Flow
Network Graph
Displays entities as nodes and their relationships as edges in a force-directed or fixed 2D layout.
Microservices Topology
Service dependencies across gateway, application, data, and async tiers
View data (24 rows)
| group | value | source | target |
|---|---|---|---|
| gateway | 12 | API Gateway | Auth |
| gateway | 9 | API Gateway | Users |
| gateway | 7 | API Gateway | Billing |
| gateway | 8 | API Gateway | Search |
| gateway | 5 | API Gateway | Notifications |
| application | 6 | Users | Auth |
| application | 4 | Billing | Auth |
| application | 3 | Search | Auth |
| application | 2 | Notifications | Auth |
| application | 8 | Users | DB Primary |
| application | 6 | Billing | DB Primary |
| application | 9 | Search | Search Index |
| application | 7 | Users | Cache |
| application | 4 | Billing | Cache |
| application | 5 | Search | Cache |
| data | 10 | DB Primary | DB Replica |
| application | 5 | Billing | Queue |
| application | 6 | Notifications | Queue |
| application | 3 | Users | Queue |
| async | 11 | Queue | Worker |
| async | 4 | Worker | DB Primary |
| async | 3 | Worker | Notifications |
| data | 4 | Search Index | DB Replica |
| application | 5 | Auth | Cache |
Use a network graph when…
- Exploring topology and clusters in relational data
- Identifying key connectors and isolated groups
Avoid when…
- When the network has hundreds of edges causing hairball clutter
- When quantitative flow volume matters more than topology
Data it needs
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Min Rows | 4 |
| Min Columns | 2 |
| Column Types | stringstring |
Visual anatomy
Marks
circleline
Channels
position (force layout)size (degree)color (group)
Axes
-
Guiding principles
Consider instead
Common mistakes
Not filtering or aggregating dense networks before plotting
Relying on force layout without tuning parameters
History
Force-directed graph drawing originated with Eades (1984) and Fruchterman-Reingold (1991).
Accessibility notes
Render an adjacency table beneath the graph (source, target, weight) as the primary text alternative — node-link layouts are inherently inaccessible without it. Pair community color with a redundant text or shape label.
Related reading
Got data? Let's see what works.
Drop your CSV. You'll get a Network Graph plus four alternatives - ranked by which one actually fits your data best.