Telemetry: The science and technology of automatic measurement and transmission of data by wire, radio, or other means from remote sources, as from space vehicles, to a receiving station for recording and analysis. The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition

The Telemetry Box is a information gathering device. Telemetry is often associated with data retrieval from space vehicles (such as the Galileo or the Voyager probes) over long distances. Like Space Probes a Telemetry Box comes equipped with "sensors" (called monitors) that allow it to probe the environment and a data storage device to record the results. It also has a processing facility in order to process and/or reduce the data to be transmitted. Space Probes like Galileo have multiple means of communication like for example a low-gain (not directional) and a high-gain (directional highly focused) antenna and transmitter. Like a space probe a telemetry box has multiple means of communication and relaying of the data collected.

In our context the Telemetry Box is used to monitor and collect data about devices operating in a networked environment. Telemetry Box data allows among other things diagnostics on web-servers, networks and of connectivity. The Telemetry-Box can verify that certain functionality exist and generate alerts if the testing of that functionality fails. The Telemetry box tries to behave like a nice observer trying to avoid interference with the system to be monitored as much as possible and is designed around a goal of striving of agent less monitoring.

A Telemetry box is a self-contained device and can be placed anywhere on the networks. For certain types of diagnostics the location is key to the ability to retrieve special information. Location is also critical in order for the Telemetry box to create minimal load and reduce its intrusiveness into the environment to be monitored. The telemetry box has a means of encrypted communication (analogous to a highly directional beam of a high gain antenna) as well as the ability to communicate via standard protocols such as http (which is easily accessible from anywhere but insecure).

The presentation in Bordeaux will cover:

1. Introduction to the Telemetry Box ideas.
2. Demonstration of simplified installation procedure for Debian/Linux from Credit Card CD
3. Demonstration of diagnostics features
   1. MON
   2. Netsaint
   3. WebRFM remote management
   4. Plain old commandline tools
   5. (Use of postgres as a data warehouse for diagnostic information)