Displaying network topology by hierarchical layout with interest level

Abstract

In a network management with huge numbers of nodes, network topology is usually displayed in a manner that sub-network is organized as a group and each group is displayed respectively by itself. However, we can't see nodes in plural groups and connections between them simultaneously in this model. To solve the problem, we proposed a hierarchical layout model that expands groups on demand in the same screen keeping connections between nodes in a previous paper [1]. However, when many groups are expanded, they may not fit within the display area. Therefore, we introduce expanding factor by the interest level for more efficient display of the network in this paper. According to the interest level factor, the groups with high interest level are displayed widely, and the groups with low interest level in displayed narrowly or iconized. We model the interest level mathematically, and discuss the model efficacy.