Application Mapping
An interactive force-directed graph that visualises relationships between applications, devices, databases, and networks. Use it to understand dependency chains, validate move groups, and identify isolated or heavily connected assets before migration.
Overview
Application Mapping renders your CMDB relationships as an interactive force-directed graph. Nodes represent assets (applications, devices, databases, hosts) and edges represent the relationships between them. The graph uses physics simulation to organically cluster related assets together — making dependency patterns visible at a glance.
When NetFlow data is imported, traffic-based relationships are overlaid alongside CMDB-defined ones, giving you both documented and discovered dependencies in a single view.
When to Use
Key Features
- Force-directed layout — physics-based positioning automatically clusters related assets.
- Multi-asset-type nodes — applications, devices, databases, hosts, and networks displayed with distinct colours and icons.
- Interactive filtering — filter by asset type, scope, environment, business unit, or specific application.
- Quick filters — one-click filters for common views (e.g. show only in-scope devices, highlight a specific application's dependencies).
- Click-to-inspect — click any node to open its detail panel showing all CMDB fields and related assets.
- Zoom and pan — scroll to zoom, drag to pan across large graphs.
- NetFlow overlay — when NetFlow data is imported, traffic-based edges appear alongside CMDB relationships.
Using the Graph
Navigate to Discovery → Application Mapping to open the graph.
Use the filter panel on the left to narrow the graph to a specific application, environment, business unit, or scope. For large estates, filtering is essential — rendering thousands of nodes will be slow.
Drag nodes to rearrange them. Click a node to open the detail panel. Use the graph controls to toggle labels, lock positions, or reset the layout.
Click an application node, then select Show Dependencies to highlight only the assets connected to that application. This is the fastest way to understand a single application's footprint.
Graph Controls
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Zoom In / Out | Scroll wheel or pinch gesture. Zoom to focus on a specific cluster. |
| Pan | Click and drag the canvas background to move the viewport. |
| Toggle Labels | Show or hide node labels for a cleaner view of large graphs. |
| Reset Layout | Reset all node positions to the default physics-based layout. |
| Lock Positions | Freeze all nodes in their current positions (disables physics simulation). |
| Filter Panel | The left panel with dropdowns for scope, environment, business unit, and application. |
Graph Views
Application Mapping provides two complementary graph views:
- Overview Graph — shows all assets matching the current filter, laid out with force-directed physics. Best for understanding the overall structure and identifying clusters.
- Application Map Graph — centres on a single selected application and displays only its direct and indirect dependencies. Best for focused impact analysis.
Example Workflow
A migration architect has created Move Group 5 containing 12 devices and 3 applications. Before finalising the wave plan, she opens Application Mapping, filters to Move Group 5, and inspects the graph. She notices two devices in the group have relationships to an application in Move Group 8 — meaning the groups have a cross-dependency.
She either moves those devices to Group 8 or coordinates the two groups to migrate in the same event window, preventing an outage.
Tips
- Always filter before loading the graph. Rendering the full estate graph (thousands of nodes) will be slow and hard to read. Start with a specific application, business unit, or move group.
- Import NetFlow data for richer graphs. CMDB relationships alone often miss real-world dependencies. NetFlow traffic data fills the gaps.
- Use Application Map view for sign-off. Before each wave, show stakeholders the application-centric view to confirm all dependencies are accounted for.
Common Mistakes
- Graph is empty or has only disconnected nodes. Check that relationships have been defined in the CMDB (Discovery → CMDB → Relationships). The graph draws edges from relationship records, not from asset fields.
- Graph is very slow to render. Too many nodes are being loaded. Apply filters to reduce the dataset. Start with a single application or move group rather than the entire estate.
- Filters not taking effect. After changing filter values, click Apply to reload the graph. The graph does not auto-refresh on filter change.