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View Network Topology Details

This topic is applicable to the topology map available in the Observability section (Observability > Network > Topology) and the Planner section (Planning > Networks > Offline Models > Model-Name > Open). The map is interactive, which means that you can use the features within the map to customize the map as well as the network information table that is displayed at the bottom of this page.

The map uses a geographic coordinate reference system that enables the following features:

  • Constrained zooming—The controller checks the coordinates so that the view is constrained to the coordinates of the earth.

  • Repositioning devices according to their geographical coordinates—By default, each device is positioned in the map according to the geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the site to which the device belongs. If a device is not associated with a site, the device is positioned randomly. You can reposition the devices in the map according to their geographical coordinates if you want to mimic your actual topology in the map.

Topology Map

The topology map displays the network topology. You can right-click a device, link, or blank space in the topology map to access multiple menus. The options are described in the following table.

Table 1: Options Displayed When You Right-click a Device, Link, or Blank Space on the Topology Map

Option

Description
Filter in Device Table

You can select a device and filter details of the device in the network information table.

Right-click a device on the map (device is highlighted with a Yellow circle) and select Filter in Device Table. The Device Table in the Device tab is filtered to display details of only the device that you selected on the map.
Filter in Link Table

You can select a link and filter details of the link in the network information table.

Right-click a link on the map and select Filter in Device Table. The Link Table in the Link tab is filtered to display details of only the link that you selected on the map.

Tunnels On or Through Device

You can select a device and filter details of the tunnels that start from, end at, or transit through the selected device. The filtered results are displayed in the network information table.

Right-click a device on the map and select Tunnels On or Through Device. The Tunnels table on the Tunnels tab is filtered to display details of only the tunnels for which the selected device acts as a source node, destination node, or intermediate transit node.

Note: You can clear the filtered tunnels data using either of the following methods:

  • Click the Clear Filter button present at the bottom-left corner of the Tunnels table.

  • Click any other tab on the network table.
Demands On or Through Device

(For Planner only)

You can select a device and filter details of the demands that are starting from, ending at, or transiting through the selected device. The filtered results are displayed in the network information table.

Right-click a device on the map and select Demands On or Through Device. The demands table on the Demands tab is filtered to display details of only the demands for which the selected device acts as a source node, destination node, or an intermediate transit node.

Note: You can clear the filtered demands data using either of the following methods:

  • Click the Clear Filter button present at the bottom-left corner of the Demands table.

  • Click any other tab on the network table.
Tunnels Through Link

You can select a link and filter details of the tunnels that pass through the selected link. The filtered results are displayed in the network information table.

Right-click a link on the map and select Tunnels Through Link. The tunnels table on the Tunnels tab is filtered to display details of only the tunnels that pass through the link that you selected on the map.

Note: You can clear the filtered tunnels data using either of the following methods:

  • Click the Clear Filter button present at the bottom-left corner of the Tunnels table.

  • Click any other tab on the network table.
Demands Through Link

(For Planner only)

You can select a link and filter details of the demands that pass through the selected link. The filtered results are displayed in the network information table.

Right-click a link on the map and select Demands Through Link. The demands table on the Demands tab is filtered to display details of only the demands that pass through the link that you selected on the map.

Note: You can clear the filtered demands data using either of the following methods:

  • Click the Clear Filter button present at the bottom-left corner of the Demands table.

  • Click any other tab on the network table.

Grouping

Manage the devices and device groups using the grouping options. You can also configure auto grouping, group and ungroup the selected devices, and ungroup all the devices.

Devices & Groups

You can group devices based on a shared characteristic, purpose, location, or administrative need. Device groups helps you to filter and focus on a subset of devices.

Select Devices & Groups to view the grouped and ungrouped devices in your network.

When you expand the group name, the devices present in the specific group are listed. After you expand the group name, select the check box next to the group name to show the grouped or ungrouped devices on the topology map. Clear the check box to hide the grouped and ungrouped devices on the topology map.

Note: For grouped devices, you must select the check box and expand the group name to view the grouped devices on the topology map. However, to view the ungrouped devices on the topology map, you need not expand the group name.
Auto Grouping

Create specific rules to automatically group devices. You can either group the devices by adding a Site rule or a Regular Expression rule. You can change the order of the rules by selecting a rule and clicking the Up and Down options in the Move drop down. You can also delete a rule.

