Network Topology

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5. Network Topology

If the <NETWORK> layer is switched on as “active” the option Topology appears in the command line and on clicking on various desktop elements with the right mouse button various context menus appear. These tools can be used to edit the network image.

5.1. Topology Menu

The Topology menu offers three types of return commands:

Undo zoom/scroll

returns or refreshes changes of desktop cut outs and shifts

Undo change

returns or refreshes editing changes

Network history: go back

returns or refreshes the previously displayed network

For editing a network image 3 groups of tools are available:

Editor configuration

Open: Topology>Cofigure layer (hereinafter Ctrl+E). Properties common for the whole topology layer such as size and visibility of elements… In dialogue tables white fields can be edited. Enter them using the spacebar or double clicking the left mouse button.

Context menu

Open: Click on the network element with the right mouse button. For editing individual elements such as add, delete, shift, find position…

Attributes

Open: Context menu, first active item. Properties of individual elements and their modification such as position, name, address …

These tools are further subdivided according to network elements

Network elements on the desktop

Fig. 5.1: Network elements on the desktop

Desktop

Free space between network elements.

Site

Symbol determining the position of the element in GEO coordinates. Some of the following elements are added to Site. The symbol is a cross.

Net

Expresses that another network has been inserted into the current network. The symbol is a larger sized circle.

Node

Node of the MORSE network, i.e. the basic building block of the network with a MORSE address. The symbol is a smaller sized circle.

IP Host

Basic element of an IP network with an IP address. The symbol is a black circle.

Bus

Bus to which more IP hosts or nodes are connected. The symbol is an oval.

Text

A standalone block of text. The symbol is the text itself.

Link

Link betwen elements of the network. It symbolises the communication path defined by routing. The symbol is a line between two elements.

Cursor

Additional element used for measurement purposes. The symbol is a slanted cross.

Below is an overview of the tools available.

5.2. Editor configuration

Open using command Ctrl+E. The submenus for individual elements are presented here in a single table:

GeneralSiteNetNodeMobileIP hostBusTextLinkDouble click
 icon sizeicon sizeicon sizeicon sizeicon sizeicon sizeicon size Desktop
 icon visicon visicon visicon visicon visicon visicon vis Site
txt sizetext typetext typetext typetext typetext typetext type  Net
txt colotext vistext vistext vistext vistext vistext vis  Node
txt trans  utex typutex typ    IPhost
   utex visutex vis    Bus
 dim vis  arr size   arr sizeText
 dim abs  link vis   link visLink
 CUvert  tlink typ   tlink typ 
 CUcon  tlink vis   tlink vis 
hideDEdA off  aliasB     
hideDMdB off  aliasMS     
 shift G  aliasMC     
usePathas CU        
fPathas M-L        
sPathas Site        

Meaning of abbreviations in the table :

icon size

icon size

icon vis

icon visibility

text type

text type (address, frequency, description…)

text vis

text visibility (hidden or displayed text)

utex type

type of upper text of the node (located at the position of Site text)

utex vis

visibility of the upper text of the node

txt size

txt size for all elements

txt colo

colour of text background by an icon

txt trans

transparency of text backgrounds by an icon

hideDE

hide Details Enable – for large scale (map of large territory) only the upper text of the node or name of the Place is displayed

hideDM

hide Details – scale from which details are left off

usePath

start MORSE application with  path file

fPath

path file for MORSE application

sPath

auxiliary parameters for MORSE application

dim vis

visibility of links between Site elements

dim abs

elements drawn in relation to Site in the absolute or relative position

CUvert

other CU at a common Point are lined up into one column

CUcon

if more nodes are used in the CU only one node is drawn

dA off

dimA offset, distance between columns, i.e. between neighbouring CU

dB off

dimB offset, distance between rows, i.e. between nodies in one CU

shift G

permitted shifting of Site in geographical coordinates

as CU

automatic selection of all elements on a common CU after marking one of them

as M-L

automatic selection of elements at a common Site if not moved from positions dim A, dim B

as M

aut. selection of all elements at a common Point

arr size

size of connection arrow

link vis

visibility of connection link

tlink typ

text of link – type of text

tlink vis

text of link – visibility of text

aliasB

translation of addresses – bases

aliasMS

translation of addresses – selection mask

aliasMC

translation of addresses – change mask

Working with the editor

The basic element is the Site with geographical coordinates X,Y (see Attributes). Other elements with logical coordinates, e.g. nodes, are located on it.

The element´s symbol for each type of element has a designated size and visibility (Ctrl+E>Node>icon size and icon visible). The element comes with text with optional content and visibility (Ctrl+E>Node>text type and text visible). The Site text is positioned higher than the text of the connected element so that they are both visible at the same time. In addition the node can use the upper text which can only be viewed alternately with the Site text (Ctrl+E>Node>up text type and up text visible).

The size of all element icons can be set in the menu (Ctrl+E>General>txt size). From here it is also possible to jointly control the common parameters like the colour or transparency of text backgrounds and font size (Ctrl+E>General>text Back, text Transparency, text Size). The content of text blocks is entered when inserting individual elements, or using the Attributes menu.

