12.1 Who Should Use NLA?

• Anyone whose network grows beyond a few devices; it is far easier to manage your maps with automated layout
• Anyone who has network topologies that change often.
• Anyone who needs high quality network maps -- for example, for presentations, reports, and demonstrations

12.2 What Does NLA Do?

• NLA reads the network information in your SunNet Manager database, and automatically places devices and connections in a meaningful arrangement in the Console window. There is no need to hand-position each device as you build a logical view of your internetwork.
• NLA shows you where you are. It is often difficult to see an entire view of your network with the Console since there is no "zooming" feature. The NLA overview window provides a high-level view of the Console and a marquee indicating the portion of the network you are currently viewing in the Console window. The marquee mirrors your moves as you scroll through the Console, thereby helping you navigate your network.

• It provides you with choices. Since internets can be comprised of a variety of topologies, NLA provides three unique layout styles: Hierarchical, Circular and Symmetric. Experiment with each style to find the best one for you.
• It lets you customize your layouts. Although each layout style has preset defaults, you can tailor the effect through OpenWindows controls.
• It lets you print your networks. Using the Print option, you can generate color PostScript files of your network views and include them in page composition programs or send them directly to a PostScript printer/plotter.

12.3 What the Network Layout Assistant Does Not Do

• The Network Layout Assistant is not a Discover tool. NLA cannot discover your network devices. Specifically, NLA does not populate the SunNet Manager database with connection information. However, NLA will accurately lay out the device and connection information stored in the SunNet Manager database.
• The Network Layout Assistant does not provide a physical map or geographical layout of your network. It provides logical arrangement of your devices based on their connectivity and does not represent the actual distance between devices or physical location of devices.
• The Network Layout Assistant does not troubleshoot network errors. However, it can help you resolve and avoid problems through its clear presentation of complicated network maps.

12.3.1 Available with Domain Manager

The Network Layout Assistant is available only with the Domain Manager product, not with Site/SunNet Manager.

12.4 Starting the SunNet Manager Console

Access NLA through three new menu items under the submenu NLA in the SunNet Manager Console Tools menu: Layout..., Overview..., and Print...

If this is the first time you are using NLA tools but you have previously run SunNet Manager, you must first clear the current Console run-time database:

• To save the current runtime database, start the Console and use the File: Save menu to save it to a named file; then quit the Console.
• To clear the runtime database, start the Console with the -i option:

% /usr/snm/bin/snm -i &

If you have never used the Network Layout Assistant, or have never run the SunNet Manager Console, you can start the Console by entering:

% /usr/snm/bin/snm &

More information on starting the SunNet Manager Console can be found under "Starting the Console" in the "Creating and Modifying the Management Database" chapter. Issuing the snm command causes an empty Console window to appear as shown in Figure 12-1

Figure 12-1

12.5 Creating the SunNet Manager Console Database

You can populate the SunNet Manager Console runtime database with your network information in a number of ways as described in other chapters. These are summarized as follows:

1. If you have previously built your network using the Console and have saved the database to a file using File >> Save , you can populate the SunNet Manager Console by selecting the File >> Load menu item. Then reload the database using the pop-up window:

2. If you do not have a saved database to reload, you can use the Tools >> IP Discover menu option to find all the devices in your network and populate the Console database:

3. Instead of using the IP Discover tool, you can use the Console Edit >> Create menu to create new views and devices as described in the section entitled "Creating Elements" in the "Creating and Modifying the Management Database" chapter.

4. After adding the elements to the Console, add connections between the glyphs as necessary as shown in the "Connecting Elements" section in the "Creating and Modifying the Management Database" chapter.

   If you used IP Discover to populate your database, you might want to use the Edit >> Copy and Edit >> Paste options to copy elements from multiple "discovered" views into one logical view. This new logical view will help you understand the logical interconnection of your networks.

