Use Cases & Scenarios¶

End-to-end recipes that combine the options into real dashboards. Each assumes you've completed Getting Started.

1. WAN link utilization (two sites)¶

Goal: show a core uplink between two sites, colored by utilization, with clear inbound/outbound labels.

Add nodes SW-CORE and BKB-CARPINA.
Add a link A=SW-CORE, Z=BKB-CARPINA.
A Side Query = the outbound direction A→Z — SW-CORE's interface bits sent; A Bandwidth # = link capacity (e.g. 20000000000).
Z Side Query = the reverse direction Z→A. Use either BKB-CARPINA's bits sent or SW-CORE's bits received (both represent Z→A) — not BKB-CARPINA's bits received, which is the same A→Z direction as the A side; Z Bandwidth # = same capacity.
Set A Direction Label = Outbound, Z Direction Label = Inbound.
Add Port Labels (e.g. Eth-Trunk12) so the physical interface is visible.
Color scale: 0→green, 50→yellow, 80→orange, 95→red with Color Scale Mode = percent.

Hovering the link shows usage, bandwidth, throughput %, and a mini graph.

Goal: compare typical vs. peak load over a period, not just the instantaneous value.

Build the map as in scenario 1.
Set the dashboard time range to the period of interest (e.g. last 30 days).
Panel Options → Value Display Mode:
Choose 95th Percentile to size links for sustained peaks, or Average for typical load.
Switch to Max to spot the worst-case moment.
Compare against your color-scale bands to find links that are hot at p95.

Goal: replay how the network looked during an outage window.

Enable Panel Options → Timeline Slider.
Set the dashboard time range to span the incident.
In view mode, drag the slider to the moment the incident began and step forward — link colors and values update to that time.
Use the timestamp label to correlate with alerts/logs. Press Live to return to now.

Goal: overlay devices on a floor plan or rack layout that zooms/pans with the map.

Panel Options → Background → Image: paste the floor-plan image URL; set Image Fit to contain.
Enable Move With Map so the image scales and pans with the nodes.
Place nodes on top of the plan at their physical locations; use the Grid for alignment.
Add links to show inter-rack or inter-room traffic.

Goal: draw a link that routes around other elements or represents a multi-hop path.

Create the A and Z nodes and a direct link.
In edit mode, double-click the link to drop a VIA, then drag it to the bend point.
Repeat to add more bends. Use Arrow Meeting Point (%) to place the direction arrows on the most meaningful segment.
Right-click any VIA to remove it later.

Goal: at-a-glance device health without reading numbers.

For each node, open Status and set a Query (e.g. up, CPU %, temperature).
Add Threshold Mappings (value ≥ threshold → color) and pick a Color Target (Border / Background / Both).
Optionally add node Tooltip metrics (latency, packet loss, CPU) so hovering shows the detail behind the color.

Goal: show a LAG/port-channel or redundant paths as separate lines.

Add multiple links between the same two nodes.
Give each a different Link Offset (parallel links) value (e.g. -8, 0, +8) so they spread apart.
Set each link's own query so the members are individually visible.

Goal: click a device to open its detailed dashboard.

Give each node a Dashboard Link (e.g. /d/abc/switch-detail?var-host=$host).
Use ${var} template variables in labels, queries, and links for dynamic, reusable maps.
In view mode, clicking the node navigates to the target (safely, in a new tab by default).

Template variables ($var, ${var}) are resolved at draw time in labels, queries, status queries, dashboard links, and bandwidth queries — build one panel that serves many sites.
Export SVG/JSON from the Export section to share diagrams or move a map between panels.
Keep series display names unique and readable — that's how weathermap matches queries to links/nodes.