Example: Creating a Custom Classic Dashboard

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This chapter discusses how to create an example dashboard on the Classic Dashboards page Dashboards > Classic Dashboards in SL1 using the Custom Table Widget, the Top-Ten Widget, and the Multi-series Performance Widget.

Use the following menu options to navigate the SL1 user interface:

  • To view a pop-out list of menu options, click the menu icon ().
  • To view a page containing all of the menu options, click the Advanced menu icon ().

Example Dashboard

This example describes how to create the following dashboard, which can be shared with multiple users.

The dashboard contains:

  • Three instances of the Leaderboard/Top-N widget across the top of the dashboard. These three widgets display the following bar graphs:
    • The 10 devices with the highest CPU utilization. By default, this widget displays the top 10 devices system-wide.
    • The 10 devices in the system with the highest memory utilization. By default, this widget displays the top 10 devices system-wide.
    • The 10 devices in the system with the highest latency. By default, this widget displays the top 10 devices system-wide.
  • An instance of the Custom Table widget at the bottom-left of the dashboard. This widget is configured to display only organizations to which the user viewing the dashboard belongs. The user viewing the dashboard can select one or more organizations in this widget. When a user selects one or more organizations, the three Leaderboard/Top-N widgets update to display the top 10 devices from the selected organizations.
  • An instance of the Multi-series Performance widget at the bottom-right of the dashboard. This widget is configured to read and display up to eight device performance metrics that are set in the context. The user viewing the dashboard can select the performance metrics in this widget by selecting one or more bars in the Leaderboard/Top-N base widgets.

Creating and Configuring the Dashboard

To create and configure the basic settings for the shared dashboard:

  1. Go to the Classic Dashboards page (Dashboards > Classic Dashboards).
  2. In the top left of the Dashboards page, click the New button. A blank dashboard is created with a default name.
  3. Click the Actions menu, and then click Configure Dashboard. The Dashboard Settings page appears.
  4. Type a name for the dashboard in the Dashboard Title field. This example uses "Top 10 CPU/Memory/Latency" as the name of the dashboard.
  5. For this example, you can leave the remaining fields set to their default value.
  6. Click the Save button to save the new name for the dashboard and close the Dashboard Settings page.

Adding and Configuring the Leaderboard/Top-N Widgets

To add the three Leaderboard/Top-N widgets to the dashboard:

  1. Click and hold in the top-left corner of the dashboard, then drag the widget that appears so that it is half the height and one-third of the width of the dashboard. When you release the mouse button, the New Widget Configuration page appears.

  2. In the left NavBar, click the Snapshot/Single Series button. Expand the Performance category and select (base) Leaderboard / Top-N.

    TIP: If your SL1 system contains a large number of widgets and you need to filter the results in the left NavBar, type "Leaderboard" in the field at the bottom of the NavBar and click the Find button.

  3. Supply values in the following fields:

  • Widget Name. Leave "{auto}" in this field. SL1 automatically generates a title for the widget based on what is currently being displayed in the widget.
  • In the first field under Collection Configuration, select Vitals.
  • In the second field under Collection Configuration, select CPU. The dashboard will display the devices with the highest CPU Utilization.
  • Use Device/Service Context. Select this checkbox. If you select this checkbox and other widgets on the dashboard define which devices should be displayed on the dashboard, this widget will evaluate only those selected devices when determining the devices with the highest CPU utilization. In this example, the Custom Table widget will define which devices should be displayed by allowing the user to select one or more organizations; when one or more organizations are selected, this widget will display only devices in those organizations.
  • Click/Link Behavior. Select Select Device/Service. When you select a value in this field, you are defining what will happen when a user clicks on the widget. When Select Device/Service is selected and a user clicks on a value in the widget, the widget defines the performance metric that will be displayed in the other widgets in the dashboard. In this example, the Multi-series Performance widget is configured to display the selected performance metric.
  • Display Type. Select Bar to make the widget display a horizontal bar graph.
  • For this example, you can leave the remaining fields set to their default value.
  1. Click the Save button and close the New Widget Configuration page. The widget displays a bar graph that includes the 10 devices in the system with the highest CPU utilization.
  2. Instead of creating completely new widgets for the second and third Top 10 widgets, you can duplicate the first widget and then edit the appropriate settings. To duplicate the widget, click the Options menu in the top-right corner of the new widget and select Duplicate. Repeat this step to create a third instance of the widget.
  3. Click and hold the header bar of one of the two duplicate widgets, then drag the widget to the upper-right corner of the dashboard.
  4. Click and hold the header bar of the other duplicated widget, then drag the widget to the top-middle of the dashboard, between the two other widgets.
  5. If necessary, resize the widgets by clicking, holding, and dragging the edges of each widget.
  6. To reconfigure the middle widget, click the Options menu in the top-right corner of the widget and select Configure. The Widget Configuration page appears.
  7. In the first field under Collection Configuration, select Vitals.
  8. In the second field under Collection Configuration, select Memory. The dashboard displays the devices with the highest Memory Utilization.
  9. Click the Save button to save the widget and close the Widget Configuration page. The widget displays a bar graph that includes the 10 devices in the system with the highest memory utilization.
  10. To reconfigure the last widget on the right of the dashboard, click the Options menu in the top-right corner of the widget and select Configure. The Widget Configuration page appears.
  11. In the first field under Collection Configuration, select Availability.
  12. In the second field under Collection Configuration, select Latency. The dashboard displays the devices with the highest Memory Utilization.
  13. Click the Save button to save the widget and close the Widget Configuration page. The widget displays a bar graph that includes the 10 devices in the system with the highest latency.