12.6 Using the Layout... Option

To bring up the Network Layout Assistant main window, select the Tools >> NLA >> Layout menu option on the SunNet Manager Console:

The first time you start the Network Layout Assistant, the pop up window will show the default settings:

To lay out your network using the default values, click the Apply button. NLA will position the elements in the view considering their connections. The defaults lay out the current view using the Hierarchical style. To lay out all views of your network at once, Layout All Views >> Apply. To use a different type of layout, use the Layout Style menu as described in the section on "Choosing a Layout Style."

12.6.1 Main Window Controls

Use the NLA main window to choose your layout style, determine which views it will affect, and apply it to the Console contents. Depending on the style, style-specific panels offer various options that further affect the overall glyph positioning.

These controls are present on all the layout style windows:

• Layout Style menu offers a choice of three layout styles: Hierarchical, Circular or Symmetric.
• Layout All Views check box determines whether the Network Layout Assistant lays out all views of your network at once, or just the current view.

• Apply button causes the settings in the Network Layout Assistant main window to take effect and a layout to be executed.
• Reset button returns the current style's settings to those before you last pressed Apply.
• Defaults button resets the current style's settings.
• Undo button returns the network elements to where they were located before you pressed Apply.

12.6.1.1 Choosing a Layout Style

You choose a layout style by pulling down the Layout Style menu and selecting one from the list:

Selecting from the Layout Style menu will display one of three panels from which you can set the layout style specific tailoring options:

Layout style is primarily a matter of personal preference, and your preference may change as your network changes. Experiment with the different layout styles and settings to see which work best for you.

The layout style-specific tailoring options are described in the section, "Tailoring Your Layouts." All three layout styles have sophisticated real-time layout capability and support the following features:

• Variable spacing between and around elements.
• Line crossing minimization.
• Separate placement of independent internetworks to help you isolate problems.
• Name-sorted tiling of independent elements.

If there are no connections between your glyphs, each layout style will look virtually the same. When there are no connections, the Network Layout Assistant provides a sort-by-name tiling of glyphs similar to the SunNet Manager IP Discover tool's automatic positioning feature.

12.6.2 Troubleshooting

• Executing a layout buries the buses underneath the connections.

  Explanation: The SunNet Manager Console draws bus elements underneath the connections. Click on a bus to bring it to the front.

12.7 Using the Overview... Option

The Network Layout Assistant overview window displays a high-level view of the network contained in the Console window. The overview window helps you maintain your perspective as you scroll around the SunNet Manager Console. A marquee in the overview window outlines the portion of the network visible in the Console.

To familiarize yourself with the overview window's capabilities, follow these steps:

1. In the Console window, select the Tools >> Overview menu item, and the overview window will pop up. Depending on the size of your network, it can sometimes take up to thirty seconds for the overview window to initialize itself from the SunNet Manager database.

Figure 12-2

2. The overview window is read-only. To move its marquee, use the scroll bars in the Console. The overview window's marquee will automatically update itself to reflect the Console map's visible area.

3. As you resize the Console or scroll around it, the overview window automatically adjusted to show your current view of the network.

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Note - An error message will appear when you open a view that you have not yet laid out. This message reminds you that the glyphs in that view won't be visible in the overview window until their positions are initialized either through hand positioning or Network Layout Assistant positioning.

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12.7.1 Overview Window Controls

12.7.1.1 Refresh Contents Button

The overview window's network representation can sometime appear out of sync with the Console window view. This can happen, for instance, when you load a new database file using the Console's File >> Load menu option. To synchronize the overview, click the Refresh Contents button to update it.

12.7.1.2 Process All Traps Check Box

To temporarily turn off the overview updates, uncheck the Auto-update check box. When unchecked, changes made to the Console will not be reflected in the overview window. To synchronize the overview window with the Console, simply reselect the check box.

