Topologies

Topologies allow users to draw a topology scheme of their network in the form of map or a graph. Links can either be virtual or assigned to a specific channel. Assigned links visualize their utilization using a heatmap. Topology widgets can be used on a dashboard, so you have an instant overview of the infrastructure (for more info, see the Widgets page). The link utilization is colored using a heatmap.

Topology configuration is managed in the Topologies page. A list of existing topologies is shown and you can edit an existing topology or create a new one. A user with the admin role can see the topologies of all users.

Topologies overview page

Topologies can be filtered using the left sidebar or the search function. Users can Edit the topology name and properties or Delete the topology. By clicking the topology name, a user opens the Topology detail dialogue.

A new topology can be created by clicking New topology. The respective form includes:

• Name of the topology.
• Type of the topology - you choose between a graph type and a map type. The graph type provides a blank canvas to capture a logical topology while the map type places objects on a map. Note that the type cannot be changed once the topology is created. To display a map topology, the client accessing the Flowmon web interface must be connected to the Internet.
• Share with user or role. The "Can edit" checkbox can be enabled to allow the users to perform changes in the topology.
• Refresh rate for topology detail page.

Topology detail

After clicking on the name of the topology in the topologies list, the user gets redirected to a topology detail page. Here, the user can edit the topology by adding, editing, or removing nodes and links. Links are colored based on how much of their bandwidth is being used. Information about the size of the traffic is available in a tooltip which appears when hovering over a link.

Editing the topology

On top of the page next to the topology name, there is a menu with options to edit topology settings, delete the topology or close the topology detail page and come back to the list view of all topologies.

Editing topology content

On the left-hand side, there is a control panel from which the user can choose elements to be added to the topology. The first section contains various types of nodes and the second section consists of an icon for adding a link. There is no functional distinction between the individual node types (they only differ visually).

To add a new node, click one of the node icons and then click inside the map to place the node. To add a link between nodes, click the "Add link" icon and then click the two nodes. The location of nodes can be changed using a simple drag and drop and elements can be edited by clicking on them. To delete an element, click the respective node or link and click the delete button in the bottom right corner of the dialog.

When adding a node, you can set a name and a description.

When adding a link, choose from one of the three link types (described below), mode of calculation, bandwidth, and a profile with a channel as the source of data.

• Symmetric - a bandwidth, profile, and channel are set.
• Asymmetric - a pair of bandwidths, a profile, and a channel are set.
• Virtual - no bandwidth, profile, or channel is assigned.

Editing the traffic scale

On the bottom-left corner, a traffic scale heat map controller is located. After clicking on it, the user can set the threshold when the topology links change color from green to yellow or red signifying that current traffic in a link is a given percentage of the link's total bandwidth.

Restricted access to topology content

If a user does not have access rights to a profile used in a topology link (for example, if a topology was shared to a user by another user with more access rights), traffic summary for such links is not available in the topology detail. In the case of a symmetric link or an asymmetric link with both profiles unavailable a dashed line is shown. For an asymmetric link with a profile in one direction accessible by the current user, the link is colored and a summary of traffic is available in a tooltip when hovering over with a mouse.