Topology

While gathering information for the topology, you will receive a Please Wait message window indicating that the system is Investigating Repository.

Next, a window similar to the example in Figure 15-1, "Example Topology Window," appears.

Figure 15-1: Example Topology Window

The explanation of this window is in the following categories:

Topology Menu Bar
Hierarchy View, the left pane of the main window
Graph View, the right pane of the main window
Common Menus in Hierarchy View and Graph View
Bottom View Tabs
Status

Topology Menu Bar

The Topology menu bar, as shown in Figure 15-1, "Example Topology Window," has the following items:

File

To find the choices in the File menu, implement the following steps:

Step 1 Click the File menu and a window like Figure 15-2, "File Menu," appears.

Figure 15-2: File Menu

Step 2 From the File menu, click your selection for the following information:

Print (Ctrl+P) allows you to print the graph that is currently visible in the Graph View, scaled to fit on a single page.
Close closes Topology.

E d it

To find the choices in the Edit menu, implement the following steps:

Step 1 Click the Edit menu item and a window like Figure 15-3, "Edit Menu," appears.

Figure 15-3: Edit Menu

Step 2 From the Edit drop-down menu, click your selection for the following information:

Undo (Ctrl+Z) undoes the last operation, such as Move or Color Change to the background. You can continue to click Undo and incrementally move back a maximum of 30 levels.
Redo (Ctrl+Y) redoes the last Undo operation, such as Move or Color Change to the background.
Select All (Ctrl+A) selects all the objects in the Graph View of the Main Window.
Select All Nodes selects all the nodes (such as: routers, provider edge routers (PEs), customer edge routers (CEs), Provider Administrative Domains, regions, and sites) in the Graph View.
Select All Edges selects all the edges (links) in the Graph View.
Select All Labels Not implemented at this time.

V iew

To find the choices in the View menu, implement the following steps:

Step 1 Click the View menu and a window like Figure 15-4, "View Menu," appears.

Figure 15-4: View Menu

Step 2 From the View drop-down menu, click your selection for the following information:

Overview Window (Ctrl+W) pops up a secondary window, as shown in the example, Figure 15-5, "Overview of Graph View," that allows you to display the entire network topology displayed in the Graph View.

Figure 15-5: Overview of Graph View

Fit in Window (Ctrl+F) scales the entire topology to fit entirely within the Graph View.
25% zooms the current Graph View to 25% of its actual size.
50% zooms the current Graph View to 50% of its actual size.
Actual Size zooms the current Graph View to 100% of its actual size.
200% zooms the current Graph View to 200% of its actual size.
400% zooms the current Graph View to 400% of its actual size.
Custom Zoom (Ctrl+M) provides a modal dialog that allows you to customize your Graph View from 1 to 1000%.
Zoom In (NumPad +) incrementally displays the topology in a 10% larger scale.
Zoom Out (NumPad -) incrementally displays the topology in a 10% smaller scale.

The Layout menu applies to the Graph View only. It contains a number of options that help solve difficult modeling, complexity management, and diagram visualization problems. The Layout option reduces the time consuming task of manually placing network elements using the mouse and lets you concentrate on managing the network rather than the diagram.

To find the choices in the Layout menu, implement the following steps:

Step 1 Click the Layout menu and a window like Figure 15-6, "Layout Menu Choices," appears.

Figure 15-6: Layout Menu Choices

Step 2 From the Layout menu, click your selection for the following information:

Perform La yout (Ctrl+L) runs t he currently selecte d layout style.
Circular Layou t portrays in terconnected ring and star topologies, as shown in the example, Figure 15-6, "Layout Menu Choices."

: Circular layout is particularly useful for hub and spoke network topology, as typically found in Customer Edge Routing Communities (CERCs).

Hierarchica l Layout org aniz es the topology into distinct levels, as shown in the example, Figure 15-7, "Example of Hierarchical Layout."

Figure 15-7: Example of Hierarchical Layout

Orthogonal L ay out dra ws gra phs in which links run horizontally or vertically along a grid, as shown in the example, Figure 15-8, "Example of Orthogonal Layout."