12.7.1.3 Process Change Traps Check Box

The Overview window receives traps from the SunNet Manager database for actions such as cut, paste, drag, and color changes whether these actions were executed by the user or by SNM applications. Some SNM applications can generate a high frequency of database traps, causing the Overview window to use a larger portion of the CPU as it processes these traps. If you uncheck the Process Change Traps check box, the Overview window will ignore certain change traps, significantly reducing the processing requirements. whether this setting is on or off, most users will not notice a performance difference; if you experience reduced window manager performance caused by a high frequency of redraws in the Overview window, try turning this option off.

12.7.2 Shapes

The overview window emulates the SunNet Manager Console:

• Routers are represented by diamonds.
• Subnets are represented by ovals.
• Buses are represented by knob terminated lines.
• All other components and views are represented by rectangles sized proportionally to the glyph representing the component or view.

12.7.3 Color

The overview window uses the color of the network element as defined in the SunNet Manager Console.

To set the color of a Console element, use the Red/Green/Blue sliders in the element's properties sheet. Colors for window decorations such as borders and scroll bars are controlled by OpenWindows. To change them, choose the OpenWindows Desktop >> Properties... pop-up menu item.

12.7.3.1 For More Information on Setting the Color

On setting the color when creating an element:

See the section entitled "Creating Elements" in the "Creating and Modifying the Management Database" chapter.

On setting the color for an existing element:

See the section entitled "Modifying Element Properties" in the "Creating and Modifying the Management Database" chapter.

On setting a color for window decorations:

See the OpenWindows on-line tutorial or the OpenWindows User's Guide.

12.7.4 Troubleshooting

The glyphs and/or connections in the Console do not show up in the overview window, or do not appear to be in the correct position.

Explanation: If you have dragged elements, they may not appear in their new location because dragging does not update the position in the database. Likewise, if you have added connections between glyphs that do not have set positions, the connections may not show up in the overview window.

You can use any of the following approaches to remedy the situation:

• If you drag elements and would like the overview window to reflect your changes, switch from the current view to a different view and back again. You can switch between views by either using the Goto menu or by double-clicking on the displayed view.

• Set positions for all elements by applying a layout with the Tools >> Layout menu item.
• Cutting and pasting also sets the glyph positions. Position each element manually by cutting then pasting instead of dragging.

12.7.4.1 For More Information:

On the difference between explicit and automatic positioning for elements:

See the section titled "Moving Elements" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Modifying the Management Database."

On visiting a view with the Goto menu or by double-clicking an view:

See the section titled "Traversing the View Hierarchy" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Modifying the Management Database."

12.8 Using the Print... Option

This section describes how to use the options on the Print window to create PostScript files of your SunNet Manager views. You can generate wall-size diagrams to improve network documentation capabilities, or generate small images to include in other documents. The printing features include:

• Single-page and multi-page output by specifying number of row and column pages. Images will be scaled to fill the number of specified pages.
• User specified page width and height settings provide arbitrary PostScript plotter size support.
• With EPSF support, network drawings may be easily embedded into documents generated by page composition applications such as FrameMaker and PageMaker.
• Gray scale and color support
• Crop marks for paper cutting
• Page labeling and numbering
• Image rotation
• DSC 3.0 support

12.9 The Print Window

To bring up the NLA print window, select the Tools >> NLA >> Print menu option on the SunNet Manager Console.

To print the current view using the default settings, check the printer name and click the Print button. The Network Layout Assistant will send a one-page image to the printer specified.

Figure 12-3

When the print button is pressed, the Network Layout Assistant will read through the current view and generate a PostScript file showing the devices and links.

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Note - Unpositioned elements will not be processed by the print program. Use the layout option or hand position your devices before printing.

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Note - Strip-charts in the current view will be displayed as shaded boxes

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12.9.1 Primary Print Options

This section describes the options on the primary print window.

12.9.1.1 Destination

The generated PostScript can be sent directly to a printer, saved as a file, or passed to a user supplied PostScript previewer program:

• Printer

  To send the output directly to a printer, select "Print" as the destination and enter your printer name in the "Printer" text field. The current view will be processed and the output routed directly to that device using lpr (Solaris 1.x) or lp (Solaris 2.x).

