How to Use Filters

Faddom collects two types of data: nodes (servers, IP groups, etc.) and connections between them. By default, Faddom displays all connections related to a specific server to ensure complete visibility. Filters are rules that let you exclude servers or connections you don't want to see in specific application maps or groups of maps, making them easier to understand. Filters are not permanent and can be modified or deleted at any time.

Managing Filters

You can create and manage filters in two locations: directly on an application map through the Edit Map screen, or globally through Settings > Discovery Filters. Both locations offer the same filtering capabilities, but managing filters through Settings allows you to organize and apply them across multiple maps more efficiently.

Basic filters can be applied quickly from the application map view. To filter a server, expand the tier in the map view, right-click on the server, and select Filter out to remove the server entirely, or Filter outgoing to remove all outgoing connections while keeping the server visible. When you filter outgoing traffic for a server, that server will not expand if you add another layer to the map later. You can also switch to the Legacy Map view to filter servers or connections directly without expanding tiers.

To filter multiple servers or connections at once, hold down the Ctrl button or use the Area selection tool, then right-click and choose Filter out or Filter outgoing. After applying filters, it's recommended to update the baseline so future changes are tracked against the filtered map. If you're filtering from edit mode (by clicking the edit map icon), the baseline updates automatically when you save the map.

Advanced filters provide more functionality and customization than basic filters. They let you define filters using wildcards and, by adding them to groups, apply them across multiple maps. There are three types of advanced filters: Connection filters, Server filters, and Tag filters.

To create or edit filters on a map, open the map and click Edit Map in the upper right corner. Then click Edit Filters to access the filters screen. From here you can add new filters, create filter groups, or add existing groups to the current map.

When creating a new filter, you'll choose the filter type (Connection, Server, or Tag), set the conditions, and optionally assign it to a filter group. By default, new filters are not assigned to a group and apply only to the current map. You can also choose to create an Ignore filter by selecting the ignore changes option. Ignore filters don't remove connections from the map but prevent change notifications for those connections. This is useful for connections that appear and disappear regularly, such as backup server traffic.

Once you've configured the filter, click Save to apply it. You can then add more filters or click Save Map to finalize your changes.

Connection filters let you exclude specific network connections from your maps. You can filter from any asset type (server, IP group, subnet) to any other asset type over specific ports. The From field specifies the source and can be a server IP, hostname, IP group, or partial hostname. The To field specifies the target using the same options. The On Port(s) field lets you specify a port number or port range (such as 135-139). Any of these fields can be left empty to create broader filters. For example, leaving From and To empty while specifying only a port number will filter out all connections on that port across your entire map. Each filter includes a Description field for free text notes to help identify the filter's purpose later.

Server Filters

Server filters let you exclude specific objects from your maps. You can filter out a server, application map, IP group, server by pattern (partial hostname), or service dependency. Filtering out a server removes both the server and all its connections from the map. Application map filters remove application map dependencies entirely from the view. Service dependency filters work differently: instead of showing a dependency on another application map, they continue building out the map to include servers that may be part of other application maps. Each server filter includes a Description field for identifying the filter later.

Tag Filters

Faddom can filter application maps based on tag values, excluding servers with specified tags. Tag-based filters work with both custom tags you create and tags automatically collected from VMware, Nutanix, AWS, Azure, and GCP environments. When you apply a tag filter, it affects both individual servers and IP groups that have the selected tags assigned. To create a tag filter, select the tag you want to filter by and enter a value for that tag. This will exclude everything with that tag and value combination from the map.

Filter groups let you organize related filters and apply them to multiple maps at once. Each filter can optionally belong to one group, and filters within a group can be enabled or disabled on a per-map basis. This makes it easy to maintain consistent filtering rules across your environment.

You can create filter groups in two ways: when creating or editing a map by selecting Edit Filters, or through Settings > Discovery Filters. To create a group, provide a name and define the scope of which maps it applies to. When creating a group from a map, the scope defaults to the current map. For groups created through Discovery Filters, the default is Multiple Maps.

You can create filters without needing an active application map by navigating to Settings > Discovery Filters. When created this way, filters must be added to a group. Select New Filter or New Group, set the conditions as described above, assign it to a group, and save. This approach is useful for establishing filtering standards before creating maps or when managing filters across your entire environment.

Quick Edit from Map View

When viewing an application map with an applied filter group, you can quickly edit the filter group without navigating to Settings > Discovery Filters. Open the application map and locate the filter group name displayed in the map view. Click the pencil icon next to the filter group name to open the Discovery Filters dialog where you can modify the group settings. Changes made to a filter group apply to all maps using that group.

When you create an Application Map, it will update overtime. Occasionally, you may see connections being added and removed in a repeated pattern, for example, a backup server. If this connection happens less than once every 24 hours (by default) then it will be removed.

If you would still like this server to appear in the map but don't want to be notified every time there is a change in the map, you can create an Ignore Filter. This can also be created when reviewing the map changes in the Change Summary and selecting Ignore on a Connection
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You can modify how filters and groups apply to your application maps, including changing which group a filter belongs to or deleting filters and groups entirely. The Discovery Filters screen includes a search function to help you quickly find specific filters.

Since each filter can only belong to one group, you may need to change its group membership. To move a filter, select the filter or filters you want to move (selecting a group will select all filters in that group), click Move to, and select the new group. Your filters will be updated and the relevant application maps will refresh accordingly.

To remove a filter or group entirely from Faddom, find it in the list, click the Delete icon, and confirm the action. The filter or group will be removed and all relevant application maps will update.

Faddom includes two types of default filters to help optimize your maps out of the box.

AI-Suggested Filters

These are servers that Faddom has identified for potential exclusion from your maps, such as monitoring servers, antivirus systems, or domain controllers. These systems typically interact broadly across your environment but aren't usually part of specific application dependency flows. AI-suggested filters make it easy to exclude the noisiest servers from your maps.

General Filters

General filters are default rules applied to all application maps to filter out connections that aren't relevant for most maps. These include port 9545 for Faddom sensors and NTP ports 137, 138, and 139. You can delete these filters if needed, and you can add other filters to this group as well.

Grouping By ASN

Faddom can identify groups of external servers by their assigned Autonomous System Number (ASN). This allows Faddom to group sets of servers together regardless of IP address when you're using external services like Azure AD, where each connection comes from a different IP address. When ASN grouping is active, you'll see a specific icon on the map.

You can create filters to exclude ASN groups entirely by creating a new filter, selecting Servers, then ASN Group, and choosing from the dropdown. You can toggle ASN grouping on and off for individual maps through the Edit Map screen by going to Applied Filters > General and selecting or deselecting the Group Servers By ASN option.

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You can toggle this on and off on a per map basis through the Edit Map screen by going to Applied Filters > General and selecting/deselecting the Group Servers By ASN option.