HackLinode

Data visualization and risk detection tool using the Linode API

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Inspiration && What it does

HackLinode is a tool for retrieving and visualizing data using the Linode API. It allows to users to see the geographical locations and availabilities of Linode's data centers, as well as service anomalies in a way that is more intuitive than simply tables or numbers. When we looked through the different sponsors and technologies available to us, Linode's VPS service stood out for its simple, straight-forward, and user-friendly design. We wanted to base our project on the Linode API.

How we built it

For technologies, we decided to go with a single page MEAN stack application for quick and easy development as both of us know JavaScript and want responsive reloads. At first, we tried to implement planetary.js for our globe and heatmap readings, but it proved too difficult so we decided to use GoogleMaps API to display our map. Lastly, LinodeAPI has an SDK for node.js, so it was easy to integrate Linode services with JavaScript.

Challenges we ran into

The API had a steep learning curve. As students with more programming than network experience, learning how to take advantage of Linode's VPS and the functionalities that its API provided took up most of our time. We had difficulty in making requests to the API services through node.js, as well as using the software through a command-line interface. The poor reliability of the venue's internet service severely limited our productivity. We also took time to think of a project that would both be unique and impactful. We were also limited by our personal budget and work with more powerful or higher end Linode services.

Accomplishments that we are proud of && What we Learned && What's next

We put effort into learning this API; becoming more familiar with it and gaining networking experience is an accomplishment in and of itself. We went from having virtually no knowledge of this service to developing a tool that could potentially improve customer satisfaction and service quality.

In addition to technical knowledge, we also learned about the affordable VPS services provided by Linode. We could use these services either for personal use, or even for improving upon our current project and utilizing these services in our next hackathon. Providing a way to privately access data, contributing to distributed computing projects, processing large data sets - the possibilities are endless.

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