Building a prototype for network measurement virtual observatory

Abstract

Online sharing of scientific information has accelerated the research activity in various different domains of science. This fact inspires us to initiate this kind of approach in the field of network research and review some projects pointing towards this direction. Using the experiences of similar efforts in other domains of sciences we are building a prototype node for Network Measurement Virtual Observatory. The goal of the observatory is to stimulate network research through sharing available measurement data along with analysis results and providing easy-to-use "online" network data analysis tools for network research and management purposes. We would also like to initiate discussion about standardization of network measurement data and to motivate other researchers to publish their own data and tools. In this paper we sketch the basic concept of Virtual Observatories and present a prototype system developed to share measurement data and tools associated with the ETOMIC measurement infrastructure.