Figure 15-8: Example of Orthogonal Layout

Note Orthogonal layout is particularly useful for cleaning up a Graph View after choosing Actions > Expand All.

Sym met ric Layo ut exposes the natural symmetry inherent in many networks. Nodes are placed in a manner that is both intuitive and aesthetically pleasing, as shown in the example, Figure 15-9, "Example of Symmetric Layout."

Figure 15-9: Example of Symmetric Layout

Edge Label Layout is not implemented at this time.

Actio n s

This selection allows a flexible approach to complex graph drawing through a nesting interface. In effect, a graph may be drawn separately from the other graphs, and collapsed in the navigation manager, or it may be expanded into its parent node. This allows for the design of powerful visualization applications where you can open sections of the drawing on demand, without having to manage a monolithic graph structure.

To find the choices in the Actions menu, implement the following steps:

Step 1 Click the Actions menu item and a window like Figure 15-10, "Actions Menu Choices," appears.

Figure 15-10: Actions Menu Choices

Step 2 From the Actions menu, click your selection for the following information:

Note After running one of theses choices, you can run one of the layout selections from the Layout menu to clean up the graph.

Expa nd All resizes all elements that contain drill-down information to display the child graphs nested within its container. An example result of choosing this is shown in Figure 15-10, "Actions Menu Choices."
Co llapse All undoes the Expand All operation. Elements containing nested information are resized to their original size and the nesting information disappears. An example of choosing this is in Figure 15-11, "Results of Choosing Actions > Collapse All."

Figure 15-11: Results of Choosing Actions > Collapse All

Note A + sign next to an element in a topology indicates that you can access more information underneath this element. Double-click to drill down to the next level. Right click on an element to access more menu choices. Click on any item in the VPN Console tree to access topology information.

T ools

To find the choices in the Tools menu, implement the following steps:

Step 1 Click the Tools menu item and a window like Figure 15-12, "Tools Menu Choices," appears.

Figure 15-12: Tools Menu Choices

Step 2 From the Tools menu, click your selection for the following information:

Sele ct allows you to manipulate objects, drag them, and select them. When you click the right mouse button a popup menu appears.
Zoom allows you to use the mouse to zoom into a rectangular region.
New Service Re quest is only available when the Expand All mode, as shown in the section "Actions," is being used. Using the mouse, you can connect a PE to a CE resulting in the launching of a new Service Request Wizard. This is the same wizard available through the VPN Console's Provisioning > Add VPN Service to CE menu item.

He lp

To find the choices in the Help menu, implement the following step:

Step 1 Click the Help menu item and a window like Figure 15-13, "Help Menu Choices," appears.

Figure 15-13: Help Menu Choices

Step 2 From the Help menu, click your selection for the following information:

About provides an informational window about the version of the product, as shown in the example in Figure 15-14, "Example of HelpAbout Window."

Figure 15-14: Example of Help—About Window

Step 3 Click OK to return to the main Topology window.

Hierarchy View

The Hierarchy View is in the left pane (hierarchy pane) of the Topology Tool's main window. It shows a hierarchical view of the network. Clicking on the root node brings the Graph View to the root level in the current hierarchy and centers the graph at an optimal zoom level. Single clicking on folder nodes performs no function. However, selecting items in the tree may have an effect in the Graph View. For example, selection of a node in the tree may result in it being centered in the Graph View.

In the Hierarchy View, if you right click on a folder node, a popup menu appears allowing you to sort the contents by name. This is shown in Figure 15-15, "Sort Menu."

Figure 15-15: Sort Menu

The Sort menu allows you to sort in the following orders:

Ascending Alphabetical order.
Descending Reverse alphabetical order.

Graph Vie w

The Graph View is in the right pane (data pane) of the main window that contains the results of actions performed from the menu bar or from the Hierarchy View. It allows you to view, create, and modify network services in a VPN environment.