• File

  To save the output into a file, select "File" as the destination and enter the directory and file name in the supplied text fields. In the directory field you can use the shell home directory symbol '~'. In the filename field you can use $VIEW to represent the current SunNet Manager view name. For example, to save the current view "MyNet" into PostScript file MyNet.ps in your home directory, specify a directory of "~" and a filename of "$VIEW.ps."

• Previewer

  To open the file in a PostScript previewer, select "Previewer" as the destination and enter the preview command line in the text field. The previewer will be launched in the background using the Unix "system" command. To represent the name of the PostScript file in the previewer command you can use the $FILE variable.

  If no $FILE variable is specified in the previewer command, the filename of the temporary PostScript file will be appended to the end of the command. For example, to start page view at 72 dots per inch scaling level you would specify "pageview -dpi 72 $FILE" in the Command field. Note that in this case since $FILE is specified at the end of the command line, the same effect can be realized without including $FILE in the command line at all, i.e. "pageview -dpi 72" would be sufficient.

12.9.1.2 Format

The Format choice determines whether a standard single/multi-page printer ready PostScript (PS) file or an encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file is created. The EPS file can be imported into most composition programs such as FrameMaker and Illustrator, while the standard PS file can be sent directly to a printer/plotter.

12.9.1.3 PS Output

When generating standard printer-ready PostScript files, a number of further options are available which determine the page size and number of pages for the output file.

First you should specify the page size and page border using the Page Width, Page Height, and Page Border fields. The number of pages of this size that will be generated is determined by the "Scale To" setting:

• Scale to pages

  When you select "Scale To: Pages", entry fields are displayed where you can specify the number of page rows and page columns. To generate a single page of output enter a "1" in both fields. To split the output onto four pages (two pages by two pages), enter a "2" in both fields.

• Scale to percent

  You can allow the Network Layout Assistant to set the number of pages based on the size of the current view using the "Scale To: Percent" choice. A setting of 100 percent will produce an overall image of the same size as the current view assuming there are 72 pixels per inch (1 pixel will be equal to 1 point). This overall image size is divided by the specified Page Width and Page Height to determine the actual number of page rows and page columns.

12.9.1.4 EPS Output

When generating an EPS image, the size of the image is determined by the "Image Width," "Image Height," "Image Border," and the "Scale To" options.

To specify an exact image width and height, choose "Scale To: Both" and enter the width and height value in inches. To just set one dimension and let the Network Layout Assistant determine the other dimension based on the aspect ratio of the current view, choose "Scale To: Width" or "Scale To: Height" and enter either the "Image Width" or "Image Height", respectively. For example, if you want an image 4.5 inches wide but want the height based on the current view proportions, select "Scale To: Width" and enter "4.5" in the "Image Width" field.

You can also let the Network Layout Assistant set both the width and height of the image using the "Scale To: Actual Size" option. This will generate a single EPS image of the same size as the current view assuming there are 72 pixels per inch.

The "Image Border" option allows you to specify extra white space or to display a image border/label within the specified image height/width.

12.9.2 Additional Print Options

Secondary output options can be accessed by pressing the "+" button in the lower right hand corner of the Print dialog. The Print window will open up to display a secondary panel with additional options:

Figure 12-4

These options are:

• Show element icons

  If you turn this option off, the devices in the output will be represented with shaded boxes instead of including the actual bitmap. This option may be useful for producing draft output on plotters where bitmap rendering is time consuming.

• Show element names

  This option determines whether the device labels will be shown on the output. The accompanying text fields are where you describe the PostScript font and point size with which to draw the device labels.

• Show page label

  This option determines whether the page labels, including userid and time stamp, will be shown on the output. The accompanying text fields are where you describe the PostScript font and point size with which to draw the page label.

• Show pageborder

  This option determines whether a black rectangle will be drawn encompassing the overall image.

• Show page numbers

  This option determines whether the page numbers will be shown on the output. The accompanying text fields are where you describe the PostScript font and point size with which to draw the page numbers.

