Comments:
Reference Information:
Title: Eden: Supporting Home Network Management Through Interactive Visual Tools
Authors: J. Yang, W. K. Edwards, D. Haslem.
Presentation: (Conference Paper) UIST 2010/2009
Summary:
In today's world, network management has become a household task. There are many devices, including computer, printers, mobile devices, routers, etc., that people need to know to configure - which becomes a difficult task for those with no or little background in networking. For this reason, there is existing technology in the format of wizards or built-in tools that allow the user to set up all these configurations. However, they do not provide them with the knowledge necessary to understand at least the minimum of what is going on, they will eventually need this knowledge when they need to troubleshoot their systems.
In this paper, the authors introduce Eden. Eden is an interactive home network management system that allows for a direct manipulation and interaction from the user, but also provides an understandable model of what is going on so that users understand enough to create a mental model of their network flow. As mentioned before, previous research has developed useful tools for network management, however not directed to the household user, instead for network professionals. The tools that are targeted for home networks lack the characteristic of giving the user enough information to understand their network. There is only one system, Network Magic, that can be compared to Eden, however it lacks of direct interaction.
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| Screen shot of Eden's User Interface |
Researchers first gathered data regarding the features households desired on their network management systems. Three main areas were discovered: membership management, access control and network monitoring, and QoS policy for bandwidth policy. Users want to be able to know quickly the status of their network and each device in it in order to make troubleshoot easier. Also, they want to have security - they want to make sure they are not granting access to all of their devices to guests as well as parental control for children. And third, they want their system to be up and running, and mainly their most important applications.
The result: a spatial + logical user interface giving users the ability to see what is inside their 'Home' network and allows them to group their devices in different 'Rooms.' This grouping can be useful in different ways, depending on the user's choice. The rooms could represent physically where the devices are, or maybe different configurations and settings given to each room. Their system is also able to provide badges which represent the additon of settings, and provide useful information about each device.
The system was evaluated by 20 participants of age ranging from 20's to 50's and with different kinds of backgrounds. Majority with technical background, but their knowledge about network management varied. Their testing was composed of two evaluations, conceptual, and functionality + usability evaluations. Researchers obtained positive results from the evaluations and expressed their desire to continue expanding this application. One feature they want to add is to make the system accessible remotely, maybe as a web application.
Discussion:
I feel like my summary is really long, but I was trying to highlight the most important points about this development - and even then, I don't think I covered them all! This is a great technology, I think the user interface allows users to understand what is going on with their network, which will actually teach them at least the very basics of networking. I am one of those persons that will understand better if I put things on paper, maybe a drawing, or a sentence, or something... visualizing the network system will be definitely helpful.
This reminds me of the little mappings shown in the Windows Network and Sharing Center, the one that maps your computer to the network access, to the internet. Each component in the map as an icon that will help you understand and create a mental model of your internet connection. For example if something goes wrong, it will usually display a big X in one of icons indicating what went wrong.
Overall I think Eden is a great system to implement, and will definitively like to try it.
I think this is a great idea, providing a visible mapping of networks. However, I wonder how different rooms are distinguished? If devices are just manually assigned to a specific room, something like a laptop could travel between them and end up with the wrong settings for its area.
ReplyDeleteThe user gives appropriate names to the rooms and graphically places the devices in the corresponding rooms. However, this does not have to represent the physical location of the device, for example a laptop can be moved around the house, but still be classified in one of the rooms. The rooms are mainly for organizing different kind of settings, for example parental control and stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is reminiscent of the Windows Network and Sharing Center, Eden sounds like it gives far more useful information. As you said, Windows shows a red X when there is a problem, but Eden is more likely to tell you exactly what the problem is.
ReplyDeleteNetwork management is a collection of processes and tools that promote network consistency, track network change, and provide up to date network documentation and visibility. By building and maintaining configuration management best-practices, you can expect several benefits such as improved network availability and lower costs.
ReplyDelete