As of opCharts 3.2.7 a new feature has implemented "Dynamic Maps".
- In the node list you adjust the nodes you’re seeing by setting some filters using the node filter box on the left and/or the search box above the grid, every click changes the url, setting the filter property, e.g.: "filter":{"nodestatus":"unreachable”}
- when the user clicks either of the buttons to view the map this filter is passed on to the map and when the map loads it uses the filter to create a list of nodes to put on the map
- this is where things change,
Topo:
- if it’s a topo map opcharts puts the user into the map ‘creator’ because the topo maps aren’t very useful unless the user can right click and select “add subnets” or “add neighbours” etc and those functions aren’t available when just viewing the map.
- when the topo map is saved the dynamic flags are thrown away, the list of nodes that are on the map are saved into the map definition, it’s now ‘static’. There is no way to save a dynamic topo map right now (or ‘network map’ either)
- after saving can be added to dashboard
Geo:
- if it’s a geo map the user is sent to the ‘show’ page for the map, not the map creator. This is because the map is useful without any changes. If the user wants to save this map they can click in the top right hand corner and select ‘Create static map’ or ‘Create dynamic map’
- if they select create static map the flow is pretty much the same as with topo, the list of nodes in the map creator is saved into the map and won’t change again without the user editing the map. If the user sets a specific location and zoom that will be saved into the map.
- if they select create dynamic map the map saves the ‘dynamic’ flag into the map as well as the filter used to create the map. When the map is saved the list of nodes is thrown away, their locations are thrown away, any changes made to the map view are basically thrown away. This is because everything in the map is dynamic, it’s generated from the filter. The user can change the name, description and title. In the map creator you’ll notice that all the “Component” buttons are grayed out and some text above them has been added "Components cannot be added to dynamic maps.” That is basically the only GUI cue that shows the user it’s a dynamic map. Things like positioning and zooming are not saved, when the map is loaded all matching nodes are added and then the map is told to make all nodes fit into the view.
- both geo map types can be added to a dashboard.
Lastly, the list of nodes on a dynamic map only changes when the map is reloaded/the page is refreshed. Dashboards automatically refresh every X minutes, this refresh only updates the node status, it will not update the contents of the node.