• Show crop marks

  This option determines whether crop marks describing where to cut the paper are included on multi-page output.

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Note - If Page Border/Image Border is 0.0, the page border, page label, and page numbers will not be displayed regardless of the checkbox settings in the secondary panel.

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12.10 Tailoring Your Layouts

This section explains how to make adjustments to your network layout through the style specific controls in the Network Layout Assistant main window. The three layout styles - Hierarchical, Circular, and Symmetric - are each covered in their own section.

12.11 Hierarchical Layout Style

• Organizes the elements in your network into a hierarchy.
• Emphasizes tree-like subnetworks in your network.
• Is excellent for maps containing buses, because the Network Layout Assistant can stretch the bus glyphs to accommodate all of the elements directly attached to them.

Figure 12-5 shows the Network Layout Assistant main window with the Hierarchical layout style default settings.

Figure 12-5

12.11.1 What is a Level?

A level is a grouping of nodes placed on a line. Usually a horizontal or vertical line can be drawn through the nodes that belong to a particular level. If a graph has a horizontal level orientation, each level occupies a row in the graph. If a graph has a vertical orientation, each level occupies a column in the graph.

12.11.2 Hierarchical Layout: Level Orientation

The Level Orientation panel option changes the orientation of the levels in a graph between horizontal and vertical. When the orientation is horizontal, all the nodes will line up on horizontal levels. Horizontal levels imply a top-to-bottom organization of your network in the Console. When the orientation is vertical, all the nodes will line up on vertical levels. Vertical levels cause a left-to-right organization of your network in the Console.

12.12 Tailoring Your Layout

This chapter explains how to make adjustments to your network layout through the style specific controls in the Network Layout Assistant main window. The three layout styles - Hierarchical, Circular, and Symmetric - are each covered in their own section.

12.13 Hierarchical Layout Style

• Organizes the elements in your network into a hierarchy.
• Emphasizes tree-like subnetworks in your network.
• Is excellent for maps containing buses, because the Network Layout Assistant can stretch the bus glyphs to accommodate all of the elements directly attached to them.

Figure 12-6 shows the Network Layout Assistant main window with the Hierarchical layout style default settings.

Figure 12-6

12.13.1 What is a Level?

A level is a grouping of nodes placed on a line. Usually a horizontal or vertical line can be drawn through the nodes that belong to a particular level. If a graph has a horizontal level orientation, each level occupies a row in the graph. If a graph has a vertical orientation, each level occupies a column in the graph.

12.13.2 Hierarchical Layout: Level Orientation

The Level Orientation panel option changes the orientation of the levels in a graph between horizontal and vertical. When the orientation is horizontal, all the nodes will line up on horizontal levels. Horizontal levels imply a top-to-bottom organization of your network in the Console. When the orientation is vertical, all the nodes will line up on vertical levels. Vertical levels cause a left-to-right organization of your network in the Console.

Figure 12-7 and Figure 12-8 illustrate the difference between horizontal and vertical orientation.

Figure 12-7

Figure 12-8

12.13.3 Hierarchical Layout: Level Alignment

The Network Layout Assistant employs the familiar "word processing model" to specify the alignment of nodes within a level. The concept is similar to how users set the alignment of text within paragraphs in word processing software. If the levels are oriented horizontally, the Network Layout Assistant allows you to set the alignment of nodes as either top, center, or bottom-aligned within a level. If the levels are oriented vertically, the Network Layout Assistant allows you to set the alignment of nodes as either left, center, or right-aligned within a level.

This setting will only make a difference if the icons are of different sizes. With SunNet Manager 2.2 and newer versions, the supplied icons are all the same height and width and this option will have no effect.

