Network mapper
By Ashley Whittaker. Posted
We are, to put it mildly, bored with looking at screen after screen of glowing pixels. We understand that humans are very good at taking in information through their eyes, and that the invention of the alphabet made reading and writing a super-efficient way of transmitting data, but after staring at the TV, our phone, and occasionally our work computers, we sometimes dream of a better way. And here is that better way: a network map showing the status of, and bandwidth between, a series of data centres in Switzerland.
Advertisement
Get started with Raspberry Pi – everything you need to know to start your journey!
Like many projects, this one began life not out of a need, but out of finding a stash of cool components and wanting to do something with them. In this case, the component haul was a tray of MD0657C2-R displays from a surplus component shop. Add a few MAX6952 chips to drive the displays, and six Raspberry Pi Pico Ws, and you’ve got the guts of a unique visual display that feels like it came from the set of Superman 3.
Maximilien housed these displays and their associated electronics in frames made out of wood and plywood, finished off with painted, laser-cut acrylic panels. It’s backlit with RGB LEDs that are controlled by the main Raspberry Pi Pico W, which also grabs the data to display from the data source and updates it in real time.
As data displays go, it certainly beats a spreadsheet.
Subscribe to Raspberry Pi Official Magazine
Save up to 37% off the cover price and get a FREE Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W with a subscription to Raspberry Pi Official Magazine.
More articles
Unusual tools: degaussing tool
In the simplest form, a degaussing tool is a coil of wire that generates an alternating magnetic field that demagnetises ferrous metals.
Read more →
RP2350 Pico W5 review
It’s Raspberry Pi Pico 2, but with a lot more memory.
Read more →
Retro 3D-printed Typeframe PX-88
Distraction-free writing on a piece of new, vintage kit – it’s like the olden days, but better.
Read more →