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What is a single pane of glass and why is it so important?

"A single pane of glass is a management console that integrates information from multiple components into a unified display." - whatis.com

The phrase, Single Pane of Glass is often used as a synonym for dashboard.

A few of the benefits to having a single pane of glass:

Increasing visibility - Ensuring that the status of everything is visible.

Reducing operational complexity - A single place to see the status of everything.

Reducing time to root cause - No silo's, all technologies, all vendors, all operating systems in a single place.

A single pane of glass is one management system which supports:

  • Multiple vendors
  • Multiple technologies
  • Multiple operating systems

A single pane of glass allows for you to:

  • See the current state of all systems from one place.
  • See the history of all systems in one place.
  • Provide operations teams with a single place to login and see what is happening.

Example of a well designed dashboard:


How to get a Single Pane of Glass using NMIS and opCharts
First, install NMIS there are two choices in going about doing this:

1. Install NMIS from scratch.

Here is a link to an NMIS installation guide available on the Opmantek Community WIKI:
https://community.opmantek.com/display/NMIS/NMIS+8+Installation+Guide

2. Use the Opmantek Virtual Appliance.

Opmantek Virtual Appliance Installation guide
Opmantek Virtual Appliance: Installation and Getting Started

After NMIS is installed you then need to Install/upgrade opCharts
Install/upgrade opCharts - opCharts Installation Guide
Get a free trial license key for opCharts - https://opmantek.com/opcharts-dashboards-charts-management/

How much data is the right amount, and how much is too much?

Before getting into creating a dashboard you should understand what goes into designing a useful dashboard.

1. Limit Each Dashboard to 5-7 Groups of Data.
2. Group layout should be organized by data, time period or visualization.
3. No Group Should Have More than 5-7 Data Sets.
4. Each Data Set Should Be Easily Distinguishable from Other Data Sets in Group.
5. Similar Data Sets Across Groups Should Use Similar Colors/Icons.
6. Colors and Shapes Should Be Used with Purpose and Definition.
7. Entire dashboard should be visible at one time, as should each group.
While looking at the image below, try and understand why the dashboard is poorly designed:

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