Visio Services Generate based on query data

Question

I feel what I wanna do with Visio 2010 and SharePoint is somewhat unique and after quite a bit of searching i'm needing some assistance in pointing me in the right direction.

I want to design a section on my SharePoint which links to an Oracle database or SQL database with server and network information, be able to view it in a list format like i can currently within oracle and then generate a visio network map of the servers and their connections etc.

For Example:

I open up my SharePoint table and see a list of my servers and the apps running, ports and the target servers (and I'm aware i could have a live updating visio layout of that). But lets say i want to limit that data. I pull a drop down menu and i only wanna only the servers targeting this server or this port; then using that list get a visio layout of that target server and the connections.... Is such possible?

Any direction would be so appreciated..

Answer 1

I've thought about doing something similar but for the description you provide I do not believe that Visio is not the correct toolset, mostly because Visio isn't aimed at creating dynamic diagrams.

These are the options that I've come up with, in decreasing order of time and effort. None are pretty but hopefully one is close enough.

1. Create Visio drawings dynamically. I wouldn't even consider this option but if you are up for a challenge you might want to give it a go.
2. Create something similar to a Visio drawing in Silverlight or your favourite web technology. You would need to provide shapes as UserControls, and add them to the page once they are selected.
3. Create a non-dynamic Visio drawings and highlight or 'activate' the selected items. Or create a small number of drawings and switch between them as appropriate. For example, all the selected items might be coloured and the non-selected items might be greyed out.

Answer 2

I know that the book titled "Pro SharePoint 2010 Business Intelligence Solutions" goes into depth on this subject. There are tutorials of how to make interactive Visio Diagrams. I do not have experience with it but this book may help get you on the proper track.