Visualization of Complex Systems Computer systems are rapidly increasing in complexity.
Processors contain more and more transistors and networks connect more and more computers.
Unfortunately, designing and evaluating sophisticated computer systems is becoming more difficult. We believe integrating more advanced visualization tools into the design and evaluation of computer systems will dramatically improve the overall process and lead to better understanding of complex computer systems. To demonstrate the advantages of visualization, we are integrating new visualization tools into the design and evaluation process of a variety of computer system components, specifically processor and memory systems, multiprocessor architectures, compilers, operating systems and networks. These sophisticated visualizations have been developed in, and are driving the development of, the Rivet information visualization environment. This innovative visualization architecture has been designed to support the rapid prototyping of visualizations for the exploration of complex, real world problems.