Platform Dependency Graph — Services With Icon Nodes (Infographic)
Best for: a topology view where services are recognisable by icon rather than name alone Avoid when: an acyclic flow with conditions is needed (use the dagre layout) Answers: which services talk to which, and where the shared foundations sit
infographic relation-network-icon-badge
theme
colorPrimary #2b66c4
palette
- #2b66c4
- #2f9e44
- #f3a33c
- #d1242f
- #7048e8
- #0f9b9b
- #c16f8a
- #7c5a3d
data
title Service Dependencies — Core Platform
desc Badges number the dependency depth from the gateway
nodes
- id gateway
label API Gateway
icon mdi/door-open
value 1
- id auth
label Identity
icon mdi/shield-account
value 2
- id events
label Event Bus
icon mdi/source-branch
value 3
- id warehouse
label Warehouse
icon mdi/database
value 4
- id billing
label Billing
icon mdi/receipt-text
value 2
relations
- from gateway
to auth
- from gateway
to billing
- from billing
to events
- from events
to warehouseData Shape
nodes with id, label, icon and a numeric value; relations as plain edges (this layout does not
label edges well — put the protocol in the surrounding text). ⚠️ The badge is drawn for every node, so
a node without a value shows a 0 — here the value is the hop count from the entry point, and the desc
says so.
Key Options
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
infographic relation-network-icon-badge |
Icon and count badge for each service |
value 2 |
The badge number — the item prints it unconditionally, so it must mean something |
relation-network-simple-circle-node |
Plain circles with no badge; best when names are long (the names become tooltips, so keep the figure small) |
relation-dagre-flow design block |
Use for directed flows with ranked ordering |
Pitfalls
- ❌ A node with no
value→ ✅ the badge prints0; give it the hop count or switch template - ❌ Every edge labelled → ✅ this layout crowds quickly; label only the critical path
- ❌ Icons that repeat → ✅ distinct icons make the network scannable
- ❌ Showing all services → ✅ pick the dependency chain being discussed
Alternatives
| Variant | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Direct dependency chain | service-dependency-network.md |
| Escalation with conditions | incident-escalation-path.md |
| Capability relationships | capability-relationship-map.md |