> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/cloud-insights/views/inventory-topology.md).

# Cloud Insights Topology

The **Cloud Insights > Topology** screen builds an interactive map from your cloud inventory data. Use the topology to understand how cloud network resources connect across your accounts and regions, locate isolated resources, and inspect resource configuration at a selected point in time.

{% hint style="info" %}
Cloud Insights Topology currently supports AWS environments.
{% endhint %}

![Cloud Insights Topology with account, region, search, node description, and graph controls](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ce962fdc49c5833efc41dfe183c3830929689fe0%2Fcloud-insights-topology-overview.png?alt=media)

## Choosing the Appropriate Topology

Use **Cloud Insights > Topology** to explore the high-level relationships discovered from your cloud inventory without selecting a synthetic test. The topology includes network resources such as VPCs, transit gateways, Direct Connect gateways, and Direct Connect virtual interfaces (VIFs). It does not include finer-grained resources such as load balancers, security groups, access control lists (ACLs), or instances.

Use **Network & App Synthetics > Views > Cloud layer > Topology** when you need the finer-grained cloud path associated with a selected test. The standalone Cloud Insights topology answers, "How are my high-level cloud resources connected?" The test-centric Cloud layer topology answers, "Which cloud path is associated with this test?"

The standalone topology does not display test coverage, traffic, event, alert, or configuration-change overlays. It displays inventory-derived topology and the resource configuration available for the selected snapshot. For information about the test-centric Cloud layer workflow, see [Cloud Insights Views](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/cloud-insights/views).

## Topology View Prerequisites

Cloud Insights must have current data from at least one AWS inventory integration. For information about configuring integrations, see [Cloud Insights Integrations](https://docs.thousandeyes.com/product-documentation/cloud-insights/integrations).

## Opening the Topology View

1. Select **Cloud Insights > Topology**.
2. If necessary, select the accounts, regions, and point in time that you want to inspect.

By default, **Account** and **Region** are set to **All**, and the date and time selector uses the latest five-minute interval. If the selected interval has no topology data, try a different interval. For more information, see [Selecting Intervals](#selecting-intervals).

## Viewing Your Topology

The graph displays your discovered AWS network resources as nodes and their inventory-derived relationships as connections.

| Element           | Meaning and Use                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Resource node     | Represents one cloud network resource. The icon identifies the resource type and the label identifies the resource. Hover over the node to view information such as the resource ID, region, and CIDR block, when available. Select the node to open the **Resource Details** panel. See [Viewing Resource Details](#viewing-resource-details).                                             |
| Grouped node      | Represents a collapsed group of similar resources and displays the number of resources in the group. Select the group to expand it. Use **Expand All** to expand all groups, **Undo** to reverse the last graph action, or **Reset to Default** to restore the default layout.                                                                                                              |
| Disconnected node | Represents a resource that Cloud Insights discovered in inventory but could not connect through the relationship types represented in the selected scope and interval. The resource might be isolated, outside the selected scope or interval, or connected by a relationship that this topology does not represent. A disconnected node does not necessarily indicate a fault.             |
| Connection        | Represents an inventory-derived relationship between resources. A connection does not represent traffic flow or confirm reachability. A `z` marker identifies a cross-region relationship, such as **eu-central-1** to **us-east-1**; a connection without the marker connects nodes within the same region. Hover over a connection to view the connected nodes' regions and resource IDs. |

![Topology graph with hover details for a resource node, connection, and grouped node](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8a40ed46b334d67862d5fcd5407d458280b763b3%2Fcloud-insights-topology-hover-details.png?alt=media)

### Displaying Node Descriptions

Turn on **Node descriptions** to display additional information, such as the region and account, beneath node labels. Turn it off to reduce visual density in a crowded graph.

## Filtering the Topology View

### Filtering Scope

Use the **Account** and **Region** selectors to limit the resources in the graph. Both selectors support multiple selections and search.

![Region filter with multiple AWS regions and global resources](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-0928d608c072936dd2f5fab53f2fddab3c56b562%2Fcloud-insights-topology-region-filter.png?alt=media)

1. Select **Account** or **Region**.
2. Scroll through the list or search for a value.
3. Select one or more values.

Use **All** or **Selected** in the selector to switch between the full list and your current selections.

### Selecting Intervals

Use the date and time selector to view the topology snapshot for a specific five-minute interval. You can view earlier snapshots to compare how resource relationships appeared at different points in time. For example, check an earlier interval if you know when a configuration change might have altered a resource relationship.

![Date and time selector for a topology snapshot](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f6c428a96ed0f6cf4ee06ee8e2bb3e500b31c061%2Fcloud-insights-topology-time-selector.png?alt=media)

1. Select the date and time dropdown above the graph.
2. Select a date.
3. Select an available time.

The selector displays the applicable time zone.

You cannot select a future date or an interval later than the current five-minute period.

#### Understanding Topology Availability Across Intervals

Some five-minute intervals might not contain a topology snapshot. Cloud provider inventory collections run independently and can take longer than one interval to complete. The topology is available after Cloud Insights receives the collections required to build the snapshot.

As a result, the topology can appear, disappear, and reappear as you move between adjacent intervals. An empty interval does not necessarily mean that resources were removed or that the integration stopped working. Select a preceding or following interval to view topology data. If several consecutive intervals are empty, see [Troubleshooting an Empty or Incomplete Topology](#troubleshooting-an-empty-or-incomplete-topology).

### Searching for Resources

Use search to find and highlight matching resources. Resources that do not match are dimmed.

1. In the search bar, select an exact suggestion or create a **contains** rule for **Anything**, **Asset Name**, **Entity ID**, **Account**, or **Region**.

   ![Contains rule suggestions for a topology search](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-20fb580bb65b8bf36969b20387c7f81fcd5452d9%2Fcloud-insights-topology-search-contains.png?alt=media)
2. Add more search criteria as needed.
3. Select **All** to require every criterion or **Any** to match at least one criterion.

The search bar displays the number of matches. Select the **X** on a criterion to remove it, or select the **X** at the end of the search field to clear all criteria.

![Active topology search criterion and number of matching resources](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c8999c0376828806570c506d6f1d462e739c43ce%2Fcloud-insights-topology-search-results.png?alt=media)

## Navigating the Graph

* Drag an empty area of the graph to pan.
* Use the plus (**+**) and minus (**-**) controls to zoom.
* Select the home button above the zoom controls to return to the default position and zoom level.
* Scroll vertically when the graph extends beyond the visible area.

## Viewing Resource Details

1. Select a resource node to open the **Resource Details** panel.
2. Select the **Config** tab to inspect the configuration received from the cloud provider.
3. Select the **Additional Details** tab to view more resource information such as **Resource Creation Time**, **Account**, and **Availability Zone**. Available fields depend on the resource type.
4. If available, select **Explore In AWS** to open the resource in your AWS console.

![Resource Details panel with the Config tab selected](https://1112912342-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M4QARF6s57qxMrOHDTZ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-781c47bb038fa5a9ce5e445389b2221cfcb44d72%2Fcloud-insights-topology-resource-details.png?alt=media)

## Troubleshooting an Empty or Incomplete Topology

* Confirm that the expected resources appear in **Cloud Insights > Inventory**. If current inventory data is unavailable, review the integration configuration and status.
* Select a different five-minute interval.
* Set **Account** and **Region** to **All**.
* Clear the search criteria and select **Reset to Default**.