Enhancing Network Visualization with Metric Links in opCharts
The Metric Links feature on opCharts provides highly enhanced
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Requires opCharts-4.5.8 or greater |
opCharts introduces a powerful new feature known as Metric Links. This feature enhances the visualization capabilities in topological, geographical, or network maps. It enables the establishment of you to establish a custom metric defining link weight and colorcolour. A common use-case for this might could be defining the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for a radio link between two distinct towers; see an illustration below.
Metric Links function similarly to Interface Links, with the exception that Metric Links allow the usage of any resource with a threshold to calculate the metric, instead of only the interface data.
Metric Links utilize the NMIS status system to derive their values, providing flexibility in defining what constitutes a good link versus (as opposed to a bad link). For detailed guidance on how to set this up, please refer to the guide on Creating Thresholds with NMIS Modelling.
Metric Links are compatible with all map types.
Example:
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The Metric Links feature is compatible with opCharts 4.5.9 and above. |
Adding a Metric Link
You can find the Add Metric Link button next to the Add Interface Link button.
Adding a Metric Link:
To add a Metric Link -
- From the opCharts menu bar, choose Views > Maps.
- Click the Add
icon on the top left corner to open the New Map page. - Click the Add Metric Link button under Components in the left pane.
- On the Add Metric Link window that opens, select the required Link Source and the Node.
- You can see the Resources (inventory) appear for the Node selected. Choose the one you require from the drop-down list.
- Select the Index for the chosen Resource.
Locate the Metric Link button situated next to the Add Interface Link button.
Metric Links function similarly to Interface Links. The key difference is that Metric Links allow the usage of any resource with a threshold to calculate the metric, instead of only interface data.
Choose the desired node. The resources (inventory) for the selected node will appear.
- Choose the Resource you require. Next, choose the index for the resource.
- If a threshold exists for the node Node, resource Resource, and index, the status field will be auto-populated.the Index chosen, you can see the same in the Status field.
- Select a Link Destination and specify a Link Name.
- Click Add Metric Link to complete the Link creation. Lastly, select the link destination and save your changes.
The link between the two nodes will now utilize the status document's level to display the overall status, colouring the link accordingly. The link's line weight will be calculated based on the value.
Line Weight
| Level Range | Weight |
|---|---|
| Level < 5 | 2 |
| 5 <= Level < 10 | 3 |
| 10 <= Level < 20 | 4 |
| 20 <= Level < 40 | 5 |
| 40 <= Level < 60 | 6 |
| 60 <= Level < 80 | 8 |
| 80 <= Level | 10 |
Line Colour
| Status |
|---|
| Colour Code | Appearance | |
|---|---|---|
| "reachable", "normal", "up" | #5cb85c | green |
| "degraded", "error", "minor", "warning" | #FFD700 | yellow |
| "unreachable", "major", "critical", "fatal", "down" | #d9534f | red |
| Others / Null | #999 | black |
Metric Link Resource Views
Another powerful aspect of the The Metric Links feature in opCharts is the ability also enables you to configure custom resource panels , - complete with tables and charts.
To set up these panels, you need to create a file located opCharts_panels-all.json at conf/table_schemas/opCharts_panels-all.json. ; see an illustration below.
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You can use the |
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file |
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template. |
The JSON file is an array of objects . Each with each object includes containing three top-level keys:
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
| id |
| The resource name or inventory name. | |
| table | An array of objects constituting the cells of the table. For more information on customizing the table schema, please refer to the documentation. |
| charts | An array of objects that generate radial charts at the bottom of the panel. |
| Code Block | ||||
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[
{
"id": "ospfNbr",
"table": [
{
"label": "Node",
"name": "nodes.name",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
},
{
"label": "ospfNbrIpAddr",
"name": "inventory.data.ospfNbrIpAddr",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
},
{
"label": "ospfNbrRtrId",
"name": "inventory.data.ospfNbrRtrId",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
},
{
"label": "ospfNbrState",
"name": "inventory.data.ospfNbrState",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
}
],
"charts": [
{
"name": "inventory.data.ospfNbrEvents",
"max": 100,
"label": "ospfNbrEvents",
"levels": [
"red", 75,
"orange", 50,
"yellow", 25,
"green", 0
]
}
]
},
{
"id": "pkts_hc",
"table": [
{
"label": "Node",
"name": "nodes.name",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
},
{
"label": "Hardware",
"name": "inventory.data.Hardware",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
},
{
"label": "IP",
"name": "inventory.data.ipAdEntAddr1",
"cell": "Tooltip",
"formatter": "ShortenedString",
"editable": "false",
"maxLength": 22
}
],
"charts": [
{
"name": "latest_data.subconcepts.pkts_hc.derived_data.ifOutUcastPkts",
"max": 100,
"label": "outUcastPkts",
"levels": [
"red", 75,
"orange", 50,
"yellow", 25,
"green", 0
]
},
{
"name": "latest_data.subconcepts.pkts_hc.derived_data.ifInUcastPkts",
"max": 100,
"label": "inUcastPkts",
"levels": [
"red", 75,
"orange", 50,
"yellow", 25,
"green", 0
]
}
]
}
] |
Known Issues
Issue: Error - No schema found
Resolution: This may occur if a Resource does In some cases, a resource might not have an existing table schema. These will be auto-generated in future updates.
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