Custom Dashboard

Though the contents of the system/network/application dashboards are customizable, the right to customization rests with the Admin and Supermonitor users alone, and not all users to the eG monitoring console. This means that if any monitor user logs into the console, he/she will only be allowed to use the pre-defined dashboards. These dashboards, as we know, will focus on only those metrics that an Admin or Supermonitor has configured - a normal monitor user can neither customize the layout nor alter the contents of such dashboards.

Also, note that by default, dashboards are available only for those applications that are supported out-of-the-box by the eG Enterprise Suite. For in-house/legacy applications that may have been integrated into the eG Enterprise Suite using the Integration Console plugin, ready-to-use dashboards are not available.

Therefore, to enable every user with monitoring rights to personalize his/her dashboard experience, the eG monitoring console allows the creation of Custom Dashboards. These dashboards can be designed for both existing applications and legacy applications. This capability empowers users to control what data is to be displayed in the dashboards and how to present it (whether to use dial charts or digital displays or comparison graphs or tables). This way, users can see what they want to see in the dashboards.

To build custom dashboard for a particular host/application, do the following:

1. By default, clicking on a component in the COMPONENT LIST page will lead you to the Layer tab page of that component, where the layer model, tests, and measurements pertaining to that component will be displayed.
2. If a custom tab page is enabled for that component, then a Custom tab page will appear next to the Layer tab page. If custom dashboard templates pre-exist for the component in question, then, upon clicking on the Custom tab page, the eG Enterprise system will automatically sort these dashboard templates in the ascending order of their names, and display the first template in the sorted list in the Custom tab page. However, if no dashboard templates pre-exist for the said component, then a message to the effect will appear.
3. To create a new dashboard, click on the icon at the top. The complete list of custom dashboard templates that pre-exist will then appear , regardless of the component with which they are associated.
4. To modify a dashboard template, click on the Modify link corresponding to it, and to view a dashboard template, click on View. If you want to delete any of the listed templates, select the check box that pre-fixes the template and click the Delete button. To remove all templates, select the Select All check box, and then click the Delete button. To build a new dashboard, click on the Build Dashboard button.
5. Provide a name for the new dashboard template in the Dashboard Name text box. Then, from the Application list, pick the component for which the new dashboard is being configured. By default, the component in question will be selected from the Application list. Finally, click the Create button to add the new dashboard template.
6. Doing so will invoke the Design window of the custom dashboard.
7. Using the Design window of the custom dashboard , you can design 'look and feel' of the new dashboard. To help you in building your dashboard, a tool box is provided to you.
8. If you want your dashboard to display a quick summary of the problems that the target component is currently experiencing, then, click on the tool in the tool box. This will insert a Current Alerts section in your custom dashboard.
9. In real-time, the Current Alerts section will display the number of problem events currently associated with the target component, and will also reveal how these problems are distributed based on problem priority.
10. If you want to include an event history in your dashboard, then, click on the tool in the tool box. A bar graph will be inserted in your dashboard.
11. At runtime, the event history bar graph will reveal the History of Events experienced by the target component during the last 24 hours (by default). If need be, you can pick another duration from the History of Events during last list, so as to override the default duration of 24 hours.
12. If you want to view the Detailed Diagnosis of the measures for the target component, then, you may want to insert a DD Comparison Table in your dashboard by clicking the tool in the tool box.
13. Upon clicking this tool, a DD Comparison Table header section will be added to the dashboard. Once you click on the Please Click here to Configure link, a Properties dialog box will appear. In this Properties dialog box, the tests that include the Detailed Diagnosis for the measures will be listed out in the Tests drop down list. Once you select a test from this list, the measures for which Detailed Diagnosis is available will be populated in the Measures drop down list. Note that you can select only one test and one measure pertaining to that test for viewing the detailed diagnosis in a single DD Comparison table. You may add more DD Comparison tables if you wish to view the detailed diagnosis for more measures.
14. Upon choosing a measure, a DD Columns list will appear. Here select the columns that you wish to view in the Custom Dashboard and Click the Ok button. In the runtime, you will view the DD Comparison table Header showing the detailed diagnosis of the chosen measure in a tabular format for the chosen DD Colunms.
15. To focus on specific metrics reported by a component so that you are promptly alerted to any change in the state of those measures, you can mark such metrics as key performance indicators and include them in the Key Performance Indicators section in your dashboard. To add this section to your dashboard, click on the tool in the tool box.
16. To configure the metrics to be displayed in the Key Performance Indicators section, click on the Please Click here to Configure icon within that section.
17. A Properties pop-up then appears. From the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, select the test that reports the critical metrics. This will populate the Measures list with the measures reported by the chosen test. Now, from the Measures list, pick the measures to be added to the Key Performance Indicators section. You can add multiple measures reported by multiple tests to the Key Performance Indicators section. To remove any measure from the section, simply deselect the check box alongside the measure in the Key Performance Indicators section.

