Heuristics for determining the layout of a procedurally generated user interface

1. A method for monitoring communication over a network with a network monitoring device (NMD) that performs actions, comprising:

providing a plurality of ranked positions in a user-interface to display one or more visualizations of network traffic, wherein a rank for each of the ranked positions is based on one or more of measurement information or one or more heuristics for the network traffic;

displaying the one or more visualizations in the user-interface based on layout information that includes geometry information for each of the ranked positions, wherein the one or more visualizations are associated with one or more metrics for the network traffic; and

when one or more portions of the measurement information change and exceed one or more defined threshold values, modifying the display of the ranked positions for the one or more visualizations to reflect a new rank for the ranked positions based on the change to the one or more portions of the measurement information.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising employing one or more roles of a user to select the one or more metrics of network traffic that are associated with the one or more visualization displayed in the user-interface.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising employing the layout information execute the one or more heuristics to determine one or more modifications to the layout information based on one or more roles of a user and monitored network traffic.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a template for the layout information based on one or more of local network traffic, community network traffic, one or more roles of a user, or the one or more heuristics; and

employing the template to display one or more different visualizations for a metric to the user.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, determining a position for the one or more visualizations based on at least one of a relevancy score or a weight, wherein the relevancy score is based on one or more roles of a user and the one or more heuristics.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

modifying the measurement information to include one or more characteristics of the network traffic based on different Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layers of the network traffic;

employing the modified measurement information to generate one or more correlations between different OSI layers; and

updating the one or more heuristics based on the one or more correlations.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement information further comprises topology information, or other information provided by one or more sensors, including one or more of geo-location information, temperature information, or electrical information.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement information, further comprises, a user's interactions with the user-interface, wherein the user's interactions include one or more of rearranging the layout of the one or more visualizations, hiding the one or more visualizations from view, sharing the one or more visualizations with one or more other users, or printing hardcopies of the one or more visualizations.

9. A system for monitoring communication over a network, comprising:

a network monitoring device (NMD), comprising:

a transceiver that communicates over the network;

a memory that stores at least instructions; and

one or more processor devices that execute instructions that perform actions, including:

providing a plurality of ranked positions in a user-interface to display one or more visualizations of network traffic, wherein a rank for each of the ranked positions is based on one or more of measurement information or one or more heuristics for the network traffic;

enabling a display of the one or more visualizations in the user-interface based on layout information that includes geometry information for each of the ranked_positions, wherein the one or more visualizations are associated with one or more metrics for the network traffic; and

when one or more portions of the measurement information change and exceed one or more defined threshold values, modifying the display of the ranked positions for the one or more visualizations to reflect a new rank for the ranked positions based on the change to the one or more portions of the measurement information.

10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising employing one or more roles of a user to select the one or more metrics of network traffic that are associated with the one or more visualization displayed in the user-interface.

11. The system of claim 9 , further comprising employing the layout information execute the one or more heuristics to determine one or more modifications to the layout information based on one or more roles of a user and monitored network traffic.

12. The system of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining a template for the layout information based on one or more of local network traffic, community network traffic, one or more roles of a user, or the one or more heuristics; and

employing the template to display one or more different visualizations for a metric to the user.

13. The system of claim 9 , further comprising, determining a position for the one or more visualizations based on at least one of a relevancy score or a weight, wherein the relevancy score is based on one or more roles of a user and the one or more heuristics.

14. The system of claim 9 , further comprising:

modifying the measurement information to include one or more characteristics of the network traffic based on different Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layers of the network traffic;

employing the modified measurement information to generate one or more correlations between different OSI layers; and

updating the one or more heuristics based on the one or more correlations.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the measurement information further comprises topology information, or other information provided by one or more sensors, including one or more of geo-location information, temperature information, or electrical information.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the measurement information, further comprises, a user's interactions with the user-interface, wherein the user's interactions include one or more of rearranging the layout of the one or more visualizations, hiding the one or more visualizations from view, sharing the one or more visualizations with one or more other users, or printing hardcopies of the one or more visualizations.

17. A processor readable non-transitory storage media that includes instructions for monitoring communication over a network, wherein execution of the instructions by one or more processor devices performs actions, comprising:

providing a plurality of ranked positions in a user-interface to display one or more visualizations of network traffic, wherein a rank for each of the ranked positions is based on one or more of measurement information or one or more heuristics for the network traffic;

displaying the one or more visualizations in the user-interface based on layout information that includes geometry information for each of the ranked positions, wherein the one or more visualizations are associated with one or more metrics for the network traffic; and

when one or more portions of the measurement information change and exceed one or more defined threshold values, modifying the display of the ranked positions for the one or more visualizations to reflect a new rank for the ranked positions based on the change to the one or more portions of the measurement information.

18. The media of claim 17 , further comprising employing one or more roles of a user to select the one or more metrics of network traffic that are associated with the one or more visualization displayed in the user-interface.

19. The media of claim 17 , further comprising employing the layout information execute the one or more heuristics to determine one or more modifications to the layout information based on one or more roles of a user and monitored network traffic.

20. The media of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining a template for the layout information based on one or more of local network traffic, community network traffic, one or more roles of a user, or the one or more heuristics; and

employing the template to display one or more different visualizations for a metric to the user.

21. The media of claim 17 , further comprising, determining a position for the one or more visualizations based on at least one of a relevancy score or a weight, wherein the relevancy score is based on one or more roles of a user and the one or more heuristics.

22. The media of claim 17 , further comprising:

modifying the measurement information to include one or more characteristics of the network traffic based on different Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layers of the network traffic;

employing the modified measurement information to generate one or more correlations between different OSI layers; and

updating the one or more heuristics based on the one or more correlations.

23. The media of claim 17 , wherein the measurement information further comprises topology information, or other information provided by one or more sensors, including one or more of geo-location information, temperature information, or electrical information.

24. The media of claim 17 , wherein the measurement information, further comprises, a user's interactions with the user-interface, wherein the user's interactions include one or more of rearranging the layout of the one or more visualizations, hiding the one or more visualizations from view, sharing the one or more visualizations with one or more other users, or printing hardcopies of the one or more visualizations.