Dashboard view

Use the dashboard to monitor the overall condition of monitored resources and identify potential problem areas in a storage environment. The dashboard also displays alerts, as well as a chart showing the most active storage systems.

Viewing the status of monitored resources

The dashboard provides status information for the resources that IBM Spectrum® Control is monitoring.
The overall status for each resource type
A status symbol and number are shown below each resource icon on the dashboard. This symbol represents the most critical status that was detected on the internal resources for a resource type. For example, if 20 storage systems are monitored, and an error was detected on a volume for one of those storage systems, a Error status icon1 status is shown below the storage systems icon or label in the dashboard. If no errors, warnings, or unreachable statuses were detected on the monitored resources, then a green symbol is shown without a number.
Use the status to quickly determine the condition of your monitored resources and if any actions must be taken. On the dashboard, the following statuses might be shown for a resource type:
Error status icon Error (red)
An error status was detected on one or more of the monitored resources for a resource type. Error statuses represent serious problems on a resource. Resolve these problems as soon as possible. View the details of a resource to learn more about the status of its internal resources.
Unreachable status icon Unreachable (orange)
One or more of the monitored resources for a resource type are not responding. This status might be caused by a problem in the network or by a Storage Resource agent that is no longer running and did not communicate that it was shutting down.
Warning status icon Warning (yellow)
A warning status was detected on one or more of the monitored resources for a resource type. Warning conditions are not critical, but represent potential problems. View the details of a resource to learn more about the status of its internal resources.
Normal status icon Normal (green)
No warnings or errors were detected on the monitored resources for a resource type.
Unknown status icon Unknown status (gray)
One or more of the monitored resources for a resource type have an unknown status. This status might occur if no data was collected about a resource. To change an unknown status, use a data collection job to collect status information about the resource.
For information about how status is determined, see How the condition of a resource is determined.
The number of statuses that were detected and acknowledged for each resource type
To view the total number of statuses for a resource type, move the mouse pointer over the related status symbol. Hover help shows the total number of occurrences for each status, and the number of statuses that were acknowledged by a IBM Spectrum Control user. An acknowledged status indicates that a status was reviewed and is either resolved or can be ignored.

Viewing the status of monitored storage systems

Storage systems can be configured for block storage, file storage, object storage, a combination of block and file storage, or a combination of file and object storage. The top left section of the dashboard shows the type, number, and status of the storage systems that IBM Spectrum Control is monitoring. The number in the circle next to the storage system type shows how many storage systems of that type are being monitored. The status icon below each storage system type shows the status of the monitored systems. Click the storage system type, for example Block Storage Systems, to see more detailed status and information about those storage systems. Use the information in the horizontal bar charts to view details about the used and free space of the monitored storage systems in your environment:
Storage systems that are configured for block data
The following information is shown for monitored storage systems that are configured for block data:
Used Block Storage Space
Amount of space that is being used for block data on all the storage systems that are configured for block data.
Available Block Storage Space
Amount of unused space on all the storage systems that are configured for block data.
Storage systems that are configured for file data
The following information is shown for monitored storage systems that are configured for file data:
Used File System Capacity
Amount of file system capacity that is being used by files and directories on the storage systems and filers that are configured for file data.
Available File System Capacity
Amount of unused storage space on the storage systems and filers that are configured for file data.
Storage systems that are configured for object data
The following information is shown for monitored storage systems that are configured for object data:
Used Object Storage Space
Amount of storage space that is used on all the object storage systems.
Available Object Storage Space
Amount of storage space that is available on all the object storage systems.

Viewing the status of monitored resources that are consuming storage

The diagram in the top middle section of the dashboard provides a visual representation of the monitored resources that are consuming storage. You can click the icons in this section to add resources of that type or to see detailed information about the resources you have already added. The number next to each icon shows the number of those resources that are being monitored by IBM Spectrum Control. If IBM Spectrum Control is monitoring resources of a particular type, such as servers, you will see a status icon that shows the overall status of those types of resources.
The types of resources that are consuming storage
Each type of resource in the diagram is represented by an icon. To learn more detailed information about the individual resources that are monitored, click the icon in the diagram. For example, if you click the departments icon, a new page shows detailed information about the individual departments that are being monitored.
The number of resources that are monitored for each resource type
A number in a circle is shown next to each resource icon. This number represents the number of monitored resources for each resource type. For example, if 4 file storage systems are monitored, the value Number of monitored storage systems is shown. This number excludes resources that are not monitored by IBM Spectrum Control.
Tip: If no resources are being monitored for a resource type, click its icon on the dashboard to add a resource of that type. For example, if the dashboard shows a 0 next to the departments icon, you can click the icon or the circle for departments to add a department. The GUI guides you though the process for adding the resource for monitoring. For more information about adding resources, see Adding resources.

Viewing the status of monitored network fabrics and switches

The top right section of the dashboard shows the number and status of the fabrics and switches that IBM Spectrum Control is monitoring. The number in the circle next to the fabric or switch icon shows how many fabrics and switches are being monitored. The status icon below the fabric or switch shows the status of those entities. Click the icon to see more detailed status and information about those fabrics and switches. The dashboard shows the following information for the monitored fabrics and switches in your environment:
Fabrics
  • The number of fabrics that are being monitored.
  • The most critical status of the monitored fabrics. If more than one fabric is monitored, the dashboard shows the most critical status level of those fabrics.
Switches
  • The number of switches that are being monitored.
  • The most critical status of the monitored switches. If more than one fabric is monitored, the dashboard shows the most critical status level of those switches.

Viewing the status of alerts that were detected on monitored resources

Alerts are generated when IBM Spectrum Control detects certain conditions or events on monitored resources. The Alerts section of the dashboard shows a status summary of the alerts that were detected in your environment during a specified time period. This summary includes the number of alerts that have the following statuses: Critical, Warning, and Informational.

Use the following actions to manage the display of statuses for alerts:
  • To select the time period in which you want to view alert statuses, click the down arrow and select a time period. You can view the status of all alerts that were detected in the last hour, last day, or last week.
  • To view more detailed information about alerts, click View all alerts to access the Alerts page.

Viewing the most active storage systems in your environment

The Performance chart provides information about the most active storage systems in your storage environment. Position your cursor over a data point in the chart to see the total I/O rate for a particular storage system. The I/O rate is displayed in operations per second (ops/s) on the left vertical axis, and in milliseconds per operation (ms/ops) on the right vertical axis. The horizontal axis shows the time of the performance data in hourly increments.