Triage for dotnet/aspire#10494.
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dotnet/aspire#10494: High-level Trace Graph Visualization for Resource Interactions in Aspire Dashboard by jomaxso
[Tool] Searching for trace graph visualization, high-level trace graph, resource interaction graph, dashboard trace visualization, request flow graph, trace overview graph, flame graph alternative, trace graph, trace visualization (IncludeOpen=True, IncludeClosed=True, IncludeIssues=True, IncludePullRequests=True, Repository=dotnet/aspire)
[Tool] Found 106 issues, 121 comments, 106 returned results (20711 ms)

Here are the most relevant related issues and discussions for issue #10494, "High-level Trace Graph Visualization for Resource Interactions in Aspire Dashboard":

1. Issue #2595 (March 2024) - Graph view of resource relationships

• Summary: Proposed a graph view in the dashboard to visualize which resources reference each other, including both dependencies and reverse dependencies. The discussion includes ideas for visualizing network topology, possibly using mermaid.js, and mentions the need for richer modeling of references in the app model.
• Key Comments:
  • There is strong community interest in a visual representation of resource relationships.
  • A proof-of-concept using mermaid.js was mentioned.
  • The feature was implemented and tracked through follow-up PRs (see below).
• Status: Closed, but led to implementation work.

2. PR #7800 (February 2025) - Resources graph

• Summary: Implements the resource relationship graph in the dashboard, following up on #2595. The PR adds a graph view to the resources page, showing nodes and relationships.
• Key Comments:
  • Feedback focused on UI/UX, such as whether to show URLs, how to display selection, and improving the display of resource names.
  • The graph is not trace-centric, but rather shows static resource relationships.
• Status: Merged.

3. Issue #10355 (July 2025) - Parameters are shown as isolated nodes in graph view; not recognized as related resources

• Summary: Reports that parameters and connection strings appear as isolated nodes in the resource graph, not connected to the resources that use them. Suggests updating the model to ensure these relationships are visualized.
• Relevance: Highlights the importance of accurately showing high-level relationships, though this is about static resource relationships, not trace flows.

4. PR #10340 (July 2025) - Support uninstrumented peer visualization for parameters, and resources with connection strings and github models

• Summary: Improves the trace visualization by resolving outgoing calls from parameters, connection strings, and GitHub models resources to uninstrumented peers, so that trace timelines show these as referenced peers.
• Key Comments:
  • Discussion about further improving peer resolution and caching for performance.
• Relevance: Moves toward more complete trace visualizations, but still at the span/peer level, not a high-level trace graph.

5. Issue #439 (October 2023) & PR #1323 (December 2023) - Allow collapsing operations in the trace view

• Summary: Requested the ability to collapse spans in the trace view to focus on high-level operations. The PR added UI for collapsing/expanding spans.
• Relevance: Improves navigation in large traces, but does not provide a high-level graph as described in #10494.

6. Issue #6551 (October 2024) - Consider grouping & collapsing identical sequential activities in the trace view

• Summary: Suggests grouping identical activities in the trace view to reduce clutter, similar to browser console grouping.
• Relevance: Focuses on reducing visual noise in traces, which is related to the goal of high-level overviews.

7. Issue #4928 (July 2024) - Ability to temporarily remove spans of x type from the trace gantt view

• Summary: Requests filtering out certain span types (e.g., EF Core) to focus on the general flow of the application.
• Relevance: Another approach to simplifying trace views for high-level understanding.

8. Issue #1436 (December 2023) - A simple diagram showing the services and relationships

• Summary: Requested a simple diagram (even ASCII art) to quickly validate connections between components. Discussion references the need to model and visualize relationships.
• Status: Closed as duplicate of #2595.

9. Issue #7902 (March 2025) - Dependency diagram

• Summary: Requested a dependency diagram similar to Azure Application Insights' application map, to visualize how resources are linked together.
• Key Comment: The resource graph was added in the next version (see PR #7800).
• Status: Closed.

10. Issue #10457 (July 2025) - Collapsible child resources in Graph View

• Summary: Requests the ability to collapse/expand child resources in the resource graph view, similar to the table view, to reduce clutter in large solutions.
• Relevance: Focuses on improving the readability of the resource graph, which is related to the high-level visualization goal.

11. Issue #8345 (March 2025) - Resource graph doesn't show linked resources in some cases

• Summary: Reports missing relationships in the resource graph due to only explicit calls to WithReference being modeled. Discussion on improving automatic relationship detection.
• Relevance: Ensuring the graph accurately reflects real interactions.

12. Issue #8760 (April 2025) - Improve resource graph layout

• Summary: Suggests improving the layout of the resource graph for better readability, especially when resources are tightly bunched.
• Relevance: Addresses the visual clarity of high-level graphs.

Synthesis and Gaps

• Current State: Aspire has implemented a static resource relationship graph (see #2595, #7800), which shows how resources are connected at the configuration/model level.
• Trace Visualization: There have been improvements to the trace detail view (collapsing, filtering, peer resolution), but there is no dedicated high-level, request-centric trace graph as described in #10494.
• Related Requests: Multiple issues request ways to simplify, group, or filter trace views for better high-level understanding, but these are mostly enhancements to the existing flame graph or span list.
• No Direct Duplicate: No issue or PR directly implements or tracks a high-level, per-trace graph visualization focused on resource interactions and flow over time as described in #10494.

Conclusion

Issue #10494 is a novel and valuable feature request. While Aspire has a static resource graph and has made trace view improvements, there is not yet a high-level, per-trace graph visualization that summarizes resource interactions for a single request/trace. The request is distinct from existing features and addresses a gap in quickly understanding distributed request flows.

Related issues and PRs provide context and show community interest in better high-level visualizations, but do not duplicate this request. This issue should be tracked as a new feature, possibly referencing the related work above for implementation ideas and community feedback.