https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Architecture
  • Engineering/Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Embedded Computing


Thinkstock

The volume of log data calls to mind the torrent of code in the Matrix films.

Enter the Matrix of Log Data

Log data is all around us. While the personal tracking of data may be contentious, there are countless pragmatic applications of logs, ranging from diagnosing problems with cars to thwarting hackers.
  • Written by Brian Buntz
  • 6th July 2016

The groundbreaking science-fiction film The Matrix opened with a cascade of green digital rain—code that represented the activity of the virtual world.

There is a similar torrent of data that is being gathered by logs. But whereas in the Matrix, this code could form buildings, cars, and other objects, in the real world, a torrent of log data is gathered by them.

The implications of log data in the automotive industry alone are staggering. Referring to the ability of cars to track GPS logs, Ford’s Global VP/Marketing and Sales, Jim Farley declared two years ago: “We know everyone who breaks the law,” He distanced himself from that statement soon after that.

The fact remains that connected cars log an increasing amount data. The vast majority of cars today have event recorders—so-called “black boxes”—that monitor crash data. Some cars even track whether you wear a seatbelt. And if you are wearing one, some cars log whether you are accelerating or braking hard enough to cause the seat belt to lock up to brace for a potential accident. At least one automaker even track whether their customers favor listening to CDs or MP3s. “The CD/MP3 example is comparatively harmless, but should a car maker really know what my driving style is?” asks Loggly’s senior director of product marketing Sven Dummer.

While issues like that may have no easy answer, logs can play an invaluable role in determining who was at fault in an accident and can prove useful for a spectrum of other applications. Consider how carmaker Tesla, for instance, was able to argue against a driver who claimed that a Tesla Model X SUV accelerated on its own, crashing into a building. The company released log data indicating that the car crashed because the driver suddenly hit the acceleration pedal—not because the car somehow decided to do that. And now that there are reports of the first death associated with a self-driving Tesla that surfaced in late June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is doubtlessly considering that car’s log data as crucial evidence as they investigate the matter.

Logs: A Common Denominator for the IoT

Log data is all around us, whether they are gathered by vehicles, smartphones, smart televisions, wireless routers, industrial machines, and oil rigs. “Pretty much all software and every device that runs software writes log data,” Dummer says.

One of the primary applications of log data is troubleshooting. “That data is a very powerful for debugging software and understanding why a device failed,” Dummer says. “The log data will give you a tremendous volume of data that can help you find out what to do.”

Log data can also be used for business intelligence and is often used to inform product design. As alluded to before, car makers use log data to help inform the feature sets that go into new vehicles. Video game developers are using log data to help inform game design. “The applications are practically endless,” Dummer says.

The information is also useful for protecting against hackers. “Log data will tell you what IP address a denial of service attack is coming from or what group of IP addresses is responsible,” Dummer says. “You can configure your firewall to block them.”

Indeed, logs already play a crucial role in the IoT. “I think, overall, logs are the only common denominator of all of these systems,” Dummer explains. “Devices that didn’t used to be connected are all connected, and virtually all of these devices are gathering log data. The type of data you can record is indefinitely large. There are a lot of implications in almost all areas of society.”

Sorting Through the Matrix of Log Data

In many cases, the volume of log data is so vast that it would be impossible for a single person to follow the data in a terminal window. “A user would see a Matrix-type of a screen,” Dummer says. “The volume of log data has increased tremendously over the past few years,” he says. “One common example in the literature is an oil rig with tens of thousands of sensors that generate terabytes of data per day. That is something of a special case, but even an average company generates gigabytes of data every day.”

Although log data may be ubiquitous, it is not standardized. Loggly can digest log data from different formats and sources and then display in a single dashboard view. Think of it is as sort of Google Analytics that can accept virtually any log data. “We aggregate log data and allow you to run analytics,” Dummer says. “Loggly is kind of like the Swiss Army knife. You can send any log data from any source to Loggly, whether it be a server, desktop computers, or devices, or a combination of those.”

Tags: Article Embedded Computing Technologies

Related


  • How Industrial Edge Fuels Real-Time IoT Processes
    IoT processes such as product quality control, have gained new life at the industrial edge for real-time data and response.
  • Edge computing
    Emerging Edge Cloud Architecture Continues to Shake Out
    Edge cloud architecture is going to bring about new capabilities. But as data-intensive functionality comes together at the edge, technologies need to develop, then converge, first.
  • Training and Development on the Mechanism of Metal Gears. in the design of information related to business
    Turning to Rust Development For IoT Performance
    If you haven’t heard of it, Rust is an up-and-coming programming language that provides secure application performance for device-run code.
  • Training and Development on the Mechanism of Metal Gears. in the design of information related to business
    How to Run Docker on IoT Devices
    Here’s how to run Docker on IoT devices, which enables you to bring container-based app development to the edge.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • Argent Case Study
  • MES For Dummies
  • IoT in Utilities Market Brings Resilience in Wake of COVID-19 Pressure
  • State of Manufacturing Technology Report

News

View all

Webex Collaboration Banks on Hybrid Workplace Model at Cisco Live 2021

2nd April 2021

Cisco Enlists Networking Automation, CX Cloud in COVID-19 Response

31st March 2021

White Papers

View all

Telehealth and COVID Infographic

30th March 2021

Medical Supply Chain Management with Smart Devices and Sensors

30th March 2021

Special Reports

View all

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

Webinars

View all

Weber’s Journey: How a Top Grill Maker Serves Up Connected Cooking

25th February 2021

From Insights to Action: Best Practices for Implementing Connected Device Security

15th December 2020

Galleries

View all

Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020

26th January 2020

Five of the Most Promising Digital Health Technologies

14th January 2020

Industry Perspectives

View all

IoT Spending Holds Firm — Tempered by Dose of ‘IoT Pragmatism’

1st December 2020

The Great IoT Connectivity Lockdown

11th May 2020

Events

View all

Embedded IoT World 2021

28th April 2021 - 29th April 2021

The Virtual Industrial AI Summit

29th June 2021 - 30th June 2021

IoT World 2021

2nd November 2021 - 4th November 2021

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

🥳Happy #IoTDay! How are you celebrating? We're giving $50 off All Access Passes to join our upcoming virtual event,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

9th April 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

🎉 Announcing #EIOTWORLD sponsor, @InnoPhaseinc — a fabless wireless semiconductor platform company specializing in… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

8th April 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Digital Health Infrastructure Benefits From Cloud-to-Edge Architecture dlvr.it/RxBwQ4 https://t.co/AILVdUVWDA

7th April 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Meet the #EIOTWORLD keynote lineup: Google, Facebook, Linux Foundation, STMicroelectronics, Antmicro, OpenHW Group,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

6th April 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Network Data Analytics Supports Back-to-Work Health and Safety dlvr.it/Rx5xlL https://t.co/VvxxpdUMJ3

6th April 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

IoT Cybersecurity Act Places Security Onus on Device Makers dlvr.it/Rx2jHK https://t.co/fyd3nQ1r1Z

5th April 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X