15.1. Working with Edges

The entry point into exploring the streaming graph database of Trisul is to select two items

  1. a root vertex from where you can enter the graph.
  2. a time window

All exploration is done in a tool called the “Edge Graph Explorer”.

15.1.1 Enable Feature

New installations of Trisul will already have Edges enabled. If you are upgrading an older install, ensure that you add the following line in trisulProbeConfig.xml



<Edges>
    <Enable>True</Enable>
</Edges>

15.1.2 View Edge Graph

In a number of places in Trisul, you will see a list of keys within a counter group.

  • Select the “View Edge Graph” menu to bring up the Graph Explorer.
  • If you use “Retro Analysis” the time period is automatically set to the focus time window.

15.1.3 Tools > Edge Graph

To set an arbitrary node as the “root vertex”

Select Tools → Edge Graph

In the form that is shown there are four fields

Group Select a Counter or Alert group from the drop down list
Key Enter a key within the counter group
From, To Time Window

15.1.4 Graph Explorer

The graph explorer is a simple point and click tool that allows you to expand and explore the graph network.

When you first open the Graph Explorer

  • The immediate adjacent nodes are shown
  • Each vertex group is of a different color
  • Hover mouse over a node for more drilldown options
  • Click on a node to open its 1 level adjacent neighbors

The tool options are :

View Label Shows labels or readable keys. For example, how hostnames or IP addresses for the Hosts counter group
Treemap view Use a Tree map to show the graph. This is a cleaner option in some cases
Flow grap view Use a force directed graph to display
TIP If the force graph is too messy, select a highly connected node, drag it a empty area and shake it a bit. The graph settles into a better layout.