Notation guide
What each element, deployment node and line style means in an iyedy diagram, with the names the app gives them in English and French.
On this page
In iyedy, open Help, then Notation guide: the dialog draws every glyph of this page. In a diagram, L shows the legend of the view you are looking at.
An iyedy diagram holds one model. Each view draws part of it: the same element keeps its glyph and its name in every view. The kinds below are the ones the app offers; a cloud logo can replace a neutral glyph when the element matches a product (see Shapes and official logos).
Relationships
The line tells you how two elements talk. The arrow points from the element that starts the exchange.
| Line | Meaning | French name |
|---|---|---|
| Solid line, filled arrowhead | Synchronous call: the caller waits for the answer | Appel synchrone |
| Dashed line, open arrowhead | Asynchronous message: the sender does not wait | Message asynchrone |
| Double line, filled arrowhead | Data transfer: data moves from one element to the other | Transfert de données |
| Dotted line, open arrowhead | Dependency: one element needs the other | Dépendance |
| Solid line, no arrowhead | Physical link: a cable or a network connection | Lien physique |
With a relationship selected, the keys 1 to 4 change its kind (Keyboard shortcuts).
Elements
Elements are the parts of your system and the people who use it. The Usually in column says in which view of the C4 model the kind sits when it is nested normally.
| Element | Usually in | French name |
|---|---|---|
| Person | System context | Personne |
| Software system | System context | Système logiciel |
| Container | Containers | Conteneur |
| Service | Containers | Service |
| Web app | Containers | Application web |
| Mobile app | Containers | Application mobile |
| Function | Containers | Fonction |
| Worker | Containers | Traitement de fond |
| Scheduled job | Containers | Tâche planifiée |
| Database | Containers | Base de données |
| Cache | Containers | Cache |
| Queue | Containers | File de messages |
| Topic | Containers | Topic |
| Stream | Containers | Flux d'événements |
| Object storage | Containers | Stockage objet |
| File share | Containers | Partage de fichiers |
| Data warehouse | Containers | Entrepôt de données |
| Search index | Containers | Index de recherche |
| API gateway | Containers | Passerelle API |
| Integration bus | Containers | Bus d'intégration |
| Email service | Containers | Service de messagerie électronique |
| Identity provider | Containers | Fournisseur d'identité |
| Secrets vault | Containers | Coffre de secrets |
| Monitoring | Containers | Supervision |
| Component | Components | Composant |
| Group | any view | Groupe |
In the Claims Platform example, Alex Morgan's Claims web app is a Web app, the Claims API a Service, the Claims database a Database and the Fraud score queue a Queue.
Deployment
Deployment views draw where the containers run. Zones are boxes that hold other nodes; hosts hold instances of your containers; the other nodes are tiles.
| Node | Drawn as | French name |
|---|---|---|
| Account | zone | Compte |
| Datacenter | zone | Centre de données |
| Region | zone | Région |
| Edge | zone | Périphérie |
| Network | zone | Réseau |
| Subnet | zone | Sous-réseau |
| DMZ | zone | DMZ |
| Kubernetes cluster | zone | Cluster Kubernetes |
| Namespace | zone | Espace de noms |
| VM | host | VM |
| Server | host | Serveur |
| Container platform | host | Plateforme de conteneurs |
| Node | host | Nœud |
| Node pool | tile | Groupe de nœuds |
| Load balancer | tile | Répartiteur de charge |
| CDN | tile | CDN |
| DNS | tile | DNS |
| Firewall | tile | Pare-feu |
| WAF | tile | WAF |
| VPN | tile | VPN |
| Dedicated link | tile | Lien dédié |
| Private endpoint | tile | Point d'accès privé |
| NAT gateway | tile | Passerelle NAT |
| Bastion | tile | Bastion |
| API gateway | tile | Passerelle API |
| Transit hub | tile | Hub de transit |
| Router | tile | Routeur |
| Route table | tile | Table de routage |
| IP address pool | tile | Plage d'adresses IP |
What the colours do not mean
Colour groups elements by family, so a view reads at a glance. It never carries a meaning on its own: the kind, the name and the line style say it. Red is kept for findings, the issues that the checks or the Assistant pin to the drawing (Run checks and handle findings).
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