nTop Goodness

At work, I was introduced to an awesome tool called ntop. It takes the concept of the Unix 'top' system monitoring utility and applies it to network monitoring. It lets you monitor the amount of traffic, the type (by TCP/UDP port) of traffic, and the remote hosts that are being contacted. Best of all, it's open source and distributed as source code, which means it can be installed on any architecture you can get it to work on. By using the DarwinPorts software, I was able to install it on my Macbook. Sweet!

To install, all I had to do was follow the instructions on the ntop DarwinPort page. It did take about 40 minutes to install all the required dependancies, but once installed I was in business. To run ntop, I had to issue the command 'sudo ntop -i en1' so that it would have the required privileges and would listen on the proper interface. Once it is running, just point your browser to 127.0.0.1:xxxx, where xxxx is the port you told it to display the results through. I use the -k switch to send it to another port, so I forget the default.

From this main window, you can view a whole host of info about the traffic running through the specified interface. My favorite views are Network Load Statistics and Info About . For Network Load Statistics, go to Summary -> Network Load. This view gives you graphs of aggregate traffic in the last 10 minutes, Hour, Day, and Month. It's a great way to monitor just how much traffic you are putting out onto the network. Info About can be accessed by going to IP -> Traffic Direction -> Local to Remote, then clicking on your IP address. If you scroll down to the bottom, it will give you a list of ports in use, along with the amount of traffic on each port and the service commonly associated with it. It's a great way to monitor if any unwanted services are running on your machine. If you use ntop's ability to listen to data forwarded from a port on a network switch (google for ntop user guides and you'll find more info on this; I've not used this feature), you can monitor all outbound traffic from your internal network to the internet. So, if you're running a business and want to monitor your network for filesharing programs, or identify what applications are using up the greatest amount of your bandwidth, ntop is the tool for you.

So, this is just a brief overview of ntop. Install it. Use it. Love it. It's great fun.

Zions from Pictures!

Pictures from Zions!

Starting down the Narrows

Candace leading the way

The Narrows, with Dave perched on a ledge to escape the cold spring water

On our way back

Randomness (Or My Feet Are Numb!)

And now for a random blog post about nothing much in particular, except for Zions. Friday night I was walking home from campus and my friend stopped me and asked if I wanted to go to Zion National Park the next day. That turned out to be one of the most fun decisions I have ever made. We left early. I woke up at 5:15, which I think is a record for me since I've been home from my mission (and even before!). We all piled into a 15 passenger van for the ride down. Once we got there, we did a short hike to the Emerald Pool. I was feeling very 'touristy' during this hike- busy trail, lots of people with cameras, etc etc.

Then we went and hiked the Narrows (or at least attempted to, anyways). The Virgin river is relatively high with runoff, and it's all still very cold because it never sees the sunlight as it winds its way through the canyon. Very few people dared to get into the river to hike up the Narrows (the river filled the canyon from side to side). Well, Candace was the brave soul who climbed in first. Boy does she have guts! The rest of us followed after, some because we wanted to (I was totally for it), some because of peer pressure (sad to say, I contributed to it). We zig-zagged our way up the canyon, going from side to side, dry spot to dry spot, for about 10 minutes, until we all agreed that it was time to go back. My legs and feet were numb, but I was starting to get annoyed by the cold. It's over 24 hours later, and my hiking boots are still a tad damp. It was so awesome! Such a sense of accomplishment to get across the river that first time. Normally I'm not one to draw attention to myself (I normally try to avoid it!), but I had no qualms about thrusting my fist in the air and screaming at the top of my lungs after I made that first crossing, even though there were about two dozen tourists on the other side.

We hit In-n-Out Burgers in Washington on the way back (I don't see what the hubub is- they're good burgers, but nothing incredible) and then started the trip back. Kudos to Chris for driving all the way there and back. We got home at about 12:30. That was the funnest (to all you grammar freaks out there: I don't care!) day in my college experience thus far. Word!

O Ye Mountains High

The latest in my series of infrequent posts has to do with a subject near and dear to my heart. I love the mountains. They are at the same time peaceful and massive. Today I hiked up to the Y- yes, I know it's kind of a cliche here at BYU, but holy smokes. After a long hike, there's nothing better than to look out over all the small buildings and cars far below and feel so free from it all (ok, so female company would make it better). It gives you a unique perspective over life, to be able to see the buildings that are indicative of your life shrink to utter insignificance when compared to the majesty of the mountain.

Having lived near mountains all my life, they lose their grandeur when viewed from below. They become two-dimensional cardboard cutouts on the horizon. Seemingly much more impressive is the massive Joseph F. Smith Building or the SWKT, or perhaps the Wells Fargo building in downtown Salt Lake. And yet, after hiking up a thousand feet, these buildings become tiny playthings. You look off in the distance and see the mountains rise up on the sides of the valley, you see where houses end and nature begins, and any of mankind's accomplishments pale in comparison.

To me, the mountains are a place of quiet meditation and calm reflection. In ancient days, when the Lord wanted to convey special information or revelation, he called His prophets to the mountains. Moses, Abraham, Nephi, and the Brother of Jared where taught on mountain tops. When the Savior prepared Peter, James, and John to receive the keys of the kingdom he took them to a mountain, now called the Mount of Transfiguration. Now, we have temples, "Mountains of the Lord," for these sacred purposes and I do not mean in any way to detract from their importance. There we can receive blessings available nowhere else. However, I believe mountains can still be places of spiritual importance. When I am in the mountains, I am away from the cares of the world. The busy life is left behind at the trailhead, and I have time to reflect, free from worry or care. I can begin to reflect on what really matters- love, the Gospel of Christ, family, the meaning of life, and so much more.

This is why I hike.