data stream solutions tools for network documentation and information management : netViz

relationship modelling

product information

products

data-embedded graphics

relationship modeling

data-driven graphics

connecting to databases

web-publishing projects

api

Inter-connections and object relationships are defining features of any network, complex system, design or process. The ability to explore and shape these relationships is crucial. netViz provides easy, intuitive ways to create and view parent-child and sibling connections between system components. Computer networks, workflows and conceptual models don't exist on flat pages; neither should your documentation.

netViz stores and presents information hierarchically, and the connections between objects are tracked as carefully as the objects themselves. An entire system's data - including information about the relationships between objects - is stored in a single netViz file.

Here's what it all means - in a single netViz project you can create and view system-wide relationships, both horizontal (such as all of the top-level concepts in a particular model) or vertical (system - sub-system - component). It's easy to keep track of where you are in a vertical hierarchy by keeping an eye on the Hierarchy Browser - and you can expand and collapse the levels in the Browser just as you do with Windows Explorer.

Click image for larger view of Hierarchy Browser

To drill down on an object in a netViz project, just double click on it. Because an entire project's data is maintained in a single file, it only takes seconds to go down as many levels as necessary to increase granularity on a selected component or decompose a function or system without getting a micro view of the entire project. For example, once you've diagrammed your network with netViz, you can travel vertically, one diagram at a time, from a city to a building, to a floor, into a wiring closet, then into a patch panel or other network component, and all the way down to an individual port.

composite views

We designed netViz not only to track relationships, but to allow you to view them in unique ways. When you draw links between objects, netViz doesn't just display the connections graphically, it automatically stores information about the relationships that are created. When the time comes to examine those relationships, we make it easy.

Using a simple toolbar pull-down, just select two or more diagrams in your project and create a Composite View. In seconds, netViz will display a bird's eye view of the diagrams you selected, along with all of their interconnections.

Click image for larger view of Composite Views

Using another pull-down, you can easily create Composite Views of all diagrams linked to a selected object. Composite Views can be saved for periodic viewing. And because they're simply reflections of the underlying project data, any project modifications will be automatically reflected in the Composites when you reopen them.

the previewer

You can even get a quick look at diagrams related to the one on your screen without opening or closing any new diagrams. Just rest your cursor on a node, and the Previewer will show a thumbnail of the diagram under that node. If you rest your cursor on a link, you’ll get an instant view of the diagrams at the link's endpoints - with flashing arrows to indicate the exact points of termination. To go to either diagram in the thumbnail, just double click on it.

Click image for larger view of Previewer

inter-diagram linking

As you probably know by now, the visual display of complex, hierarchical data is our mission. We threw out the concept of page-by-page documentation and allow you to see your network or information model for what it is - a single integrated system of interrelated components. But computer screens can only show one diagram at a time. Our solution - interdiagram linking and reference nodes. A reference node is a graphic object in a gray box that represents an object in a remote diagram.

Here’s how it works. Say you want to link two objects in a netViz project that are many levels apart. Just open the two diagrams that contain the objects, tile the windows on your screen and drag a link to connect the objects. netViz will automatically store the relationship information and create reference nodes in every diagram in the chain between the two objects. Here’s a very simple example of how interdiagram linking works:

There are two objects in the top-level diagram, Office A and Office B. Each office has a subdiagram containing a server and a modem. To create interdiagram links, the three windows were tiled. A link was drawn directly between the two modems in the subdiagrams. netViz did the following:

Created a link at the top level between the two offices;
Created a reference node in the Office A diagram to show that the link terminates at Modem-2;
Created a reference node in the Office B diagram to show that the link terminates at Modem-1.

Remember, netViz recognizes and stores connection information as you create drawings. That means it will automatically create reference nodes throughout a project wherever appropriate and will automatically display the connection information when you create a Composite View.

Diagrams without the ability to dynamically show the interconnections between components are nothing more than empty drawings. netViz attaches as much importance to relationship information as it does to the ability to draw. That's why you can use netViz to portray a network or model the same way you think about it – as a single, complex system with many interrelated components. Don’t bother trying that with a simple business drawing tool.