Right-click the topology map and select Auto Grouping. The Auto Grouping page appears.

You can perform the following actions on the Auto Grouping page:

  • Create rules—You can create the following types of rules:

    • Site rule—Click Add > Site. The site rule is automatically created. Click Submit to apply the rule to automatically create groups.

    • Regular expression rule—Perform the following steps:

      1. Click Add > Regular Expression.

        The Regular Expression Rule page appears.

        Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

      2. Select one of the following for the Type field:

        • Hostname—Name of the device.

        • IP Address—IP address (IPv4) of the device.

        • Type—Name of the device vendor or model.

      3. Enter a regular expression that the value in the Type field should match in the Find the first match for field.

        Note: You can enable case sensitivity to ensure exact matching against the defined condition.

      4. Click Add to add the rule.

      5. Click Submit to apply the rule to automatically create groups.

      Click Add to add the rule and click Submit to apply the rule to automatically create groups.

  • Edit rules—Select a rule and click the Edit (pencil) icon. Modify the Type and Find the first match for fields and click Update to save the changes to the rule.

    Note: You can only edit the regular expression rules and not the site rules.

  • Delete rules—Select the rule and click the Delete (Dustbin) icon to delete the rule.

  • Reorder the rules—Select the rule and click Move > Up or Move > Down reorder the list of rules as per your requirement.

  • Auto Group only Selected Devices—Select the Auto Group only Selected Devices check box to apply auto-grouping to the devices that you have selected on the topology map. This check box is disabled by default.
Group Selected Devices

Group one or more devices and specify a group name. If you select a link or a tunnel, the associated devices are also selected.

Right-click a device on the topology map and select Group Selected Devices. The Group Selected Nodes page appears. Enter a group name and click Ok to save the device group. The saved device group will now be displayed in the Devices & Groups page.
Ungroup Selected Devices

Ungroup all the devices present in the respective device group.

Right-click a device group on the topology map and select Ungroup Selected Devices to ungroup the devices present in the group. All the devices present in the respective group are now displayed on the topology map.
Ungroup All

Ungroup the devices present in all the device groups on the topology map.

Right-click the topology map and select Ungroup All to ungroup all the device groups present on the topology map. All the device groups irrespective of automatic grouping or manual grouping are ungrouped if you select this option.

Layout

Manage the physical position of devices on the topology map using layout options. You can also import and export device information in CSV and GeoJSON formats. The layout options are available in node view.

Manage Map View

You can manage map views. Customize the topology map view to meet your requirements. For example, you can group multiple devices and save the map view to keep the topology map organized and easy to read.

Right-click the topology map and select Manage Map View. The Manage Map View page appears.

You can perform the following actions in the Manage Map View page:

  • Save a map view—Perform the following steps to save a map view:

    1. Click Save. The Save page appears.

      Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

    2. Enter a Name and Description (optional) for the map view.

    3. Select one of the following Type:

      • Shared—To share the map view with other operators.

      • Private—To keep the map view private.

    4. Click Save to save the map view.

  • Load a map view—Select an existing map view and click Load. The topology map now displays the selected map view.

  • Edit a map view—Select an existing map view and click Edit. The following options appear:

    • Rename—Update the map view name. Click Ok to save the changes.

    • Change Description—Update the map view description. Click Ok to save the changes.

    • Set to Default—To set the selected map view as the default map view.

  • Export all map views—Click More > Export - All Map Views to export all map views. All map views are automatically downloaded to your local system in the JSON format.

  • Export selected map views—Select an existing map view and click More > Export - Selected. The selected map view is automatically downloaded to your local system in the JSON format.

  • Import a map view—Click More > Import and navigate to the folder that contains the JSON file. Then, click Open to upload the JSON file. The new map view is now imported.

  • Delete a map view—Select an existing map view and click the Delete (Dustbin) icon. The Confirm Delete page appears. Click Yes to delete the map view.
Calculate Layout

If your network has multiple devices, links, and tunnels, you can reorganize the topology map using Calculate Layout to make the map more readable and less cluttered.

Right-click the topology map and select Calculate Layout to rearrange all devices, links, and tunnels present on the topology map. The connected devices are clustered together while the individual devices are separated to make the overall topology look more coherent and readable than before.

