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1. Traffic Topology

The traffic topology in DeepFlow can be used to display the dependencies between services or resources, enabling better analysis and troubleshooting, such as identifying performance bottlenecks, single points of failure, or potential dependency access issues.

1.1 Overview

00-Overview

The traffic topology consists of nodes, paths, and several operations:

• ① Node: Represents a service or resource, corresponding to the group in the search criteria. It can be a container service, cloud server, region, etc.
• ② Path: Represents the direction between services or resources, from client to server.
• Operations: You can hover over or click on a node or path
  • Hover: Highlight the node or path and view metric values
  • Click: View details of the node or path in a right-side sliding panel

1.1.1 Topology Details

01-Topology

• ① Switch Query Region: If there are multiple storage regions for the data, you can quickly switch regions for querying
  • Note: If the query criteria are not grouped, the Switch TOP Data function is unavailable
• ② Switch Top Data: Sorts grouped nodes in descending order based on the primary metric value
  • Note: If the query criteria are not grouped, the Switch TOP Data function is unavailable
• ③ Expand Table: Click to expand or collapse the table. For details, see the Expand Table section
• ④ Modify Metrics: Allows you to change the displayed metrics. For details, see the Modify Metrics section
• ⑤ Settings: Click to configure the traffic topology. For details, see the Settings section
• ⑥ Delete: A Dashboard feature. If you do not want to display this traffic topology in the dashboard, click delete to remove it
• ⑦ Manual Resource Relationship Mode: In this mode, you can manually add paths between nodes
• ⑧ Waterfall/Free Topology: Switch between topology display styles. Free topology is generally used for scenarios with many nodes and complex paths; waterfall topology is used for fewer nodes and simpler paths
• ⑨ Auto Layout: The system arranges nodes in a tree structure based on path relationships
• ⑩ Random Layout: The system arranges nodes in a star structure
• ⑪ Save Topology: A Dashboard feature. After modifying the traffic topology, you can click Save Topology to save changes such as time range, topology position, topology configuration, and variable template values
• ⑫ Legend: Open the legend to view the meaning of icons and lines. For details, see the Legend section

1.1.2 Hover TIP

02-HoverTIP

When hovering over a node, the related paths are automatically highlighted. When hovering over a path, the related nodes are highlighted. At the same time, a TIP displays the metric values for different observation points.

1.1.3 Hover Metric Display

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Taking hovering over a path as an example, here is the TIP content:

• First line: Description and legend area. Legend explanation:
  • Application Functions
    • A Application: Metrics obtained via application instrumentation, currently representing signal source = OTel data
    • S System: Metrics obtained via eBPF, currently representing signal source = eBPF data
    • E Endpoint Network: Metrics obtained via traffic capture (BPF) from the NIC of the client or server
    • M Middle Network: Metrics obtained via traffic capture (BPF) from locations other than the client or server NIC
  • Network Functions: All metrics come from traffic capture (BPF)
    • D NIC: Data captured from the NIC of the client or server
    • K Container Node: Data captured from the container node NIC
    • H Host: Data captured from the host NIC
    • M Middle Network: Data captured from NICs other than the above
  • Corner Mark: Indicates whether the data collection point is on the client or server
    • C: Client
    • S: Server
• Second line: Name of the hovered node/path
• Others: Metric display area
  • Displays metric values based on the data location
  • The last column shows the difference across all observation points, useful for quickly identifying inconsistencies in sent traffic
  • Example: As shown below, representing endpoint network data from the client
    
    

    04-Icon

1.1.4 Settings

Click the gear icon to configure the traffic topology

05-Settings

• Show Full Name: Display full node names or abbreviated names
• Download CSV Data: Download the data of the traffic topology
• View API: View the API information used to generate the traffic topology

1.1.5 Expand Table

Click the Expand Table button to display the metrics of nodes and paths in the traffic topology in a list format, including resource monitoring, path monitoring, and path difference tables.

06-Table

• Resource Monitoring: Displays metrics for all nodes in the traffic topology
• Path Monitoring: Displays metrics for all paths in the traffic topology
• Path Difference: Displays the differences in metrics for all paths across different observation points
• Search: Quickly search and locate table data
• Settings: Configure column width display, such as equal width or content-based width

1.1.6 Modify Metrics

Metrics are an important part of the chart. DeepFlow provides shortcuts to quickly select metrics to display in the dropdown menu.

07-ModifyMetrics

• ① Metric Name: Select a metric name to display its data in the chart
• ② Set as Primary Metric: Click the icon to set the metric as the primary metric. When Switch TOP Data is used, the chart is sorted by the primary metric value
• ③ Advanced Settings: Add, delete, or modify metrics. For details, see the Advanced Settings section
• Multi-select/Single-select: Some charts support multi-select, where the TIP can display multiple metrics; single-select shows only one metric

1.1.7 Advanced Settings

For further metric configuration, click Modify Metrics -> Advanced Settings to enter the settings page. As shown below, you can add or delete metrics, add aggregation functions, modify display names, set thresholds, and select metric templates.

08-AdvancedSettings

• ① Select Template: Choose a metric template to quickly switch the current metrics in the popup
• ② Clear All: Clear all metrics in the popup
• ③ Save Template: Save the current metric configuration as a metric template
• ④ Metric Field: Click the input box to open a dropdown and select metrics by category
  • Aggregation - Primary Operator: Aggregate metrics using functions such as average, sum, max, min
  • Aggregation - Secondary Operator: Perform secondary calculations on data from the primary operator
  • Name: Set the display name of the metric
  • Unit: Set the display unit of the metric
  • Threshold: Set a threshold for the metric. When exceeded, the node or path turns red as an alert
• ⑤ Enable/Disable Metric: Show or hide the corresponding metric
• ⑥ Add Metric: Add a ④ Metric Field in the popup

1.1.8 Edit

The topology editing panel consists of three parts: ① Chart, ② Search Criteria, and ③ Style & Settings.

09-Edit

• ① Chart: The chart is drawn based on ② Search Criteria and ③ Style & Settings
• ② Search Criteria: For usage, see the Search section
• ③ Style & Settings: Configure chart styles, colors, etc.
  • Style: Rich options for chart styling
    • Title: Modify the chart name
    • Chart Style:
      • Show Full Name: Display full or abbreviated node names
      • Show Primary Metric: When enabled, displays the primary metric value on paths
      • Disable Thumbnail: Enable/disable the thumbnail view
      • Step Line Bend Point: Set the position of bend points in step lines
      • Area Fill: Fill the area between the line and the axis with color
      • Data Stacking: Display multiple data series stacked or tiled
        • Stacked: Stack values of multiple series in the same coordinate system to show overall trends and contributions
        • Tiled: Display multiple series side-by-side to better show differences and relationships
    • Color: Configure path and node colors

1.1.9 Legend

Click Legend to view the meaning of icons and lines.

10-Legend