12.13.4 Hierarchical Layout: Level Frame Percent

The Level Frame Percent control allows you to set the spacing above and below each level of glyphs in the map. This control is called "level frame percent" because the Network Layout Assistant maintains an internal "frame

level-bounding rectangle" that is a percentage larger than the smallest rectangle that can bound all of the nodes in a level. Increasing the level frame percent has the effect of spreading the levels further apart, decreasing the level frame percent has the effect of pulling the levels closer together.

Note that the glyphs in Figure 12-9 are closer together along the y axis than the glyphs in Figure 12-10 due to the smaller level frame percent.

Figure 12-9

Figure 12-10

12.13.5 Hierarchical Layout: Node Frame Percent

The Node Frame Percent controls the spacing between nodes on the same level. This control is called "node frame percent" because the space is calculated as a percentage of the width and height of the smallest rectangle that can frame each node. Increasing this frame percentage value spreads nodes in each level further apart. Decreasing this value pulls nodes in each level closer together.

The ability to control the Node Frame Percent is useful if, for instance, the characters in your icon names overlap after a layout. If this happens, try increasing the node frame percent value.

You can see that the glyphs in Figure 12-11 are closer together along the x axis than the glyphs in Figure 12-12 due to the smaller node frame percent.

Figure 12-11

Figure 12-12

12.13.6 Hierarchical Layout: Minimum Slope

This control adjusts the spacing between adjacent levels to ensure that every connection has at least the minimum absolute slope. This feature is useful when networks are very dense or contain devices that have many connections.

For instance, if your network has routers or hubs with many ports, your map may have a congested area where many connections are emanating from these routers or hubs. Increasing the minimum slope can have the positive effect of increasing the distance between levels, thereby adding space between glyphs and improving the overall readability of a large network. Decreasing minimum slope, on the other hand, will allow you to show more of the map in the Console.

Figure 12-13 and Figure 12-14 demonstrates the effect of increasing the minimum slope. Notice that the glyphs in the levels above and below the SunLAN bus glyph are further apart in the second figure, reflecting the higher minimum slope.

Figure 12-13

Figure 12-14

12.13.7 Hierarchical Layout: Bus Size

The Bus Size option allows you to automatically resize your bus elements when you apply a layout. The choices have the following effect:

• Wide (Horizontal orientation), Tall (Vertical orientation): Your buses will be stretched to accommodate the elements directly connected to them.
• Narrow (Horizontal orientation), Short (Vertical orientation): All the buses in the view will be shrunk down to the size of an average-sized glyph.
• As Is: The buses will stay the same size as they were before the layout was applied.

Figure 12-15, Figure 12-16, and Figure 12-17 show how the different bus size settings affect the layout. You can see in the third figure that the "As Is" setting allows you to have different size buses in the same view.

Figure 12-15

Figure 12-16

Figure 12-17

12.13.8 Hierarchical Layout: Stagger End Nodes

The Stagger End Nodes control determines whether devices attached to buses are alternately staggered along a level. Specify the number of pixels to adjust the devices in the entry field provided.

12.14 Circular Layout Style

• Supports sophisticated element grouping using IP networking standards.
• Supports administrative element grouping features.
• Performs radiated placement of those groups.
• Highlights the difference between prominent backbone main sites in your network and peripheral sub-sites in your network.
• Highlights the networks within your internet by grouping nodes according to the network or subnetwork to which they belong.

Figure 12-18 shows the Network Layout Assistant main window with the Circular layout style default settings.

Figure 12-18

12.14.1 Circular Layout: Node Frame Percent

The Node Frame Percent slider controls the spacing between each node in a cluster (circular grouping of elements). Increasing the frame percentage value spreads the elements further apart. Decreasing this value pulls the elements closer together. The ability to control the Node Frame Percent is useful if, for instance, the characters in your icon names overlap after a layout. If this happens, try increasing the node frame percent value.

In Figure 12-19 and Figure 12-20, note how the spacing between the nodes increases as the node frame percent is increased.

Figure 12-19

Figure 12-20

12.14.2 Circular Layout: Grouping Options

The Circular layout operates by gathering elements into groups, or clusters, and arranging the elements in each group into a circle. The circles are then placed considering inter-group connection information.

