Displaying an event-driven view of the network

Edit online

You can configure a dashboard to contain a Dashboard Network Views widget and other widgets that are driven by network alert data. Under the configuration described here, when a user clicks a node in the network view tree in the Dashboard Network Views widget, the other widgets in the dashboard update to show data based on events for entities in the selected network view. This dashboard is useful for network operations centers that want to see the real-time situation on the network, as it provides a real-time view of network alerts and of the availability of devices and interfaces. No historical polling data is used by any of the widgets in this dashboard, so this provides an alternative to the Network Health Dashboard if polling data is not being stored.

Before you begin

Depending on the requirements you have of the page, perform some or all of the tasks described in Developing custom dashboards.

About this task

To develop a page that wires a Dashboard Network Views widget and other widgets that are driven by network alert data:

Procedure

  1. Log in as a user that has the iscadmins role.
  2. Create the page, assign it to a location in the navigation, and specify the roles that users need to view the page.
    The default location is Default, and in this task it is assumed that this default location is used. If you use a different location, then substitute your chosen location wherever you see the location Default used in this task.
  3. Add the Dashboard Network Views widget to the page.
  4. Add the Configuration and Event Timeline to the page.
    If you have configured the Network Manager integration with Netcool Configuration Manager then this widget displays a timeline up to a period of 24 hours, showing configuration change data and event data by first occurrence of the event. If you have not set up the integration, then the widget still displays event data on the timeline.
  5. Add the Unavailable Resources widget to the page.
    This widget displays how many devices and interfaces within the selected network view are unavailable.
  6. Add the Event Viewer to the page.
  7. Click Save and Exit to save the page.
    Note: This page does not requires any wires. The Dashboard Network Views widget automatically broadcasts the NodeClickedOn event, and the other widgets automatically subscribe to this event and update their data accordingly.

Results

You can now click a network view in the network view tree in the Dashboard Network Views widget and the other widgets automatically update to show event data:
  • The Unavailable Resources widget displays a bar chart showing how many devices and interfaces within the selected network view are unavailable. The exact data shown in this widget depends on whether the following poll policies are enabled:
    • Devices: Default Chassis Ping and SNMP Poll Fail poll policies must be enabled.
    • Interfaces: Default Interface Ping and SNMP Link State poll policies must be enabled.
  • The Configuration and Event Timeline displays a timeline showing events by first occurrence, and, if the Netcool Configuration Manager integration is configured, configuration change data, for all entities in the network view.
  • The Event Viewer shows events for all entities in the network view.
    Note: Clicking a bar in the Unavailable Resources widget further filters the Event Viewer to show only the availability events related to the devices or interfaces in that bar.