Import from
Note:

Only users with the Superuser and Network Admin roles can perform this task.

Import information (about the hostname, latitude, longitude, router id, and site information) for all devices in a layout from a comma-separated values (CSV) file or GeoJSON file. For more information about GeoJSON files, see GeoJSON.org.

To import the file from your local file system, click Import From and navigate to the folder that contains the CSV or GeoJSON file. Then, click Open to upload the CSV or GeoJSON file.

After the file is imported, the devices are automatically repositioned in the topology map according to the coordinates (latitude and longitude) in the imported file. To save the configured coordinates in the server, right-click a blank space in the topology map and select Layout > Set Coordinates from Map.

Export to
Note:

Only users with the Super User and Network Admin roles can perform this task.

Export information (about the hostname, latitude, longitude, router id, and site information) for all devices in a layout as a CSV file or GeoJSON file.

Based on the option you select, the CSV or GeoJSON file is automatically downloaded to your local system.

Set Coordinates from Map
Note:

Only users with the Super User and Network Admin roles can perform this task.

Update the device coordinates in the server according to the current location of devices in the topology map.

If you want to reposition the devices according to their coordinates, manually place the devices in the topology map as required. Alternatively, import the coordinates from a CSV or GeoJSON file.

Then, use this option to save the current device coordinates in the server.

Reset by Coordinates
Note:

Only users with the Super User and Network Admin roles can perform this task.

Reset the position of devices in the topology map according to the device coordinates, as retrieved from the server. If a device does not have configured coordinates, the device is automatically repositioned according to the coordinates of the site to which the device belongs.
Show Background Map By default the topology map view loads the world map. Right-click and select Show Background Map to turn off the world map background. If you repeat the action, Routing Director loads the map again.
Hide Unrelated on Selection

Hide the devices, links, demands, and SRLGs that are unrelated to the devices you have selected, from the topology map.

Right-click and select the Hide Unrelated on Selection option. Select one or more devices from the device table. All devices, links, tunnels, demands, and SRLGs not related to the current selection are completely hidden from the topology map. Only the devices, links, tunnels, demands, and SRLGs related to the selection are visible on the topology map. This option provides maximum focus for tracing paths in very large networks.

Note: You can enable either Hide Unrelated on Selection or Blur Unrelated on Selection since only one setting can be in effect at a given instance.
Blur Unrelated on Selection

Blur the devices, links, demands, and SRLGs that are unrelated to the devices you have selected, from the topology map.

Right-click and select the Blur Unrelated on Selection option. Select one or more devices from the device table. All devices, links, tunnels, demands, and SRLGs directly related to the current selection remain bright and in focus. All unrelated devices, links, tunnels, demands, and SRLGs are blurred and moved to the background on the topology map. This option also provides focus for tracing paths without removing the unrelated devices from the topology map.
Save to Default Map Layout Saves the current map layout as the default map layout. For example, if you turn off the world map background and select Save to Default Map Layout, Routing Director saves these settings. Next time when you revisit the Topology page, the topology map will not load the world map.
Label Size

  • Select a Label Size: Select one of the following values as the font size for the device and link labels:

    • 10

    • 12

    • 14

    • 16

    • 18

    • 20

Device Label

Select one of the following options to label the devices in the topology map:

  • Hostname

  • Hostname, SID

  • IP Address

  • OS Version

  • SID

  • IP, SID

  • Hide Label—Hides all the labels for the devices in the topology map

Link Label

Select one of the following options to label the links in the topology map:

  • Hostname A::Z

  • Interface A::Z

  • IP A::Z

  • IP, SID A::Z

  • TE Metric A::Z

  • Live Interface Utilization A::Z

  • ISIS1 Metric A::Z

  • ISIS2 Metric A::Z

  • OSPF Metric A::Z

  • RSVP Bandwidth A::Z

  • Live RSVP Utilization A::Z

  • Computed Tunnel Utilization A::Z

  • Measured Delay A::Z

  • SID A::Z

  • TE Admin Group A::Z

  • Hide Label—Hides all the labels for the links in the topology map
Show All Devices and Links Click Show All Devices and Links to display all the devices present on the topology map irrespective of any device filters or device groups.
Show Filtered Devices in Map Click Show Filtered Devices in Map to display only the filtered devices present in the Device tab.

Reload Network

Reloads the network, and updates the displayed topology map.

