Relation Network — Service Dependencies (Infographic)
Best for: a small labeled dependency or concept network where the audience benefits from a pre-styled relational map rather than a low-level graph grammar Avoid when: the network is large, weighted, or needs algorithmic layout control (use a rectangle graph) Answers: which services depend on which others, and where the central connectors sit
infographic
theme
colorPrimary #2b66c4
palette
- #2b66c4
- #2f9e44
- #f3a33c
- #d1242f
- #7048e8
- #0f9b9b
- #c16f8a
- #7c5a3d
design
structure relation-dagre-flow
item rounded-rect-node
data
title Service Dependency Network
desc Core runtime dependencies around the order path, each arrow naming the call
nodes
- id gateway
label Gateway
- id auth
label Identity
- id catalog
label Catalog
- id orders
label Orders
- id billing
label Billing
- id warehouse
label Warehouse
relations
- from gateway
to auth
label auth
- from gateway
to catalog
label browse
- from gateway
to orders
label checkout
- from orders
to billing
label charge
- from orders
to warehouse
label fulfilData Shape
Use nodes plus relations. Nodes should have stable id values; relations connect them with from and to, and may carry a short label.
Key Options
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
design → structure relation-dagre-flow |
Ranked flow layout; the only relation structure that draws the relation labels |
design → item rounded-rect-node |
Boxes with their labels inside. simple-circle-node draws a bare circle — its label is a tooltip, so it exports as an unnamed dot |
nodes |
Declares the entities in the network |
relations |
Declares the connections, each with a label naming the call |
Inline design block |
Needed because relation-dagre-flow has no built-in template name |
Pitfalls
- ❌
relation-network-simple-circle-nodefor a labelled map → ✅ it draws circles only: no node labels and no relation labels, so the figure is nameless. Use the inlinerelation-dagre-flowdesign - ❌ Treating this as a precise architecture topology → ✅ it is a high-level relation map, not a protocol diagram
- ❌ Too many nodes → ✅ relation templates saturate quickly; keep them small and conceptual
- ❌ Omitting stable IDs → ✅ relation edges should bind to node IDs, not only display labels
Alternatives
| Variant | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Rich dependency graph with layout control | dependencies-and-relations/dependency-graph.md |
| Ordered process flow | product-roadmap-sequence.md or PlantUML flow examples |
| Layered system structure | PlantUML or HTML architecture overviews |