Topology Settings Panel in ObserveOps
The Topology Settings panel gives you one place to control who can see a topology, whether its sub-topologies appear, and how the canvas looks.
Prerequisites
- The topology you want to configure must be loaded on the canvas. The panel always applies to the currently open system topology, never to another topology.
How It Works
Click the Topology Settings 
button in the topology toolbar. A right-side drawer opens with two tabs at the top: Security and Visualization Settings. The drawer always applies to the topology that is currently loaded on the canvas. Closing the drawer without clicking Apply leaves the topology unchanged, so you can open the panel at any time to review the current values without risk.
Settings you apply are saved for that specific topology only. If you configure the same setting differently on another topology, the two do not affect each other. All values persist across browser refresh and after you log out and back in.
Open the Topology Settings Panel
- Go to Topology from the main navigation menu.
- Open the topology tab you want to work on, then click a topology in the left sidebar to load it on the canvas.
- Click the Topology Settings button in the toolbar above the canvas.
- The right-side drawer opens on the Security tab by default. Click Visualization Settings to switch tabs.
Security Tab
The Security tab controls who can see the topology and, on the Network tab, whether system-generated sub-topologies show up in the sidebar.
Access Type
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Public | Every user with access to the Topology module can see this topology in the sidebar and open it. |
| Private | Only the allowed users can see this topology in the sidebar. Other users do not see it listed and cannot open it directly. |
The Access Type setting on a system topology behaves the same way it does on a saved Create Topology View. It does not change how the underlying monitors or devices have permission. A user who already has access to a monitor from another module still sees that monitor there, even if the topology it appears on is set to Private.
Include Sub-Topologies (Network tab only)
The Include Sub-Topologies toggle appears only on the Network tab. It is not shown on the SDN, Cloud, Virtualization, or HCI tabs.
The Include Sub-Topologies toggle controls whether the system-generated sub-topologies that ObserveOps builds under the selected topology are visible in the sidebar tree.
| State | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Enabled | All system-generated sub-topologies appear under the selected topology in the sidebar. Turn this on when you want to drill down into segments the scanner discovered under the main topology. |
| Disabled | System-generated sub-topologies are hidden from the sidebar for this topology only. Turn this off when the sub-topologies add clutter and you only want to see the top-level map. |
The toggle affects only the topology you configured it on. Other topologies keep their own Include Sub-Topologies value. The setting persists across browser refresh and login sessions.
Visualization Settings Tab
The Visualization Settings tab contains every control that used to sit on the old Advanced Configuration drawer, plus the new Lock Topology Visualization toggle. The tab is organized into four sections: Overlays, Force Simulation, Zoom, and Labels.
Overlays
Overlay toggles add label information directly onto the canvas without opening any side panel. Each overlay is described in the table below.
| Overlay | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Lock Topology Visualization | Freezes the topology layout so casual users cannot move nodes or change visualization settings. See the detailed rules below. Admin only. |
| Show Node IP Address | Displays each node's IP address below its hostname label. Turn this on during incidents when you need to match a device name to a known IP without clicking into each node. |
| Show Link Protocol | Displays the discovery protocol name on each link, for example LLDP, CDP, BGP, or OSPF. Turn this on to verify which protocol is building each connection and to spot unexpected protocols on your network. |
| Show Interface Names | Displays the interface name at each end of a link, for example GigabitEthernet0/1 at the source and GigabitEthernet1/2 at the target. Turn this on to identify the exact physical ports carrying a connection when you need to trace a cable or reconfigure a port. |
You can enable more than one overlay at a time. On very large topologies, multiple overlays can make the canvas hard to read. Turn overlays off when you no longer need them.
Lock Topology Visualization (Admin Only)
Only users with the Admin role can change Lock Topology Visualization. Every other user sees the toggle as read-only. All other settings on the panel are available to any user who can open the topology.
Only Admin users see the Lock Topology Visualization toggle as an editable control. Every other user sees it as read-only.
When you toggle Lock Topology Visualization, a confirmation prompt appears asking whether you are sure you want to change the lock state. Click Yes to apply the change or No to cancel and leave the current state intact. The prompt exists because locking or unlocking affects every user of the topology, not just you.
