Identifying the impacted CI nodes from CI topology view

When a service is impacted, operators or site reliability engineers (SREs) need to have the complete visual representation of the CI topology. This information is especially useful if the service design is dynamic and complex.

The CI topology in BMC Helix AIOps is a structural map that shows the interconnectivity between various CI nodes of a service model. This map helps the operators: 

• Visualize the interconnection between CI nodes as topology mapping with the impacted and nonimpacted paths and nodes
• Identify the impacted nodes and impact path and to work on a resolution immediately

 BMC Helix AIOps BMC Helix AIOps performs an automatic CI topology mapping that represents the relationship between a service and its nodes with node details, such as events, incidents, and changes end to end. The end-to-end topology map presents the complete picture of all CI elements starting with the infrastructure nodes, network devices, hosts, clusters, namespaces, and all the application nodes of a service. The topology visualization supports the grouping and ungrouping of nodes of the same CI kinds and clearly identifies the impacted node with additional drill-down views to investigate the impact cause.

To view and identify the impacted nodes by using the CI topology

1. On the Services page, click a service name.
   By default, the CI Topology tab displays the topological map of the service CIs. The CI nodes are displayed according to the node impact severity status along with all the CI categories defined as part of the service model.

   Tip

   If you have a large number of CIs in a service topology, use the search box to locate a particular CI. When the CI is located, it is highlighted. If a filter is already applied and CI is not present in the filtered view, the CI is  searched in the entire CI topology. When the CI is located, it is highlighted and the filter is cleared.

   By default, when you click a service, the CI Topology tab is displayed. To display the Service Hierarchy tab by default, open the tab, click the actions menu , and select Set as default view.

2. (Optional) To change the topology map orientation, use the hierarchy list and select any of the options available.
3. If there are many nodes of the same CI kind in the map, use Enable grouping by CI Kind  to group the nodes of the same CI kind.
   Note that 10 or more CIs of the same kind are automatically aggregated together. If there are more than 10 CIs of the same kind, they are grouped as nine nodes plus one. The single node is a grouped node, which can be expanded to view the additional nodes as shown in the following figure, where the Additional 'Software Instance' CIs node is an aggregation of two more nodes.
   
4. Expand the grouped nodes and select any CI node to view and analyze node-specific details:
   • Select the impacting events, incidents, change details, and the services that are impacted directly or indirectly due to this node.
   • From the Event Details summary pane, launch BMC Helix Operations Management to analyze the complete event details.
   • If the CI topology is for a service belonging to an application instrumented by OpenTelemetry, depending on the node type, the cross-launch link to an OpenTelemetry dashboard appears:
     • If you click a grouped OTel node, the Trace Views link appears on the Node Details page. Click the link to open the cross-launch links to various OpenTelemetry dashboards.

     • If you click an individual OTel Span node, the View OTel Dashboard link appears on the Node Details page. Click the link to launch the OTel Trace Details dashboard.

     • If you click an individual OTel Host or OTel Service node, the View OTel Dashboard link appears on the Node Details page. Click the link to launch the OTel Service Overview dashboard.

     • If you click an individual OTel Service Namespace node, the View OTel Dashboard link appears on the Node Details page. Click the link to launch the OTel Namespace Overview dashboard.

   • Click Show All Attributes to view attributes of the node.
     These attributes are retrieved from the  BMC Helix Discovery taxonomy.

5. (Optional) If CIs (such as routers) are connected via the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), BMC Helix Discovery automatically detects these relationships and includes them in the topology. These BGP links are shown in the IP connectivity and IP logical connectivity mode in BMC Helix Discovery, allowing BMC Helix AIOps to understand logical connections between devices across autonomous systems or geographically separate sites. When the BGP relationship is established, the connected CIs are no longer treated as isolated nodes, enabling BMC Helix AIOps to correlate events across sites when a shared network issue is detected. 

6. (Optional) Use the advanced filter options to query for a single node or part of the topology map that you are interested in viewing.
   The advanced filter is capable of displaying only the impact path and all the impacted CIs in that path.
   For example, if you want to query and view only the Host CI Kind, select Advanced filter > Kind > Host. If you want to view the nodes impacted by the causal node, select Advanced filter > Impacted CIs > Impacts.

   Important

   If a service contains network devices and network interfaces as the CIs, enable the Detailed Network view advanced filter option to view the attributes of these CIs.

   Tip

   Based on the length of the selected criteria and the available space to display content, the filters are automatically tagged and grouped as +1 active, +2 active, and so on. Click the tagged number to view the rest of the filters in the group.

7. (Optional) Use the various display options to maximize or minimize, drag or position, zoom in/out, and fit to center the topology map.
    

To view the direction of the impact in the CI topology

1. On the Services page, click a service name.
   The CI Topology tab displays the topological map of the service CIs. 
2. Right-click any node and click Show Impact view to assess the CIs that are affected due to issues originating from the selected CI.
   
    
3. On the Impact view page, use the Impact direction toggle to switch between Incoming and Outgoing direction.
   • The incoming view shows how issues from other components are affecting the selected Configuration Item (CI), helping in identifying the root cause.
   • The outgoing view shows how a problem in the selected CI is impacting other dependent CIs and business services.
     Together, these views help you understand both the source and the propagation of an issue across your environment.​​​​
4. The right-hand pane provides a filtered list of indirectly impacted services, with details including:
   • Name: Lists the names of the impacted CIs.
     The CIs are grouped under their associated location. Location information is retrieved from BMC Helix Discovery. 
   • Status: Shows the severity of impact using color-coded labels. For example, Major in red, Minor in orange. 
   • Kind: Indicates the type of CI, such as business service, host, software pod, or other infrastructure or application components.

   • Impact: Describes whether the service is impacted directly or indirectly.
     Direct impact indicates that the issue originated from or is closely associated with the CI itself. Indirect impact means that the service is impacted due to dependencies on other affected components.

To navigate the display and filter options in the impact view

1. (Optional) To change the topology map orientation, use the hierarchy list and select any of the options available.
2. Use Enable grouping by CI Kind  to consolidate similar nodes. The grouping is useful when dealing with numerous CIs. Groups with more than ten CIs are aggregated for clarity.
3. (Optional) Use the Advanced filter option to refine the topology view by selecting specific criteria such as Kind (e.g., namespace, container), Name, Impacted CIs, and Status. This helps you focus on the relevant components by hiding unrelated CIs.
4. If you have a large number of CIs in a service topology, use the search box to locate a particular CI. When the CI is located, it is highlighted. If a filter is already applied and CI is not present in the filtered view, the CI is searched in the entire CI topology. When the CI is located, it is highlighted, and the filter is cleared.

5. Expand the grouped nodes and select any CI node to view and analyze node-specific details:

   • Click any event, situation, incident, or change to view details, related events (for situations only), logs, and notes, and perform additional operations. 
     You can also use the More Details cross-launch link to view the selected event, situation, incident, or change in BMC Helix Operations Management.

   • Click Show All Attributes to view attributes of the node. These attributes are retrieved from the  BMC Helix Discovery taxonomy.

6. (Optional) Use the various display options to maximize or minimize, drag or position, zoom in/out, and fit to center the topology map.

Where to go from here

Investigate impacting events, incidents, and changes for nodes in the service hierarchy. For more information, see Investigating-the-service-nodes-from-service-hierarchy-view.​​​​