Adding and Configuring the Custom Table Widget

To add the Custom Table Widget to the dashboard:

  1. Click and hold at the left of the dashboard, under the Top 10: CPU widget, then drag the widget that appears so that it is the same width as the Top 10: CPU widget. When you release the mouse button, the New Widget Configuration page appears.

  2. In the left NavBar, click the Custom Table button. Expand the Summary category and select (base) Custom Table.

    TIP: If your SL1 system contains a large number of widgets and you need to filter the results in the left NavBar, type "Custom Table" in the field at the bottom of the NavBar and click the Find button.

  1. Supply values in the following fields:
    • Entity Type. Select Organization. This widget displays a list of all organizations for which the user is a member.
    • Drive Context. Select this checkbox. This widget controls what is displayed in other widgets in the dashboard (the Leaderboard/Top-N widgets).
    • For this example, you can leave the remaining fields set to their default value.
  2. Click the Save button to save the widget and close the New Widget Configuration page. The widget displays a table that contains the organizations for which you are a member.
  3. To make the three Leaderboard/Top-N widgets display the Top 10 devices in a specific organization, select the name of that organization.

Adding and Configuring the Multi-series Performance Widget

To add the Multi-series Performance Widget to the dashboard:

  1. Click and hold at the top-left corner of the empty space in the dashboard, then drag the widget that appears so that it fills the remaining space in the dashboard. When you release the mouse button, the New Widget Configuration page appears.
  2. In the left NavBar, click the Time Series button. Expand the Performance category and select (base) Multi-series Performance. The Widget Configuration pane for the widget appears.

    3. TIP: If your SL1 system contains a large number of widgets and you need to filter the results in the left NavBar, type "Multi-series" in the field at the bottom of the NavBar and click the Find button.

  1. Supply values in the following fields:
  • Widget Name. Leave "{auto}" in this field. SL1 automatically generates a title for the widget based on what is currently being displayed in the widget.
  • Type. Select Device.
  • Series Selections. In the Element field, select Contextual Device 1. Selecting this option tells the widget to display the performance metric that is selected in another widget in the dashboard. This widget can display up to eight performance metrics selected in other widgets at the same time. To configure the widget to display the maximum number of selected performance metrics, click Add another series, then select Contextual Device 2 in the Element column. Repeat this step for Contextual Device 3 through Contextual Device 8.
  • Display Type. Select Line. The widget displays a line graph.
  • For this example, you can leave the remaining fields set to their default value.
  1. Click the Save button to save the widget and close the New Widget Configuration page. The widget displays no time-series by default.
  2. To display a time-series in the Multi-series Performance widget, select one of the bars in one of the Leaderboard/Top-N widgets. After you select a bar, the bar turns gray, and the corresponding time series graph for that metric appears.
  3. To display multiple time-series, press the Shift key when you select the bars. To deselect all bars, select one of the currently selected bars again.

Saving Context Selections in the Dashboard

In a dashboard that allows a user to select the elements that will be displayed in one or more widgets, you can save one or more sets of selections (the context). You can then load a set of selections using the Context Selector field to the left of the Context button.

For example, suppose that your system includes two organizations that include devices located at your DC office: "DC - Switches" and "DC - Servers". Suppose that you frequently select those two organizations in this example dashboard. Instead of selecting the two organizations in the custom table each time you open the dashboard, you can save your selections.

To save a set of context selections in the example dashboard:

  • Click the Context button and then select Create.
  • In the pop-up window that appears, type a name for the context and then click the Create button. This name immediately appears in the Context Selector field. In this example, the context is called "DC Office".
  • Select one or more organizations in the custom table widget. The selections you make will be re-loaded when you select this set of context selections. In this example, the "DC - Switches" and "DC - Servers" organizations are selected in the custom table.
  • To save your set of context selections, click the Context button and then select Save. Your selections are saved in the context that is displayed in the Context Selector field.
  • When you open this dashboard again, you can re-load the selections by choosing "DC Office" in the Context Selector field.

Sets of context selections are saved on a per-user basis. When you create a set of context selections, that set is viewable only to you. If you share your dashboard, other users can save their own sets of context selections, and you will not be able to view those saved contexts.