The basic element of the MORSE network is the node. One to five nodes are contained in the Communication unit (CU), which most frequently is an MR400 series modem or the older MR25 model. For more information see the MORSE Firmware Documentation on www.racom.eu..

Relationship to Site

Fig. 5.2: Relationship to Site

If more nodes in a common CU are used at one Site, the mode symbols are positioned with their addresses under them with a spacing of rows Ctrl+E>Site>dimB offset . The number of spacings from the Site is given in Attributes>element>dim B. Similarly there can be more CU at one Site, which then form another column. The spacing of columns with symbols is Ctrl+E>Site>dimA offset, the order of the column for the given element is in Attributes>element>dim A. Additional links which connect added elements to the Site can be visible or hidden Ctrl+E>Site>dim Visible. The location of elements in relation to the Site can be represented absolutely or relatively (the positions of unused elements are not empty, but elements with higher dim coordinates are moved onto them). Ctrl+E>Site>dim Absolute.

Element shifts are possible in LOG coordinate mode Topology>Set logical coordinates active, or possibly with a subsequent Site shift (see above). The second possibility for a Site shift in GEO mode is using the switch Ctrl+E>Site>En Geo Move.

In the editor it is possible to define operations generated by double clicking the left mouse button on various elements of the network. Select in the dialogue box Ctrl+E>Doubleclick.

In the dialogue box Ctrl+E>State Color it is possible to define 10 different colours for marking the states of nodes. They are used for illustrating the result of the operation “Obtain the state of time synchronisation”, see the desktop context menu.

5.3. Context Menu

The context menu is the main editing tool. By clicking with the right mouse button on certain elements of the network the respective menu will open. All menus can be seen below.

DesktopSiteNetworkNodeMobileIPhostBusTextLink
  Nm NetNm NodeNm NodeNm IPNm BusNm TextNm Nodes
 Nm SiteNm SiteNm SiteNm SiteNm SiteNm SiteNm Site 
AttributesAttributesAttributesAttributesAttributesAttributesAttributesAttributesAttributes
  SiteSiteSiteSiteSiteSite 
CursorsCursorsCursorsCursorsCursorsCursorsCursorsCursors 
Tools  ToolsTools   Statistics
   Diag mobDiag mob    
AddAdd …..Add linkAdd linkAdd linkAdd linkAdd linkAdd link 
  St linkSt linkSt linkSt linkSt linkSt link 
  Fin linkFin linkFin linkFin linkFin linkFin link 
 DeleteDeleteDeleteDeleteDeleteDeleteDeleteDelete
SearchPositionCoordCoordCoordCoordCoordCoord 
Snap        
PasteCopyCopyCopyCopyCopyCopyCopy 
Add selCutCutCutCutCutCutCut 
File Enter sub      
Undo   Info mobil    
Redo   LOG map    
Custom   RSS map    

Meaning of abbreviations in the table :

Nm element, Nm Site

The name of the element with the address and name of the Site to which the element belongs.

Nm Nodes

Addresses of nodes between which there is a link

Attributes

Specifies parameters, whose common properties were set in the editor, for individual elements. The white field describes the state of the element and can be edited upon double clicking with the left mouse button. The grey fields are only for information, containing records from the database and serving for debugging needs. More detailed see the next section.

Site

Links to Site submenu, which is part of each element.

Cursors

Allows cursor A to be inserted, which serves for making immediate distance measurements here. If cursor B is entered then the distance A-B is measured. Distance and bearing are printed on the lower edge of the desktop.

Tools

The tools submenu has more functions and will be expanded below.

Statistics

A graphical representation of logs is described in section Section 6.7, “Displaying Logs”

Diag mob

Diagnostics of mobile network elements

Add

The submenu Add serves for positioning new elements in the network. On inserting a new element coordinates, the name of the Site and the address are produced for approval or correction. On inserting the element to the Site the table of attributes of the inserted element opens for filling with parameters. “Add net” means inserting a new network. “Add net icon” means adding a link to an existing network.

Add connection

The command starts to draw the connection from the selected element. End it by clicking the left mouse button on the destination element.

  • Add connection – begins to draw a connetion from the selected element. End it by clicking the left mouse button on the destination element.

  • Beginning of the connection – St link – connections will be run from this element until a new starting element is selected

  • Termination of the connection – Fin link – draws a connection to the selected element

Delete

Deletes an element from the network. The Hide cursor command deletes the cursor from the desktop.

Search

Allows a Site or node to be found from the list.

Position

Provides the coordinates of Site.

Coord

The Coordinates menu provides the option of transferring an element or Place. A more detailed description is given in chapter Section 4.4, “Geographical and Logical Coordinates”. Besides the Geografical and Logical position the  Relative position is also here, see Figure 5.2, “Relationship to Site”.

Snap

Allows elements to be moved to the nearest point of intersection on the auxiliary raster. The raster is switched on using command Setup>Program configuration>Coordinate system>doraster. Snapping to the raster can only be used in the Logical coordinates mode. Cancel snapping by using command Topology>Undo change. It is used on drawing logical drawings of the network irrespective of geographical location.