Figure 12-21 and Figure 12-22 illustrate how Circular layout grouping can help you localize devices on a particular subnet.

Figure 12-21

Figure 12-22

The Network Layout Assistant provides three clustering mechanisms that determine which group an element is assigned to. These are:

• Edge Degree grouping: The default method generates groups based on topology.
• IP Address grouping: The IP Address of the element is used to set the group.
• Group ID: You explicitly set the group of a particular element.

These grouping mechanisms operate in sequence (series). If the Group ID check box is selected and a group ID exists for an element, the Network Layout Assistant organizes elements into circles based on these group ID settings. Next, if the IP Address check box is selected and an IP Address exists for an element, the element will be clustered based on the subnet mask for its network. Finally, the Edge Degree facility is used if there are any elements that have not yet been grouped by the other two methods.

The end result is that each element in the network is assigned to a group after all three grouping operations are performed.

12.14.3 Circular Layout: Edge Degree

This default clustering method uses information based on the connectivity of the network. The edge degree of an element is the number of connections the element has to other elements. If an element has an edge degree greater than or equal to a specified edge degree value, these elements will form the initial clusters.

For example, highly connected buses and routers should form the center of initial clusters in your network. Elements that are adjacent to the new clusters are assigned to these new clusters. Then, remaining unclustered elements with lower edge degree begin to form new clusters and attract adjacent nodes into the clusters. This operation continues until each element is assigned to a cluster.

If too many clusters appear when using the default, increase the Edge Degree number; if too few clusters appear, decrease the Edge Degree number.

The Edge Degree grouping can be overridden using the IP Address and Group ID methods described next.

12.14.4 Circular Layout: Cluster by IP Address

Most UNIX-based networks use the Internet Protocol (IP) for their network protocol. The Network Layout Assistant can make use of the elements' IP addresses when assigning groups; simply select the IP Address checkbox to cluster elements belonging to the same IP network.

Network grouping: The Network Layout Assistant analyzes the IP address of each network element (if it has one) and gathers elements on the same Class A, Class B or Class C network into groups.

Subnet grouping: The Network Layout Assistant supports further organization of your network maps through support for IP subnetting. The Netmask window, described below, allows you to set the subnet mask for each network in your internet.

The IP Address grouping overrides the groups determined by edge degree clustering. You can further tailor the groups by using the Group ID facility described in Section 12.14.7, "Grouping Window."

12.14.5 Netmask Window

The Netmask dialog permits you to fine-tune how the elements in each network are grouped by setting a subnet mask. Subnetting is commonly used to partition IP networks into manageable groups. The netmask window allows the system administrator to apply a subnet mask value other than the default for each network. Click the "Netmask" button to pop up the netmask dialog:

You change the mask for a network by selecting a record in the list box, entering the new mask into the entry fields and clicking Apply. Then click Apply in the Circular Layout panel to layout your internet based on the new subnet mask(s).

12.14.6 Circular Layout: Cluster by Group ID

After you apply a Circular layout using the above clustering methods, you might want to adjust the groups of a few particular elements. You can explicitly set the group of an element with the grouping window described below. If a group ID exists for an element, it will override the group set by Edge Degree clustering or IP Address clustering.

To use this grouping feature, first run a layout using Edge Degree or IP Address clustering. Then check the Group ID check box and click the "Groups" button to bring up the grouping dialog:

12.14.7 Grouping Window

The Circular Layout Grouping dialog provides fine control of element group settings. The dialog box provides a list box that displays the element name, the group to which the element belongs and the IP address of the element. You can select one or more elements in the list box and set their group.

12.14.7.1 Selecting Elements to be Grouped

You use the mouse to select items that you wish to group together (i.e. to appear on one circle). Scroll through the list box and select each element that you would like to set a group for. After selecting the items, enter a group number in the Group ID field and click the Apply button to update the group. To run the layout with the new group settings, click the Apply button on the Network Layout Assistant main window.

