Interactive Map Features

The topology map is interactive, meaning that you can use features within the map itself to customize the map and the network information table. The map uses a geographic coordinate reference system. Some features enabled by that system include:

Constrained zooming: NorthStar Controller performs coordinate checking so the view is constrained to the coordinates of the earth.
World wrapping/map wrapping: Scrolling the map in one direction is like spinning a globe. This enables representation of links across an ocean, for example.

The following sections describe additional map features and functionality:

Right-Click Functions

Right-click a node, selected nodes, or node group on the topology map to execute node-specific filtering as shown in Figure 1 and described in Table 1.

Figure 1: Right-Click Options for Nodes or Groups

Table 1: Right-Click Options for Nodes or Groups
`Option`	`Function`
Filter in Node Table	Filters the nodes displayed in the network information table to display only the selected node(s) or node group(s).
Node SIDs from selected node	Labels the nodes in the topology with the node SIDs from the perspective of the node on which you right-clicked.
Show Config	Opens the Configuration Viewer, displaying the configuration of the node on which you right-clicked. See Configuration Viewer for prerequisites for the configuration to be available.
Show Neighbors	Opens a new window displaying the neighbors of the node on which you right-clicked.
Tunnels On or Thru Node	Filters the tunnels displayed in the network information table to include only those that meet the On or Thru Node criteria.
Tunnels Starting at Node	Filters the tunnels displayed in the network information table to include only those that meet the Starting at Node criteria.
Tunnels Ending at Node	Filters the tunnels displayed in the network information table to include only those that meet the Ending at Node criteria.
Group selected nodes	Prompts you to give the group of nodes a name, after which the group can be expanded or collapsed on the topology map. This is a shortcut to the `Layout > Group selected nodes` function.
Ungroup selected nodes	Ungroups the nodes in the selected group. This is a shortcut to the `Layout > Ungroup selected nodes` function.
Ungroup All	Ungroups the nodes in all groups. This is a shortcut to the `Layout > Ungroup All` function.
Circle selected nodes	Arranges the selected nodes in a roughly circular pattern with the nodes and links separated as much as possible. This is a shortcut to the `Layout > Circle selected nodes` function.
Distribute selected nodes	Forces the selected elements away from each other and minimizes overlap. This is a shortcut to the `Layout > Distribute selected nodes` function.
Straighten selected nodes	Aligns the selected nodes in a linear pattern. This is a shortcut to the `Layout > Straighten selected nodes` function.

Right-click a link on the topology map to execute link-specific filtering as shown in Figure 2 and described in Table 2.

Figure 2: Right-Click Options for Links

Table 2: Right-Click Options for Links
`Option`	`Function`
Filter in Link Table	Filters the tunnels displayed in the network information table to display only the selected link.
Tunnels On or Thru Link	Filters the tunnels displayed in the network information table to include only those that meet the On or Thru Link criteria.
View Link Events	Opens a new window in which you select the time range for the events you wish to view. Click `Submit` to open the Events window.
View Interface Traffic	Opens a new tab in the network information table at the bottom of the window, displaying the interface traffic.
View Interface Delay	Opens a new tab in the network information table at the bottom of the window, displaying interface delay over time.
View Packet Loss	Opens a new tab in the network information table at the bottom of the window, displaying packet loss statistics.

Note:

To clear the tunnel filter so that all tunnels are again displayed, click a different tab (Node, for example), and then click the Tunnel tab again.

Right-click blank space in the topology map pane to access the whole-map functions shown in Figure 3 and described in Table 3.

