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[Doc][DO NOT MERGE]: Update Dynamic Flow Map documentation for GA #21900

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[DO NOT MERGE] Update Dynamic Flow Map documentation for GA
sujitnewrelic Oct 10, 2025
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Update dynamic-flow-map.mdx
sujitnewrelic Oct 14, 2025
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Update dynamic-flow-map.mdx
sujitnewrelic Oct 14, 2025
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140 changes: 110 additions & 30 deletions src/content/docs/service-architecture-intelligence/maps/dynamic-flow-map.mdx
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---

<Callout title="preview">
We're still working on this feature, but we'd love for you to try it out!
<DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> is a visualization tool that displays aggregated trace data in a map view. It focuses on a specific service (called the focal node) and reveals how performance changes in upstream and downstream services affect each other. By highlighting anomalous latency and errors in traffic between services, the map helps you quickly identify performance bottlenecks and trace issues to their root cause.

This feature is currently provided as part of a preview program pursuant to our [pre-release policies](/docs/licenses/license-information/referenced-policies/new-relic-pre-release-policy).
## Why it matters [#why-it-matters]

<DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> reduces mean time to resolution by surfacing performance anomalies visually. Instead of manually analyzing traces to understand service relationships, you can see at a glance which services are experiencing issues and how those issues correlate with the focal node. The color-coded visualization of anomalous edges and nodes lets you quickly identify where latency or errors are occurring in your distributed system.

For general map navigation and interface controls shared across all New Relic maps, see [Maps](/docs/service-architecture-intelligence/maps/advanced-maps).

<Callout variant="important">
[<DNT>**Distributed tracing**</DNT>](/docs/apm/distributed-tracing/getting-started/introduction-distributed-tracing) is required for the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> to work, and it is enabled by default for all APM agents. If data is not visible, ensure <DNT>**Distributed tracing**</DNT> is active for the focal node and associated entities, and verify that tracing data appears in New Relic.
</Callout>

<DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> is a visualization tool that provides a map view of aggregated trace data. It highlights performance signals related to a specific service, called focal node. The map uses tracing data to display relationships between services participating in traces with the focal node, correlating performance changes across upstream and downstream entities. This helps identify performance bottlenecks in applications and services, aiding in pinpointing the root cause.
## Access the Dynamic Flow Map [#explore-dynamic-flow-map]

## Why it matters [#why-it-matters]
You can access the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> from multiple locations in New Relic depending on your investigation needs:

<DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> helps in reducing the mean time to resolution by allowing you to visualize and identify performance anomalies. By correlating upstream and downstream tracing performance data, it helps you understand how different services interact and affect each other's performance.
### From the Traces page [#from-traces-page]

To get familiar with map components and features, refer [<DNT>**Maps**</DNT>](/docs/service-architecture-intelligence/maps/advanced-maps).
Use this option when you want to visualize and investigate trace relationships across your distributed system starting from a focal node.

<Callout variant="important">
[<DNT>**Distributed tracing**</DNT>](/docs/apm/distributed-tracing/getting-started/introduction-distributed-tracing) is required for the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> to work, and it is enabled by default for all APM agents. If data is not visible, ensure <DNT>**Distributed tracing**</DNT> is active for the focal node and associated entities, and verify that tracing data appears in New Relic.
This access option is only available if you are using entity-scoped pricing model.
</Callout>

## Explore the Dynamic Flow Map [#explore-dynamic-flow-map]
1. Go to <DNT>**[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com) > All capabilities > Traces**</DNT>.
2. Click the <DNT>**Dynamic flow map**</DNT> tab.

### From service maps [#from-service-maps]

To access the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT>:
Use this option when you're exploring your service architecture from a [map](/docs/service-architecture-intelligence/maps/advanced-maps/#entry-points) and want to see how performance changes in upstream and downstream services affect a specific entity, with trace-level anomaly detection.

1. From <DNT>**[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com)**</DNT>, open any [service, infrastructure, or team map](/docs/service-architecture-intelligence/maps/advanced-maps).
2. To open the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT>, point to a node and click <DNT>**View dynamic flow**</DNT>.
1. On the map, point to any entity node.
2. From the context menu, click <DNT>**View dynamic flow**</DNT> (the traces icon).

You can also access <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> from [<DNT>**Transactions 360**</DNT>](/docs/apm/transactions/workload-performance-monitoring/transaction-workloads/). You can view the map of a particular transaction showing the services involved and the time taken by each service.
### From a specific transaction [#from-specific-transaction]

Use this option when you need to troubleshoot performance issues for a specific transaction and want to see which services are involved and where latency or errors are occurring in that transaction's execution path.

When you access the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> through a specific transaction, the map displays only the entities involved in that transaction. Unlike the focal node-based dynamic flow map, this transaction-specific view does not include the <DNT>**performance by transactions**</DNT> table, as it is already focused on a single transaction.

1. Go to <DNT>**[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com) > All capabilities > APM & Services > (select an app) > Transactions**</DNT>.
2. Select a specific transaction from the list.
3. The dynamic flow map loads automatically, showing only the services involved in that transaction.

### From Transaction 360 [#from-transaction-360]

The <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> appears as a component within the [Transaction 360](/docs/apm/transactions/workload-performance-monitoring/transaction-workloads/) view of any transaction. The map displays the services participating in the transaction and the time taken by each service.

