Graph explorer
The graph explorer in infrastructure view provides you a visual overview of infrastructure entities and the relationships between them using a node‑and‑edge graph layout. This view helps you understand the dependencies and connections between different components in the monitored environment. You can use the graph to trace issues and understand the architecture of any monitored systems.
The graph displays entities as nodes and their relationships as directed edges that connect them. Each relationship type indicates the interaction or dependency of entities on each other.
Viewing the graph explorer
To view the relationships between entities in the graph explorer, complete the following steps:
- From the navigation menu in the Instana UI, select Infrastructure.
- On the infrastructure map, select an entity.
- Click Graph.
If you select an entity in the infrastructure map when you switch to the graph explorer, the entity is automatically focused and selected. You can view its dependencies and connections within the environment. When you switch to the infrastructure map, you can view the same focused entity on the map.
If you do not select an entity, the graph explorer displays a list of zones that you can use to navigate to the specific areas of the infrastructure.
Understanding the graph
The graph explorer provides a visual representation of your monitored infrastructure, allowing you to interpret entities, their health, and their relationships. The following sections describe how nodes are displayed and how to interact with them.
Nodes
Nodes represent individual infrastructure entities, such as hosts, containers, processes, or services. Each node includes the following elements:
- Icon: A technology‑specific icon that identifies the entity type (for example, Docker, Kubernetes, or JVM).
- Label: The name of the entity. Names longer than 20 characters are truncated for readability.
Visual state:
- Normal: Standard appearance with a subtle border and light blue background.
- Selected: Highlighted with a thicker blue border to indicate the active selection.
The background color of a node also reflects its current health state, providing immediate visual insight into potential issues.
- Issue: Yellow background, indicating an active issue event.
- Incident: Red background, indicating an active incident event.
When you select a node, you can view its detailed information and automatically refocus the graph to display that node and its directly connected entities. This focused view helps you explore specific dependencies and interactions efficiently.
Edges (Relationships)
Edges are directed arrows that represent the relationships between entities. The graph explorer supports four relationship types, each describing a different kind of interaction or dependency between entities.
| Relationship Type | Meaning | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN | Running IN a | Indicates that one entity runs inside another. | A process runs IN Docker |
| IS | IS a | Indicates that an entity is a specific type of another. | An EC2 instance IS a Host |
| TO | Connected TO a | Shows that an entity has an explicit connection or link. | A JVM connected TO a Kafka cluster |
| OF | Part OF a | Indicates that an entity belongs to a logical group. | An EC2 instance is part OF an availability zone |
All relationship types are visually available in the graph legend, which you can expand at any time for quick reference.
Navigation controls
The graph explorer includes a set of navigation tools that help you adjust the view and focus on specific areas:
- Zoom In (+): Increases the zoom level to view more detail.
- Zoom Out (-): Decreases the zoom level to view a larger portion of the graph.
- Center to Fit: Automatically adjusts the view to fit all nodes in the viewport.
- Focus on Node: Centers the graph on the currently selected node.
In addition to the on‑screen controls, you can navigate the graph using standard mouse interactions:
- Pan: Click and drag the background to move around the graph.
- Zoom: Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
- Select: Click a node to select it, open its details, and refocus the graph on the node and its relationships.
Layout options
The graph explorer supports multiple layout algorithms that organize nodes based on their relationships and overall structure:
- Layered: A hierarchical layout that arranges entities in structured layers.
- MRTree: A multi‑rooted tree layout optimized to view hierarchical structures.
You can select the layout that best represents your infrastructure using the layout selector in the navigation controls. In most cases, the Layered layout provides the clearest view of relationships and dependencies.