Copy, Cut, Paste

These commands are used for moving elements to another network. It is not suitable to paste to the original network as an element is positioned in the same Site according to its own coordinates resulting in unwanted duplicity in the database. Before copying “Select object” needs to be selected on the tool bar and an element selected by pressing the left button.

Add sel

Add to selection – Submenu shall be expanded below.

File

Offers opening and saving of the topology to file.

Enter sub

The command Enter subnetwork replaces the current network with a new network. If any changes were made in the current network a message appears. Caution – on selecting “Yes” nothing happens and we still have the possibility of saving the current network. On selecting “No” a new network is entered and the current network is left without saving the changes!

Undo, Redo

Returns to the last editing step.

Custom

Submenu Configuration offers switching to the menu Topology>Editor configuration (Ctrl+E), and also

  • Glyphs – multiplier for size of all icons and text

  • Icon text – option Ctrl+E>individual elements>text Visible

  • Icons – option Ctrl+E>individual elements>icon Visible

Info mobil

Information about the mobile station.

LOG map

Switches to layer LOG.

RSS map

Switches to layer RSS.

Context menu reacts to the selection of an element using the right mouse button. Besides elements of the current layer we can also select elements of other displayed layers (topology, rsm, rrm, log, loc). Selection procedure:

  • In the order according to the Map list from top to bottom Ranec ascertains whether the mouse cursor pointed to an element in any layer. The first element found this way calls up the context menu.

  • If no element is found the context menu of the desktop for the active layer appears.

Attributes of the context menu

Attributes of elements of the topological layer are the first item of context menus. Each item has its own attributes which describe the element´s properties. Attributes have a similar structure which can be seen below:

DesktopSiteNetworkNodeIPhostBusTextLink
 geoXlogXlogXlogXlogXlogX 
 geoYlogYlogYlogYlogYlogY 
  dimAdimAdimAdimAdimA 
  dimBdimBdimBdimBdimB 
  statestatestatestatestate 
  flagsflagsflagsflagsflags 
  netnetnetnet  
  descriptdescriptdescriptdescriptdescriptdescript
nm netlabelnm netM addrIP addrbus nmTextcolour
 altitude nod freqIP name sizeline type
validcountry  typebus typetypethickness
notenotenote notenote bidirect

Meaning of abbreviations in the table :

geoX,Y

Geographical coordinates respective to Site.

logX,Y

Logical coordinates are the same as geographical coordinates unless the element is shifted from Site.

dimA

Sequence number of the column containing the element symbol in relation to Site. The only element at Site has coordinates A=0, B=0. Nodes of the second CU have coordinates A=1.

dimB

Sequence number of the row containing the element symbol in relation to Site. The second node in the CU has coordinates B=1.

state

Auxiliary parameter.

flags

The node symbol can have different shapes determined by this attribute – circle, square, diamond, triangle up, triangle down. For other elements it is a reserve attribute.

net

Name of the network to which the element belongs.

descript

Alternative description of the element. It can be selected as description in the menu Ctrl+E>Node>texttype.

nm net …

Name, MORSE address or IP address of the respective element.

Text

Writing content of auxiliary element Text.

altitude

Auxiliary parameter.

nod freq

Frequency of CU radio channel. The Link element coming from the node also receives it.

IP name

Name of PC, containing the IP host.

size

Size of Text element typeface.

valid

Elements on the desktop are valid.

country

Geographical allocation of Place.

type

Auxiliary parameter.

note

It is possible to write a note here. This note is not used by the system.

colour

Colour of the link between two elements. It is used together with the type and thickness to differentiate between different links.

linetype

Type of line (unbroken, dashed…).

thickness

Thickness of the line for the link.

bidirect

Selection of single direction (according to editing from the initial to end element) or bidirectional link.

Other context menus

differ from each other and so are listed individually below:

Cursor

Cursor menu

Fig. 5.3: Cursor menu

By clicking on the cursor symbol we obtain a short menu .

The item Draw circle draws an auxiliary circle. Finish it by click. Delete it at the same time with the cursor or by cancellation by checking off in command Draw circle.

.

Selection

Selection menu

Fig. 5.4: Selection menu

Elements of the network can be included in the selection in mode Topology>Object select (icon ). On selecting one element using the left button it is possible (in LOG coordinates) to move the element. On pressing the Shift button we can add other elements to selection using the left mouse button. We can also select more elements at once by dragging the left mouse button. By grabbing any of the selected elements with the left mouse button we can move the whole group. Pressing the right mouse button on any of the selected elements opens up the context menu of selection:

The menu applies to all selected elements. The last item “Add to selection” allows nodes of a certain shape to be added, see Node>Attributes>Flags.

Raster and Point Map

Context menu in the Working with Map Data chapter.

Table

Table menu

Fig. 5.5: Table menu

By clicking on the inner field of the table we obtain the context menu. Items Jump on … concern searching for a row in a table according to its number. Items Find a value and Sort work with columns. Use the left mouse button to select a column and then the right to draw up the contect menu. We can now find the row in which our column contains the required value or we can sort table rows according to rising values of the selected column. By selecting Resize table we can tidy up the width of the table columns.

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