<Callout variant="tip">
In transaction-specific views, the <DNT>**performance by transactions**</DNT> table is not available because the view is already focused on a single transaction. However, when you navigate to other features from these views, the transaction filter is passed along so you can continue your focused analysis.
</Callout>

<img
title="dynamic-flow-map"
Expand All @@ -51,29 +76,84 @@ The <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT> shows relationships between the focal node a

<CollapserGroup>
<Collapser id="anomalies" title="Analyze anomalies">
The anomalies are displayed with color-coded edges and dots next to the service nodes, as follows:
* **Blue edge**: Latency issue between the services.
* **Red edge**: Signal error between the services.
* **Blue and red striped edge**: Both latency issue and signal error between the services.
* **Blue dot beside a service node**: Latency issue in the service.
* **Red dot beside a service node**: Signal error in the service.
The map displays anomalies using color-coded edges and dots:

**Edge colors** (showing anomalous traffic between services):
* **Blue edge**: Latency anomaly detected in traffic between the services.
* **Pink edge**: Error anomaly detected in traffic between the services.
* **Blue and pink striped edge**: Both latency and error anomalies detected in traffic between the services.

**Dots beside nodes** (showing anomalies within a service):
* **Blue dot**: The service is experiencing latency anomalies.
* **Pink dot**: The service is experiencing error anomalies.

<Callout variant="tip">
If you see a node with an anomaly dot but the connecting edge isn't color-coded, the anomalies aren't correlated. This happens because edge colors and node dots are calculated independently. Select the entity with the anomaly and check the sidebar's time series charts to see if the anomalies occurred at different times.
</Callout>

### Filter anomalies by type

Use the interactive legend at the top of the map to focus on specific anomaly types:
1. Click **Latency** in the legend to show only latency anomalies (removes error indicators from view).
2. Click **Errors** in the legend to show only error anomalies (removes latency indicators from view).

This filtering helps you remove noise when you want to focus on one type of performance issue.

</Collapser>
<Collapser id="clusters" title="Work with clustered entities">
To keep your map organized, the map automatically groups entities with low anomaly scores into clusters. You can expand clusters to view individual entities as needed.

To view and manage entities within a cluster:

1. Click on a cluster node. A list of all entities in that cluster appears in the right panel.
2. To display an entity separately on the map, click its visibility icon in the right panel.

If a node has anomaly dots beside it, but the edge connecting it to the focal node is not color-coded, it indicates that anomalies between the nodes are not correlated. From the [performance trends](#performance-trends), you can review the metrics time series chart to confirm that the anomalies occurred at different times for the nodes.

</Collapser>
<Collapser id="performance-trends" title="View performance trends">
On the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT>, to view the performance trends between the focal node and a connected node, click the surrounding one. The performance trends between the nodes appear in the right panel, showing the metrics time series graphs.
<Collapser id="multi-select-mode" title="Filter by multiple entities">
Use multi-select mode when you need to investigate traces that pass through specific entities in your service architecture. This helps you narrow down your analysis to understand how particular services interact within a trace path.

To filter by multiple entities:
1. Click the cursor icon in the top right corner to enter multi-select mode.
2. Click the entities you want to include. A sidebar tracks your selections.
3. Click **Apply** to redraw the map showing only traces that pass through both the focal node and your selected entities.

In multi-select mode:
* You can select individual entities only. Clusters cannot be added.
* The focal node always remains in the filter and cannot be removed.

</Collapser>
<Collapser id="performance-trends" title="View detailed entity information">
When you need to investigate a specific service's performance and its relationship with the focal node, click any entity on the map to open a detailed sidebar.

The sidebar helps you:
* **Access related pages**: Use header links to navigate to the entity's APM page or owning team page.
* **Analyze performance**: Review time series charts showing tracing metrics for both the selected entity and focal node. Anomaly badges appear on charts when the entity has performance issues.
* **Investigate transactions**: See which transactions involve the focal node and access detailed transaction information.
* **View traces**: There are two **View traces** buttons with different filter contexts. The button on the main map opens the tracing homepage with all currently applied filters (entity filters, transaction filters, time range). The button in the sidebar opens the tracing homepage with all map filters of the currently selected entities.
* **Manage ownership**: Assign entities to specific teams.
* **Manage tags**: View and add tags to the selected entity.

</Collapser>
<Collapser id="filter-by-transaction" title="Filter by transaction">
The <DNT>**performance by transactions**</DNT> table displays time series data for each transaction associated with the focal node. Use this table when you want to focus the map on traces that include a specific transaction.

To filter by a specific transaction:
1. From the <DNT>**performance by transactions**</DNT> table at the bottom of the dynamic flow map, review the time series data for each transaction.
2. Click <DNT>**Generate map**</DNT> next to the transaction you want to analyze.

The map redraws showing only traces that include that transaction name.

You can analyze the performance trends and manage the nodes as follows:
* Identify patterns between your selected nodes.
* Interact with the time series charts by selecting the nodes under it.
* View all traces between the selected nodes.
* Assign ownership of nodes to specific teams.
* Add tags to the nodes.

</Collapser>
<Collapser id="investigate-issues" title="Investigate issues">
On the <DNT>**Dynamic Flow Map**</DNT>, after identifying a node with performance issues correlated to the focal node, you can investigate the traces between them. To view the traces, from the right panel, click **See all traces**. By analyzing the traces, you can identify the root cause of the performance issues and take necessary actions to resolve them.
<Collapser id="time-picker" title="Adjust the time window">
The time picker lets you select a specific time range to analyze trace data. You can choose from preset time ranges (like last 30 minutes, last hour) or define a custom time range.

To adjust the time window:
1. Click the time picker at the top of the page.
2. Select a preset time range or set a custom start and end time.

The map updates to display trace data for the selected time range. If you select a time window longer than 3 hours, the map automatically uses the most recent 3 hours within that window.

</Collapser>
</CollapserGroup>
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