Topology Menu Bar

The topology menu bar is the vertical bar at the top-right corner of the Topology page, which consists of the following:

  • Reset icon—Center the topology map so that it zooms to fit the screen.

  • Plus icon—Zoom in (enlarge) the topology map.

  • Minus icon—Zoom out (reduce) the topology map.

  • Switch to Cluster View/Node View icon—Switch to Cluster View from the default Node View.

    In Node View, all devices and links are displayed as is. Hover over a device to view the device-related information such as, Hostname, IP Address, MAC Address, Management IP Address, Model Name, Serial Number, and Site. In cases where devices and links are in proximity in the map, they might overlap with each other and clutter the map.

    In Cluster View, you can collapse devices and links in the topology map into clusters and bundles, respectively, to reduce clutter. For more information, see Cluster View.

  • Settings icon—Configure display properties of the topology map, and specify the neighbor (peer) IP address and autonomous system (AS) number for viewing the live changes in your network. For more information, see Topology Settings Options.

Cluster View

By default, the GUI displays the topology map in the Node view. In this view, all devices and links are displayed as is. In cases where devices and links are in proximity in the map, they might overlap with each other and clutter the map. To reduce clutter, select the Switch to Cluster View option in the topology menu bar. The overlapping devices and links automatically collapse into clusters and bundles, respectively. Isolated devices and links remain as is. The clusters and bundles reduce visual clutter in the topology map and aggregate data, enabling you to view the network better, especially in case of large-scale networks with many devices and links.

To return to the default view, select the Switch to Node View option in the topology menu bar.

Cluster View has the following features:

  • Each cluster is represented by a circle. The number in each circle indicates the number of devices in the cluster. Similarly, each bundle is represented by a thick line. The number on the line indicates the number of links in the bundle.

  • When you double-click a cluster, the topology map zooms in to expand the cluster into its child devices. When you double-click a bundle, the bundle expands to display individual links. To collapse the links back into a bundle, double-click the underlay hull.

    A hull is a visual representation that is drawn behind a bundle to allow the user to expand or collapse curved lines (that is, the links in the topology map).

  • You can drag clusters to reposition them in the topology map. As a result, the devices in the cluster and the links connecting these devices are also repositioned.

  • If two or more devices in a cluster are directly connected through a common link, the circle representing the cluster displays a colored outline. The color of the outline is the same as the color configured to denote the highest utilization for the link interconnecting those devices.

  • You can hover over a cluster to view a detailed information about the cluster. You can view the tooltips for both cluster nodes and bundled links.

    • In case of clustered nodes, you can view the list of underlying nodes, device IP address, model name, and site information. Event severity indicators are also displayed here in case of critical alerts.

    • In case of bundled links, you can view the endpoints, interface identifiers, and link utilization values.

  • To identify interconnected devices in a cluster, double-click the cluster and zoom in to the next level.

Topology Settings Options

Table 2 describes the tabs on the Topology Settings pane.

Table 2: Topology Settings Options

Tab

Description

Nodes

You can perform the following tasks:

  • Click the Label drop down to choose the label that you want to be displayed on the topology map. The following options are available:

    • None—No labels are displayed on the topology map.

    • Hostname—The hostname of the node is displayed on the topology map.

    • IP Address—The IP address of the node is displayed on the topology map.

    • OS Version—The OS version of the node is displayed on the topology map.

    • Hostname, SID—The hostname and SID of the node is displayed on the topology map.

    • IP, SID—The IP address of the node and the SID is displayed on the topology map.

    • SID—The SID of the node is displayed on the topology map.

  • After you select a label, you can enable the following toggle buttons:

    • Background Shadow—To view the background shadow of node labels.

    • Hide Pseudo Node Label—To hide the pseudonode label.

    • Show only Favorite Labels—To view only favorite node labels.

    • Hide Isolated Nodes—To hide isolated nodes.

    • Hide Pseudo Nodes—To hide pseudonodes.

    • Show Site in a Circle—To display site in a circle.

