Topology Explorer

The Topology Explorer provides an interactive graph visualization of entity relationships. Instead of reading through lists of dependencies and associations, you can see the entire relationship network in a visual format that makes patterns and connections immediately apparent.

What the Topology Shows

The topology graph displays:

• The center entity: The entity you’re exploring, positioned at the center of the graph
• Related entities: All entities connected to the center entity through any relationship type
• Relationship edges: Lines connecting entities, with different styles for different relationship types
• Entity types: Visual distinction between landmarks, people, and teams using different shapes or colors

The graph helps you answer questions like:

• What services depend on this database?
• Who owns this project and what team do they belong to?
• What’s the full dependency chain for this service?
• Which teams are involved with this set of services?

Accessing the Topology Explorer

There are two ways to open the topology explorer:

From an entity card:

1. Open the entity detail drawer by clicking the entity card
2. Click the Explore button in the drawer header
3. The topology explorer opens in a full-screen view

From the dashboard:

1. Hover over an entity card
2. Click the three-dot menu icon
3. Select Explore Topology
4. The topology explorer opens centered on that entity

Navigating the Graph

Clicking nodes: Click any entity node in the graph to navigate to that entity. The graph re-centers on the clicked entity, and its relationships become the new focus. This lets you traverse the relationship network by clicking through connected entities.

Breadcrumb navigation: As you navigate through the graph, breadcrumbs appear at the top of the screen showing your exploration path. Click any breadcrumb to jump back to that entity. This makes it easy to retrace your steps or jump to a previously visited entity.

Zooming and panning:

• Use the mouse wheel or trackpad to zoom in and out
• Click and drag to pan around the graph
• Use the zoom controls in the bottom-right corner for precise control

Minimap: The minimap in the bottom-right corner shows an overview of the entire graph. The highlighted region indicates your current viewport. Click anywhere in the minimap to jump to that region of the graph.

The Depth Selector

The depth selector controls how many levels of relationships are displayed:

• Depth 1: Shows only direct connections to the center entity
• Depth 2: Shows direct connections plus their connections
• Depth 3+: Shows progressively deeper relationship chains

Higher depth values reveal more of the relationship network but can make the graph more complex. Start with depth 1 or 2 to understand immediate connections, then increase depth to explore the broader network.

Start Shallow, Go Deep

Begin with depth 1 to see the most important relationships. If you need to understand the broader context, increase the depth. Very deep graphs (depth 4+) can become complex and may be harder to read.

Relationship Types in the Graph

The topology explorer visualizes different relationship types with distinct visual styles:

Dependencies:

• Shown as directional arrows
• The arrow points from the dependent entity to the entity it depends on
• Example: If Billing API depends on PostgreSQL, an arrow points from Billing API to PostgreSQL

Ownership:

• Shown as lines connecting landmarks to their owners (teams or people)
• Helps you see who is responsible for what at a glance

Team membership:

• Shown as lines connecting people to their teams
• Helps you see team composition and who belongs where

Associations:

• Shown as lines connecting related entities
• Less prominent than dependencies, since associations are looser relationships

The visual distinction between relationship types makes it easy to understand the nature of each connection without reading labels.

Understanding the Layout

The graph uses a force-directed layout algorithm that automatically positions entities to minimize edge crossings and make the structure clear:

• Connected entities cluster together: Entities with many relationships between them appear close to each other
• Central entities are prominent: Entities with many connections tend to appear near the center
• Peripheral entities are on the edges: Entities with fewer connections appear on the periphery

The layout updates dynamically as you navigate and change the depth. You can also drag individual nodes to rearrange the graph if the automatic layout doesn’t suit your needs.

Best Practices for Using the Topology Explorer

Start with a specific entity: Open the topology from a specific landmark, person, or team you want to understand. This gives you a focused starting point.

Use depth strategically:

• Depth 1: Understand immediate dependencies and ownership
• Depth 2: See the broader context and second-order effects
• Depth 3+: Explore the full network for complex systems

Follow the breadcrumbs: As you explore, use breadcrumbs to track your path. This helps you understand how you got to a particular entity and makes it easy to backtrack.

Look for patterns: The visual layout often reveals patterns that aren’t obvious from lists:

• Hub entities with many connections (critical services, key people)
• Clusters of related entities (tightly coupled services, project teams)
• Isolated entities with few connections (standalone services, new team members)

Use topology for impact analysis: Before making changes to a service, open its topology to see what depends on it. This helps you understand the blast radius of changes and plan accordingly.

Topology vs Detail Drawer

The topology explorer and the entity detail drawer serve different purposes:

Detail drawer:

• Shows complete information about a single entity
• Lists all relationships in text format
• Best for viewing and editing entity details
• Good for understanding one entity deeply

Topology explorer:

• Shows relationships between multiple entities
• Visualizes the relationship network
• Best for understanding connections and patterns
• Good for exploring the broader context

Use the detail drawer when you need to see all the information about one entity. Use the topology explorer when you need to understand how entities relate to each other.

Limitations

The topology explorer is designed for clarity, not completeness:

• Large graphs can be complex: Entities with hundreds of relationships may produce dense graphs that are hard to read
• Layout is automatic: The force-directed layout works well for most cases but may not always produce the optimal arrangement
• Performance: Very large graphs (100+ nodes) may be slower to render and navigate

For very large relationship networks, consider using filters or focusing on specific relationship types to reduce complexity.

Related

Dependencies

Search and Discovery

Relationships Overview