Node graph panel (Beta)
This documentation topic is designed for Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 8.x.
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 10.x, see Working in Grafana version 10.
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 9.x, see Working in Grafana version 9.
The node graph panel visualizes directed graphs or networks. It uses directed force layout to effectively position the nodes so it can help with displaying complex infrastructure maps, hierarchies, or execution diagrams.
Data requirements
The node graph panel requires a specific shape of the data to be able to display its nodes and edges. Not every data source or query can be visualized in this panel.
The Node graph visualization consists of nodes and edges.
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A node is displayed as a circle. A node might represent an application, a service, or anything else that is relevant from an application perspective.
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An edge is displayed as a line that connects two nodes. The connection might be a request, an execution, or some other relationship between the two nodes.
Nodes
Usually, nodes show two statistical values inside the node and two identifiers just below the node, usually name and type. Nodes can also show another set of values as a color circle around the node, with sections of different color represents different values that should add up to 1. For example, you can have the percentage of errors represented by red portion of the circle.
Additional details can be displayed in a context menu, which is displayed when you choose the node. There also can be additional links in the context menu that can target either other parts of the Grafana workspace or any external link.
Edges
Edges can also show statistics when you hover over the edge. Similar to nodes, you can open a context menu with additional details and links by choosing the edge.
The first data source supporting this visualization is the AWS X-Ray data source for its service map feature. For more information, see Connect to an AWS X-Ray data source.
Additional details can be displayed in a context menu ,which is displayed when you choose the node. There also can be additional links in the context menu that can target either other parts of the Grafana workspace or any external link.
Navigating the node graph
You can pan within the node graph by choosing outside of any node or edge and dragging the mouse.
You can zoom by using the buttons on the upper left corner of the node graph.