18. If you want to view the basic configuration of the target component in the dashboard, then, click on the tool in the tool box. This will add a Configuration section to the dashboard.
19. You can even choose the type of configuration information that you want displayed in the Configuration section. For this purpose, click on the Please Click here to Configure icon within that section. This will invoke a Properties window as depicted. From the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, select the test that reports the configuration metrics of interest to you. This will populate the Measures list with the measures reported by the chosen test. Now, from the Measures list, pick the measures to be added to the Configuration section. You can add multiple measures reported by multiple tests to this section. To remove any measure from the section, simply deselect the check box alongside the measure in the Configuration section.
20. Sometimes, you may want to quickly compare the performance of one/more measures across a set of descriptors, so that potential bottlenecks and the descriptors responsible for the same can be isolated. For instance, you may want to compare disk space usage across disk partitions to identify the partition that may soon run out of space. To facilitate this comparative analysis, you may want to include a comparison table in your dashboard. To do so, simply click on the tool in the tool box. A new section will be inserted in your dashboard layout.
21. To indicate which measures need to be compared across descriptors, click on the Please Click here to Configure icon within the Table Header section. A Properties window will then pop-up. From the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, pick a descriptor-based test, and then pick one/more measures reported by that test from the Measures list.Note that a single comparison table can be associated with a single test only. Also, as soon as you select a test from the Tests list, the name of the test will become the title of your comparison table section. To remove a measure from the comparison table, simply deselect the check box alongside that measure in the comparison table section in your dashboard.
22. If you want to graphically compare the values of specific measures across their descriptors, then, you can insert a Comparison Graph in your dashboard. Such a graph will enable you to accurately identify the best/worst performers in a chosen performance area. To insert this graph in your dashboard, click on the tool in your tool box. A section, will then be included in your dashboard design.
23. To configure the measure to be compared using the comparison graph, click on the graph titled Unconfigured. A Properties window will then pop-up. From the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, pick a descriptor-based test, and then pick a measure reported by that test from the Measures list.
24. To historically analyze performance of a measure, you can include a Timeline Graph in your dashboard. For this purpose, click on the tool in the tool box. A measure graph depicted will then get appended to your dashboard.
25. To configure the measure for which the history graph is to be generated, click on the graph titled Unconfigured. A Properties window will then pop-up. From the Duration list in the pop-up, pick the duration for which the history graph is to be plotted. Then, from the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, pick a test, and then pick a measure reported by that test from the Measures list. The name of the chosen measure will then become the title of your history graph section.
26. To receive quick updates on the current status and values of critical measures, you can include digital displays and/or dial charts in your dashboard for each such measure. To add a digital display to your dashboard, click on the tool in the tool box. A digital graph titled Unconfigured will then appear in the custom dashboard. To associate the graph with a particular measure, click on the digital graph.
27. A Properties window will then pop-up as shown. From the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, pick a test, and then pick a measure reported by that test from the Measures list. Upon picking a measure, you will find that the title of the digital graph changes to reflect the measure name.
28. To insert a dial chart, click on the tool in the tool box. A section titled Unconfigured will then appear. For configuring the measure to be represented by the dial chart, click on the Unconfigured section.
29. A Properties window will then pop-up . If you want your dial chart to indicate the thresholds for the measure, then select the Show Thresholds flag in the Properties pop-up. Next, from the Tests list in the Properties pop-up, pick a test, and then pick a measure reported by that test from the Measures list. Upon picking a measure, you will find that the title of the dial chart changes to reflect the measure name.

Note:

• Dial charts can be configured only for those measures that report percentage values.
• If the Show threshold flag is enabled, then, only the Absolute Thresholds configured for the chosen measure will be displayed in the dial chart.
30. At any time during dashboard design, if you close the tool box by clicking on the X button at its right, top corner, you can restore the tool box by clicking on the icon that appears at the top of the custom dashboard.
31. Once you are done designing the dashboard, you can preview it by clicking on the at the top.
32. To return to the design mode of the dashboard being viewed, click on the Modify button next to the Templates list. To modify another dashboard, simply select the dashboard name from the Templates list and click the Modify button next to it.