In the Graph View, if you right click on the background of the Graph View (not on a node or link), a popup menu appears, as shown in Figure 15-16, "Graph View Popup Menu."

Figure 15-16: Graph View Popup Menu

The menu items in Figure 15-16, "Graph View Popup Menu," are listed with their descriptions, as follows:

Go To Parent Graph. Click this to bring you up one level of the hierarchy.
Go To Root Graph. Click this to bring you to the top level of the hierarchy.
Background Color. Click this to choose the background color.
Subview Filters. Click this to choose the filters that you want to place on your viewing, as shown in Figure 15-17, "Subview Filters Menu Item."

Figure 15-17: Subview Filters Menu Item

Common Menus in Hierarchy View and Graph View

This section explains two menus that appear by right clicking in the Hierarchy View and the Graph View. The menus are:

Nod e Men u

In the Hierarchy View or Graph View, if you right click on a node other than a folder node, a popup menu appears, as shown in Figure 15-18, "Node Menu."

Figure 15-18: Node Menu

The menu items in Figure 15-18, "Node Menu," are listed with their descriptions, as follows:

List Service Requests. Click this selection to provide a report as shown in the example in Figure 15-19, "List Service Requests." This report provides a list of the service requests associated with the particular element.

Figure 15-19: List Service Requests

Navigation. Any element with a + sign means that drill-down information is available. The Navigation choices are shown in Figure 15-20, "Navigation Menu Item."

Figure 15-20: Navigation Menu Item

The menu items in Figure 15-20, "Navigation Menu Item," are listed with their descriptions, as follows:

Go To Child Graph drills down a level.
Show Child Graph gives the same information as Actions > Expand All but for this node only. It shows the drill-down information nested within the current Graph View.

View As. Click this to get the choices as shown in Figure 15-21, "View As Menu."

Figure 15-21: View As Menu

The menu items in Figure 15-21, "View As Menu," are listed with their descriptions, as follows:

Icon provides an icon and labels.
Details provides more information about this node. This selection is best used with routers, PEs and CEs.

Edit Font brings up a Choose Font dialog box.
Background Color allows you to select a background color.
Foreground Color allows you to select foreground color.

Service Reques t Menu

Right click on a node (Region, router (CE or PE), Site, Provider Core, or Provider Administrative Domain), and the same menus are available, as shown in Figure 15-22, "Service Request Menu."

Figure 15-22: Service Request Menu

The menu items in Figure 15-22, "Service Request Menu," are listed with their descriptions, as follows:

Modify Service Request. Click this choice and you will then navigate through a wizard that starts with the introductory screen, as shown in Figure 15-23, "Modify Existing VPN Service Intro."
Color. Click this choice and you can change the color of the selected item.

Figure 15-23: Modify Existing VPN Service Intro

Bottom View Tabs

The bottom task tabs give the opportunity to select filtered information, as in Figure 15-24, "Example of Bottom Task Tabs." The tabs in this example are: All-VPN; Cust2-CUSTOMER; Cust1VPN-VPN; Cust2VPN-CERC; Cust3-CUSTOMER; PAdomain1-PE; Cust3VPN-VPN; Cust4VPN-CERC; Cust4-CUSTOMER; Cust1VPN-CERC; Cust2VPN-VPN; Cust3VPN-CERC; Cust4VPN-VPN; Cust1-CUSTOMER

Figure 15-24: Example of Bottom Task Tabs

Status

The Status is at the very bottom of the Topology View, after the bottom task tabs. Status identifies where you are and what you have chosen to do. In Figure 15-25, "Example of Status Information," the status bar indicates Status: Use the mouse to connect a CE to a PE resulting in a new service request.

Figure 15-25: Example of Status Information

Table of Contents

Topology

Topology

Topology Menu Bar

File

E d it

V iew

L ayout

Actio n s

T ools

He lp

Hierarchy View

Graph Vie w

Common Menus in Hierarchy View and Graph View

Nod e Men u

Service Reques t Menu

Bottom View Tabs

Status