `Tim KN6PLV `_. This program does *not* run continuously and does *not* maintain a persistent database of nodes, so it is less resource-intensive on the network. Once the static pages are built, it can be run on any device with a web server, including on a node with enough free memory. For additional information visit this link: `KN6PLV MeshMap `_. .. image:: _images/meshmap-kn6plv.png :alt: KN6PLV MeshMap Display :align: center | AREDN |trade| Prometheus Exporter --------------------------------- `Prometheus `_ is an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit which collects and stores metrics as time series data. At given intervals it can collect metrics from AREDN |trade| nodes having the ``prometheus-exporter`` package installed. Prometheus evaluates rule expressions, displays the results, and can trigger alerts when specified conditions are detected. AREDN |trade| metrics in the ``prometheus-exporter`` package include the following: - Node details (name, model, firmware, description, Lat/Lon, grid square, band, channel, width, frequency, SSID) - Memory, storage, CPU, and networking metrics - RF metrics (signal, noise, MSC rate, TX/RX packets/rates) - LQM metrics - OLSR link info In order for Prometheus to pull metrics from a node it will use the following target URL: ``http://.local.mesh/cgi-bin/metrics`` and metrics are returned by the node as standard *text/plain* content. Minimal node resources are required to support Prometheus data collection since the node only uses minimal resources whenever this URL is queried. .. image:: _images/prometheus-exporter.png :alt: Prometheus Exporter metrics in text format :align: center | The AREDN |trade| ``prometheus-exporter`` simply makes these metrics available for Prometheus to pull. For additional information about Prometheus itself, visit `their website here `_. The following image shows Prometheus metrics for an AREDN |trade| node being displayed by the `Grafana `_ visualization application. .. image:: _images/grafana.png :alt: Prometheus Exporter metrics in Grafana :align: center | KN6PLV Network Waterfall Scanner -------------------------------- `Tim KN6PLV `_ created this program to assist with discovering the RF conditions around your node. It is installed as a node package which is available here: `KN6PLV Waterfall `_. Once installed it is accessible via URL from any web browser on the network (``http://[NODENAME]/cgi-bin/waterfall``). It will disconnect your node from the mesh while it continuously scans for nearby RF signals, so it does require authentication with the node's login credentials in order to run. The *Spectral View* shows the strength of nearby signals, while the *Waterfall* maintains a record over time of the RF environment. .. image:: _images/waterfall-kn6plv.png :alt: KN6PLV Waterfall Display :align: center |