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Note - If you use the grouping window to set an element's group ID and later uncheck the IP Address check box, the group ID(s) will be reset on the next layout.

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A number of controls are provided which make using the grouping window easier:

12.14.7.2 Sort By:

The list box elements may be sorted by name, group or by IP address:

• Sort By Name: Alphabetizes the list of elements within the list box by name.
• Sort By Group: Sorts the list of elements by their group identifier.
• Sort By IP Address: Sorts the list by the IP Address of each element. Elements without IP addresses are placed at the end of the list.

12.14.7.3 Group Filter:

The Group Filter drop down list box provides a convenient mechanism to limit the number of items that are viewed in the list box at any time so that you can focus on the task at hand. The drop down list box provides you the following choices:

• All: Shows all elements that are displayed within the view.
• Ungrouped: Shows those elements that do not yet have groups assigned to them (group 0).
• Group 1-N: From this list, you select the group from which you would like to see elements listed in the list box.

12.14.7.4 Refresh List:

This button causes the element list box to be refreshed from the SunNet Manager database. If, for instance, you load a new database file into the Console, you will need to click the Refresh List button to see the new elements in the list.

12.14.7.5 Ungroup All:

This button causes all the elements to be reset to group 0 (ungrouped).

12.15 Symmetric Layout Style

This style is:

• Ideal for organizing wide area meshed networks.
• Highlights the symmetries inherent in the topology of the network.
• Lays out any network regardless of routing protocol(s) employed or discovery mechanism.
• Provides uniform distribution of glyphs on the display.

Figure 12-23 shows the Network Layout Assistant main window with the Symmetric layout style default settings.

Figure 12-23

12.15.1 Symmetric Layout: Node Frame Percent

The Node Frame Percent controls the spacing around each glyph. A higher node frame percent value increases the cushion of space around the elements and lengthens the connections between glyphs. Smaller values result in more condensed layouts with shorter connections.

Notice how the glyphs in Figure 12-24 are closer together than the glyphs in Figure 12-25 due to the smaller node frame percent.

Figure 12-24

Figure 12-25

12.15.2 Symmetric Layout: Granularity

The Granularity option controls the size of the underlying coordinate grid upon which the network is laid out. At the default of 0, the Symmetric style uses a relatively fine grid. A value of 100 specifies a very coarse grid. The difference in granularity is reflected in a trade-off between the final layout quality and computation time. A fine grid generally produces a better layout but takes longer to compute. A coarse grid generally produces a rougher layout, but runs much faster.

If speed is a consideration, set a higher granularity to produce draft layouts, and then reduce the granularity when you want to produce a presentation-quality layout.

12.15.3 Symmetric Layout: Threshold

The threshold determines the point at which Symmetric layout processing stops and outputs a final layout. Lower threshold values generally produce better layouts but usually take more time to compute.

The default threshold value of four is adequate for most networks. Lowering the value to two or one can produce better results while taking longer to compute. Increasing the value will produce slightly lower quality layouts but will be faster to compute.

12.15.4 Symmetric Layout: Start Seed

The Start Seed affects the starting configuration of the map before the layout process begins. Each different seed value produces a unique final layout. While the result of changing the start seed is admittedly random, this control can help you generate an better layout.

Figure 12-26 and Figure 12-27 show the same topology with different start seeds.

Figure 12-26

Figure 12-27

12.15.5 Symmetric Layout: Incremental

If this check box is selected, the Symmetric layout style will use the current positions of the nodes as a starting point when determining the new layout. The incremental setting helps you maintain correlation between layouts, and will sometimes improve the layout quality if you run multiple layouts.

12.16 Network Layout Assistant Restrictions

If you start multiple SunNet Manager Consoles on the same desktop, you need to set the "Display user name in Title" checkbox in the Console's "Props..." window.

You cannot create view names that contain a colon followed by a space (":").

The Program name used to start the SunNet Manager Console must be named snm.