Figure 3: Right-Click Options for the Topology Map as a Whole

Table 3: Right-Click Options for the Topology Map as a Whole
`Option`	`Function`
Distribute All Nodes	Distributes all the nodes in the map, pushing elements away from each other and minimizing overlap. This is a shortcut to selecting all nodes and navigating to `Layout`>`Distribute selected nodes`.
Save Default Map Layout	Saves the current layout as your default. The default layout is displayed when you first log in to NorthStar Controller. If you already have a default layout, this function overrides the existing default. You can also designate a default layout by navigating to `Layout`>`Manage Layouts`.
Select All Nodes	Selects all nodes on the topology map. This is a shortcut to using shift-left-click to create a selection box around all nodes or individually shift-clicking on all nodes.
Refresh Utilization	Refreshes the display of link colors based on RSVP utilization. Note: Updates are periodically pushed to the client by the server.
Reload Network	Reloads the network to update the display.

Topology Menu Bar

On the right side of the topology window is a menu bar offering various topology settings, as shown in Figure 4.

From the menu bar, you can:

Center the topology in the window (target icon).
Enlarge the topology in the window (plus symbol).
Reduce the size of the topology in the window (minus symbol).
Access the topology settings window (settings icon).

Topology Settings Window

Access the Topology Settings window by clicking on the settings icon (gear) in the upper right corner of the topology window. Figure 5 shows the settings icon.

Figure 5: Settings Icon to Access Topology Settings

The Topology Settings window contains many topology display settings, all in one place. Figure 6 shows the Topology Settings window with the two tabs that group related settings.

On the Elements tab, you can select as many settings as you like by clicking the associated check boxes. When you select to Show Label for nodes or links, you can select only one label from the corresponding drop-down menu.

Note:

NorthStar does not display node or link labels over a certain quantity, even if the Topology Settings call for labels to be displayed. This improves performance when redrawing a large number of graphic elements.

Figure 6: Topology Settings Window, Elements Tab

Note:

Drawing down links as a solid, rather than dashed, line can improve performance when redrawing the topology.

A few of these settings might not be self-explanatory:

Hide Partially Visible Links

Removes from the display any links for which both end nodes are not within the field of view. This is useful for focusing on a subset of a large network.
Wrap Links as Great Arcs

Distinguishes links that would have to wrap around the world map. An example is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Wrap Links as Great Arcs Example

The Options tab offers a variety of topology display preferences, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Topology Settings Window, Options Tab

Topology View section

The two options available in this section are mutually exclusive; select one radio button or the other. Clusters and Bundles is useful where the display of a large number of nodes and links obscures visualization of the network as a whole. Clusters (of nodes) and bundles (of links) simplify visualization by representing groups of nodes that are close together as single, color-coded circles (clusters). Bundles (of links) are derived from the links between nodes and clusters. Figure 9 shows an example of how a portion of a large network looks when represented as clusters and bundles.

Figure 9: Clusters and Bundles Example

The number in each circle indicates the number of nodes in the cluster. The color coding of the clusters corresponds to the number of nodes in the cluster. You can customize the ranges by clicking on the color legend in the lower left corner of the map window as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Customizing the Clusters Legend

Note:

When you select Clusters and Bundles, node and link labels are not displayed.

Map Style section

The Light and Dark options available in this section are mutually exclusive; select one radio button or the other. Figure 11 shows an example of the light and dark map styles.

Figure 11: Light and Dark Map Styles

If you select to Show World Map, you can opt to display graticules (a grid of lines parallel to meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude) and labeling of major populated places (both shown in Figure 11).

Note:

Even if you deselect Show World Map, the topology still behaves according to geographical coordinates in terms of displaying the topology within the field of view.

General section

Select the check boxes for as many of the options in this group as you like:

Show Tooltips: Displays additional information about a node or link in the bottom right corner of the map pane when you mouse over a network element.
Show Maintenance Marker: Displays a red M over any link currently part of a maintenance event.
Zoom to Selected Node from Table: With this option enabled, when you click on a node entry in the network information table (Node tab), the topology automatically centers the view on that selected node.

Use the Label Size drop-down menu to select a font size for node and link labels.

ON THIS PAGE

Interactive Map Features

Right-Click Functions

Topology Menu Bar

Topology Settings Window

Related Documentation