Patent ID: 7480866

Claim:
A system for visually representing performance and flow analysis of a communication network having devices connected by one or more links, comprising: a first memory for storing a graphical representation of the communication network and showing the devices connected by the one or more links; a second memory storing data representing performance and flows in the communication network; a third memory storing a plurality of symbols representing different devices and a plurality of edges representing links, wherein the processing system selectively maps the data on the graphical representation using the symbols and the edges; a display; and a processing system operatively connected to the first and the second memory and to the display, the processing system selectively mapping the data on the graphical representation of the communication network by varying visual characteristics of the devices and the one or more links for viewing on the display, said visual characteristics representing performance and flows of the devices and the one or more links, said visual characteristics for each of the one or more links showing performance and flows for each direction between the devices connected by the link in the communication network wherein the edges comprise bidirectional arrows for oriented metrics, and wherein to vary visual characteristics of the bidirectional arrows, the processing system varies thicknesses of the arrows and a contact point between the arrows according to relative metric values in both flow directions.