Links

You can perform the following tasks:

  • Click the Label drop down to choose the label that you want to be displayed on the topology map. The following options are available:

    • None

    • Hostname A::Z

    • Interface A::Z

    • IP A::Z

    • IP, SID A::Z

    • TE Metric A::Z

    • ISIS1 Metric A::Z

    • ISIS2 Metric A::Z

    • OSPF Metric A::Z

    • Live RSVP Utilization

    • RSVP Bandwidth A::Z

    • Live Interface Utilization A::Z

    • Computed Tunnel Utilization A::Z

    • Measured Delay A::Z

    • SID A::Z

    • TE Admin Group A::Z

  • You can select the network performance metrics that you want to be displayed in the color legend (lower right corner of the Topology map).

    You can select one of the following network performance metrics:

    • Live Interface Utilization

    • Live RSVP Utilization

    • Measured Delay

    • Collected Interface Utilization (For Planner only)

    • Computed Demand Utilization (For Planner only)

    • Computed Tunnel Utilization

  • Click the toggle button to:

    • Show or hide the link down markers

    • Draw down links as a dashed line

    • Draw a link line width in proportion to the interface speed

    • Draw parallel links as a curve: Toggle the button to draw parallel links between two nodes as a curve, so that the parallel links do not overlap and appear separately (as curves) on the topology map. If the parallel links between two nodes are drawn as straight lines, they would overlap on the topology map (as a bundle).

    • Wrap links as great arcs: Distinguishes links that would have to wrap around the world map.

    • Hide Partially Visible links: Hides any link whose end nodes are outside the visible area. This is useful for focusing on a subset of a large network.

General

You can perform the following tasks:

  • Click the Enable Animation while calculating Topology Layout toggle button to enable animation while calculating the topology layout.

  • Select a Label Size: Select one of the following values as the font size for the node and link labels:

    • 10

    • 12

    • 14

    • 16

    • 18

    • 20

  • Apply Opacity effects. Move the Opacity Effects slider to select the percent opacity for topology map elements that are not highlighted.

  • Select the color for nodes and links.
Map You can select a map type to display on the Topology page. The map updates immediately based on your Show World Map selection. Choose one of the following options:

  • None—The map will not be displayed on the Topology page.

  • Pathfinder—Displays the topology on a grayscale map using the local map data from Routing Director. It lacks Thunderforest’s detail but can be used for air-gapped installations.

  • Thunderforest Atlas—Displays the topology on a colored map with city and country names. This default option requires internet access.
Dynamic Topology

Routing Director establishes a BGP-LS peering session with the devices in your network, and enables you to view live changes in the network even if the devices are not managed by Routing Director.

Routing Director allows each BGP-LS peer address to have a different AS number. You can also configure multiple BGP LS peers per AS. This granular control over AS assignments enhances network segmentation, isolates routing policies, and tailors routing strategies according to operational needs.

CAUTION:
Adding a new AS number to a BGP LS peering may cause the BGP session to temporarily go down and then come back up, impacting network setups.

To view live updates in topology, you need to do the following:

  1. On the Dynamic Topology tab of the Topology Settings page (Observability > Network > Topology > Topology Menu Bar > Settings icon), click the + icon. The Dynamic Topology Settings page appears.

  2. Specify the peer IP address of the BGP-LS peer and its autonomous system (AS) number.

  3. Click Save. The BGP peer ID address and its AS number will be displayed in the table.

The table lists the IP address of the BGP-LS peer and its AS. The topology page now displays the live changes in your network. You can also view the latest operational status of devices, links, sites, and tunnels.

To add another BGP-LS peer to an existing AS:

  1. In the table, select the AS row.

  2. Click the edit option (pencil icon).

    The Dynamic Topology Settings page appears.

  3. Add the IP address of the new BGP peer in the BGP-LS Peer Address field.

  4. Click Save.

The new changes are reflected in the table.

Advanced

  • Click Sync to refresh the synchronization of the network model. You can use this option if the network model audit has unresolved discrepancies or if the information displayed for the model is out of sync.

    When you sync the network model, this is what happens behind the scenes:

    1. Information associated with the network model (nodes, links, LSPs, interfaces, SRLGs, and user-defined parameters) remains intact. Nothing is purged from the database.

      Note:

      If the link status is down and you perform the Sync operation, the link status changes to either unknown or planned.

    2. The network model is repopulated with live data learned from topology acquisition.

  • Click Re-parse to manually trigger re-parsing of previously-collected configuration and show commands. Use this option when the network model configuration state is out of sync with the collected configuration file and operational command output. This re-parses the previously-collected device collection output.