# Maps

groundcover provides two map views for visualizing service dependencies and request flows: the **Map** page (standalone) and the **Map** tab on the **Traces** page. Both maps share the same core concepts but differ in which data they include.

## How the maps work

In both maps:

* **Nodes** represent a service or workload. A **workload** is a Kubernetes deployable unit that runs your application—for example, a Deployment, StatefulSet, or DaemonSet, or a custom resource such as Argo Rollouts and CloneSets—and is typically identified by the same name you see in the Workloads page and in filters.

Workloads are a representative aggregation of all the underlying pods. They are a non-customizable asset in groundcover, but you can enrich the data using **customEntityTags**.

* **Vertices** (the lines between nodes) represent a detected request dependency—for example, `nginx → main-api-web → postgres`.

The main difference is the **data source**:

|                 | Map page              | Traces → Map tab                                       |
| --------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Data source** | eBPF trace spans only | All sources and span types (eBPF, OpenTelemetry, etc.) |

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## Traces page map tab

Use **Traces → Map** when you want a dependency map that includes every span source (eBPF, OpenTelemetry, and others). You can filter by namespace, workload, status, and source in the Traces search and facets; the map reflects those filters.

* Each **node** is the client or server side of a span. Only spans that have both **client and server** set are shown.
* Each **vertex** between two nodes shows the type of spans shared between them (e.g. **HTTP**, **gRPC**, **PostgreSQL**).
* **Vertex color:**
  * **Green** — all span statuses on that connection are OK.
  * **Red** — at least one span status is Error.

<figure><img src="https://2771001740-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FUHgqKYgCiRKdOpWQdi52%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-46771f6a250d4d8f47e5efc42e621803efd2a604%2Ftraces-map-tab.png?alt=media" alt="Traces page Map tab showing service dependency map with filters and vertex status"><figcaption><p>Traces page Map tab</p></figcaption></figure>

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## Map page

The standalone **Map** page is built only from **eBPF** trace spans. Use it for a dependency view that reflects what the eBPF sensor sees (no OpenTelemetry or other sources).

* Each **node** is the client or server side of a span. Only spans that have both **client and server** set are shown. Nodes here are **eBPF-based only**.
* Each **vertex** between two nodes shows the type of spans shared between them (e.g. **HTTP**, **gRPC**, **Redis**).
* **Vertex color:**
  * **Green** — all span statuses on that connection are OK.
  * **Red** — at least one span status is Error.

<figure><img src="https://2771001740-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FUHgqKYgCiRKdOpWQdi52%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-2c647a5e2a651e38655722e6c6210ac4e44cc86e%2Fmap-page.png?alt=media" alt="Map page showing eBPF-based service dependency map with connection and protocol filters"><figcaption><p>Map page</p></figcaption></figure>

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## Summary

| Aspect           | Map page                                 | Traces → Map tab                        |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Span source**  | eBPF only                                | All sources (eBPF, OpenTelemetry, etc.) |
| **Nodes**        | Client/server from span; eBPF spans only | Client/server from span; any source     |
| **Vertices**     | Span type between nodes (e.g. HTTP)      | Span type between nodes (e.g. HTTP)     |
| **Green vertex** | All span statuses OK                     | All span statuses OK                    |
| **Red vertex**   | Any span status Error                    | Any span status Error                   |