The behaviour under each state is described below.
| State | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Enabled (locked) | Visualization is on a per-user basis. Each user can move nodes, change visualization settings, and save their own view for themselves. Their changes do not affect what other users see. Use this when you want to give each user a personal working copy without letting anyone overwrite the shared canvas. |
| Disabled (unlocked) | Visualization behaves the way it did before this panel existed. Any user with access to the topology can move nodes, change layout, adjust overlays, and save. Everyone sees the same canvas. Use this on maps the whole team collaborates on. |
Non-admin users see the Lock Topology Visualization value but cannot change it. They can still customize their own view when the topology is locked, and they still share a common view when it is unlocked.
Force Simulation
Force Simulation controls how nodes are positioned and spaced on the canvas. Adjust these sliders when nodes overlap, cluster too tightly, or spread too far apart to read.
| Slider | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Node Distance | Sets the target spacing between connected nodes. Increase to push connected nodes further apart. Decrease to bring them closer. Adjust this first when the topology looks too dense or too sparse. |
| Repulsion Strength | Sets how strongly all nodes push away from each other regardless of their links. Increase this when nodes from different clusters overlap and adjusting Node Distance alone is not enough. |
| Gravity | Sets how strongly all nodes are pulled toward the center of the canvas. Higher values keep the topology compact. Lower values let nodes spread outward. Reduce gravity on large topologies where you want more room between clusters. |
On the Tree layout, the sliders switch to Rank Separation and Node Separation. On other layouts you may see a Spacing Factor slider instead. The panel shows the sliders that fit the layout you have selected.
Zoom
The Zoom section sets the range at which you can zoom in and out of the canvas.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Minimum Zoom | The lowest zoom level the canvas will allow. Reduce this to zoom out further on very large topologies. |
| Maximum Zoom | The highest zoom level the canvas will allow. Increase this to zoom in closer when you need to read small labels on dense parts of the map. |
Labels
The Labels section controls how text labels render on the canvas.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Label Width | The maximum width of a label in pixels, between 20 and 300. Increase this when long device names get truncated on the canvas. Reduce it when short labels use more space than they need. |
Apply and Reset
The panel has two footer buttons that act on both tabs at once.
| Button | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Apply | Saves the current values on both the Security and Visualization Settings tabs for this topology. The canvas updates immediately with the new settings. |
| Reset to Defaults | Restores the shipped default values on both tabs. Use this when your adjustments make the map harder to read and you want a clean starting point. |
Persistence
Every value you set in the Topology Settings panel is saved for the topology you configured it on. The setting stays in effect across the following events.
- Browser refresh
- Log out and log back in
- Any later time you open the same topology
Changing a setting on one topology does not affect any other topology. If you set Access Type to Private on one Network topology, other Network topologies stay at their own current values.
Compatibility With Create Topology View
The Create Topology View workflow works the same way as it always has. Security settings you configure inside the Create Topology View dialog stay with that saved view. The Topology Settings panel does not replace, override, or modify the security of any saved Topology View.
Creating, editing, deleting, and sharing saved Topology Views continue to work with no change. All existing saved views keep their current security settings after the Topology Settings panel is enabled.
Troubleshooting
The Lock Topology Visualization toggle is greyed out
Cause: Only users with the Admin role can change the lock state.
Fix: Ask an admin to change the setting, or ask your admin to grant you the Admin role if you need this control regularly.
Include Sub-Topologies is missing from the Security tab
Cause: The option only appears on the Network topology tab.
Fix: Switch to the Network tab, load a topology, and reopen the Topology Settings panel. The option appears under Security.
Sub-topologies still appear in the sidebar after I disabled Include Sub-Topologies
Cause: The change applies only to the topology you configured it on. Sub-topologies from other topologies keep their own values.
Fix: Verify you disabled the option on the correct parent topology. If the sub-topologies belong to a different parent, open that parent and disable the option there.
Other users still see my node position changes even though the topology is locked
Cause: The lock only takes effect after Apply is clicked and confirmed. If you closed the drawer without clicking Apply, the setting did not save.
Fix: Reopen the panel, toggle Lock Topology Visualization to enabled, click Apply, and confirm Yes on the prompt.