Connection Map¶
The Connection Map is an interactive visualization of your infrastructure network topology. Servers, clusters and external entities appear as nodes; the connections between them are edges. Use it to explore dependencies, trace connection paths, and export diagrams for architecture documentation or security reviews.
Where to find it¶
Navigate to IT Landscape > Connection Map to open the visualization.
Permissions: You need at least applications:reader to view the map.
Understanding the visualization¶
The map uses a force-directed graph layout where:
- Nodes represent servers, clusters, or external entities
- Edges represent connections between infrastructure components
- Colours indicate hosting type (on-premises, cloud) or node kind
- Role-based placement (enabled by default) keeps the force layout but pushes nodes into top-to-bottom tier bands
Node types¶
| Type | Shape | Border colour | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Servers | Rounded rectangle | Green (on-prem) or blue (cloud) | Individual infrastructure instances (VMs, containers, etc.) |
| Clusters | Rounded rectangle, dashed border | Cyan | Groups of servers acting as a single logical unit |
| Entities | Pill / stadium shape | Orange | Logical endpoints (external systems, SaaS services) |
Cluster members appear as separate server nodes with dashed indicator lines connecting them to their parent cluster node.
Filters¶
Lifecycle¶
Multi-select filter for connection lifecycle status (Active, Planned, Deprecated, etc.). Defaults to Active.
Applications and App Env¶
Find servers via the applications that run on them:
- Select one or more applications from the Applications dropdown
- Pick environments in the App Env dropdown (only environments where the selected apps have assigned servers appear)
- The matching servers are automatically added to the Servers filter
This is useful when you want to see the infrastructure connections for an application without knowing which servers it runs on.
Servers¶
Directly pick servers, clusters, or entities to focus on:
- Click the Servers dropdown
- Pick items (grouped by Entities, Clusters, Servers)
- Use the Depth filter to control how many hops to show
When many items are selected, only the first chip is shown along with a +N more chip. Click +N more to open a popover that lists every selected item, with a remove icon next to each.
Depth¶
Limit how many hops from the selected items to display:
- All: Show every connection (no depth filtering)
- 0: Show only the selected items, their parent clusters, and directly adjacent entities
- 1-5: Show items within N hops of the selected roots
Depth automatically switches to 0 when you select roots through the Applications or Servers filters.
Display options¶
Show multi-server connections¶
Toggle visibility of multi-server connections (connections that involve more than two servers in a mesh topology). Enabled by default.
Show connection layers¶
When enabled (default), each leg of a multi-leg connection is rendered as its own edge so you can see how it routes through intermediate points. When disabled, connections are rendered as simple source-to-destination edges.
Role-based placement¶
When enabled (default), the map keeps its force layout but adds vertical tier guidance:
- Top / Upper / Center / Lower / Bottom bands
- Servers use the role assignments configured in IT Landscape settings
- Entities use their configured Graph Tier (default Top)
- Unassigned servers fall back to Center
- Clusters inherit the highest-priority tier from their members
Use this toggle when you want a topology view that reads like architecture tiers (edge-facing components at the top, data stores at the bottom). The setting is session-only and resets when you reload the page.
Graph controls¶
The control panel on the left side of the map provides these tools:
| Control | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pause / Play | Freeze / Unfreeze | Pause the force simulation to manually position nodes |
| Crosshair | Auto-center | Toggle automatic centering when selecting nodes (highlighted when enabled) |
| Zoom + | Zoom in | Increase zoom level |
| Zoom - | Zoom out | Decrease zoom level |
| Grid | Snap to grid | Align all nodes to a grid for cleaner layouts |
| SVG | Export SVG | Download the current view as a vector image |
| PNG | Export PNG | Download the current view as a raster image |
You can also zoom with the mouse wheel and pan by clicking and dragging the background.
Interacting with the map¶
Selecting nodes¶
Click a server or cluster node to highlight its connections and open a detail panel showing:
- Server type, Server location, Operating system, Network segment, IP address
- Assigned applications: Apps running on this server, grouped by environment. Click an app name to open it.
- Edit server or View cluster button to open the workspace
Click an entity node to see its type and environment.
Selecting edges¶
Click a connection edge to see:
- Purpose, Protocols, Typical ports, Criticality
- Topology: Server to server or Multi-server
- Edit connection button to open the connection workspace
- Linked interfaces section showing which application interfaces use this connection. Each linked interface card shows the leg type, environment, pattern, and source/target endpoints. From there you can:
- Click Open interface to view the interface
- Click View in Interface Map to jump to the interface in context
Dragging nodes¶
Drag any node to reposition it. While the simulation is running, the layout adjusts around the moved node. When the simulation is frozen, dragging moves the node freely without affecting others.
Deep linking¶
The map supports URL parameters for sharing specific views:
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
lifecycles |
Pre-select lifecycle filters (comma-separated) | active,planned |
focusConnectionId |
Highlight a specific connection | UUID |
rootIds |
Pre-select servers/clusters/entities to focus on (comma-separated) | UUIDs |
depth |
Set the depth limit | 0, 1, all |
Example: /it/connection-map?lifecycles=active&rootIds=abc123&depth=1
Cluster visualization¶
Clusters appear as distinct nodes with a dashed cyan border:
- Cluster members appear as separate nodes connected to their parent cluster by dashed indicator lines
- When filtering with depth=0, both the selected member servers and their parent clusters are shown
- Member servers keep their individual server-to-server connections in addition to the cluster's own connections
Configure graph tiers¶
You can control where nodes tend to appear vertically by editing tiers in IT Landscape > Settings:
- Server Roles list: set Graph Tier for each role (e.g., Web = Top, DB = Bottom)
- Entities list: set Graph Tier for each entity type (entities default to Top)
Tier changes take effect the next time the map data is loaded.
Tips¶
- Start from applications: Use the Applications + App Env filters to find servers for a specific application without knowing the server names.
- Use depth=0 for focused views: When you only want to see the connections directly attached to specific servers, select them and set depth to 0.
- Export for architecture docs: SVG produces vector network diagrams suitable for documentation; PNG produces a high-DPI raster image.
- Enable layers for troubleshooting: Turn on Show connection layers to see exactly how multi-leg connections route through your infrastructure.
- Use role tiers for architecture views: Keep Role-based placement on when presenting layered architecture diagrams.
- Cross-reference with Interface Map: Use View in Interface Map in the linked-interfaces panel to see which business interfaces depend on a given infrastructure connection.
- Snap and freeze before exporting: After positioning nodes, freeze the layout and use Snap to grid to produce the cleanest output.