Here we put all the issue that are related to a new map vision and improvements.

Maps, maps and still maps.
Do the network maps are a relevant topic in network management?
This is an answered question.
Here is the place where we discuss about maps and future of maps in OpenNMS.

Let me start from a very basic point:

Customers are always unsatisfied by network maps. No way.

Let me say this because there is no standard in network maps and the way in which we have to show them.

From elementary school we are teached about maps and especially geographical maps. We learn a lot of convention and then we are able to decode visualization with meaning.

Every one know that a tine blue line is a river, how to identify state borders and montains and aceans and sees.
Military maps has is own specific list of well known signs and also nautical maps use very particular convetions so that can be full understand.

The first point is that we do not have a convention at the same level we have for other kind of maps.
We can say a router is a circle, and a switch is a parallelogram. But no other convention is shared about for example if this router is an OSPF router, and if the router is an OSPF Internal Router or an OSPF Area border Router, or wheter is a BGP peer and what kind of BGP shares.

So we need to set up convention for icons so that when we put and icon on the map that icon will speak to the user and give immediate information about what the vertex object is. 

So first of all we need to improve our collection of icons.

Do we have finished with icons. I guess no.

We need to improve the layout so that grouping is properly displayed. What is grouping? well for example a state in a political geo map is a way of grouping object and usually the convention is to use a color. 

This is also what happens with vlans but can be the same with OSPF areas and with group of BGP peers.

 Strictly related to groups are network layers, we have different layer that we can show and we have to define a hiuerarchy. A node is a poor represnetation of a network element. We have network layers and we should have a representation using layers. We can speak about network hierarchy.

Edges are edges on the same layers and they can have a hierarchy too. So we need to understand in the best manner what an edge by understanding what it connects. 

In enhanced linkd we try to gather information using diffent type of protocols. LLDP, CDP, IS-IS, OspF bridge.
But now we support different type of maps...network routers map and very soon Ospf Area map.

So what is an Edge and how to represent it?

With hierarchy semantic zoom level has his meaning. 
What is semantic zoom level in a topology hierarchy seems understandble.

Finally, we need to improve layout algorithms, clearly there are devices that are more important of other.
We should be able to understand this an produce proper layout according with this information.

In a VLAN network representation usually we have a hierrachical representation but hierarchy is to be set up starting from the core Switch (by importance).

These are the questions:

1) Network maps are relevant?
2) if response to 1 is yes do we have to deploy our topology map?
3) if response to 2 is yes do we have to improve out topology map?
4) if response to 3 is yes how we can improve?

Please add your own network map use cases here as story.