SteelCentral™ Portal

User Guide

3.5.0
November 9, 2020
 Copyright, Contacts, and Legal Notices

Copyright, Contacts, and Legal Notices

Document Copyright
Title: SteelCentral Portal User Guide
Revised: 11/9/20
© 2020 Riverbed Technology. All rights reserved.

Patents and Trademarks

Riverbed and any Riverbed product or service name or logo used herein are trademarks of Riverbed
Technology. All other trademarks used herein belong to their respective owners. The trademarks and logos
displayed herein may not be used without the prior written consent of Riverbed Technology or their
respective owners.
The absence of a patent or mark from the above notices does not constitute a waiver of intellectual property
rights that Riverbed has established in any of its products, service names or marks in use.

Contacts
Riverbed Technology
680 Folsom Street
San Francisco CA, 94107 USA
General
Telephone: 415.247.8800
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.riverbed.com
Technical Support
Telephone: 415.247.7381
E-mail: [email protected]

This Documentation and Riverbed

This document and the accompanying product documentation describes the functions of the Riverbed software product(s)
(“SOFTWARE”) identified above (this document and the product documentation are collectively referred to as
“DOCUMENTATION”). Riverbed Technology, 680 Folsom St., San Francisco, California 94107 is the sole owner of all rights, title, and
interest to the DOCUMENTATION and SOFTWARE.
Nothing herein shall grant or imply a license to the DOCUMENTATION or SOFTWARE. The right to use the DOCUMENTATION and
SOFTWARE shall result only from entering into a Master Software License Agreement and a Software Usage Agreement, and paying
the applicable license fees.

Terms and Conditions of Use

Eligible Users
This document is subject to restrictions on use and distribution is intended solely for persons who are subject to the terms and conditions of Riverbed’s
Software Master License Agreement or persons authorized by Riverbed (“Eligible Users”). As a condition of being granted access to and use of this
document, each User represents that: i) the User is an Eligible User of a Licensee under a valid Riverbed Software Master License Agreement or the User
is authorized by Riverbed and ii) the User accepts the terms and conditions of Riverbed’s Software Master License Agreement and the terms and
conditions governing the use of this document.

Confidential Information
The User agrees that the DOCUMENTATION, including this document, are the proprietary property of Riverbed and constitutes a trade secret of
Riverbed. The User agrees that access to and use of this document does not grant any title or rights of ownership. The User shall not copy or reproduce,
in whole or in part, disclose or permit third parties access to this document without the prior written consent of Riverbed. This document may not be
stored, in whole or in part, in any media without the prior written consent of Riverbed. Any unauthorized use of this document will be subject to legal
action that may result in criminal and/or civil penalties against the User.

SteelCentral Portal 2
 Copyright, Contacts, and Legal Notices

Intellectual Property and Proprietary Notices

© 2015 Riverbed Technology. All rights reserved.
Riverbed and any Riverbed product or service name or logo used herein are trademarks of Riverbed Technology. All other trademarks used herein belong
to their respective owners. The trademarks and logos displayed herein may not be used without the prior written consent of Riverbed Technology or their
respective owners.

The absence of a patent or mark from the above notices does not constitute a waiver of intellectual property rights that OPNET Technologies, Inc. has
established in any of its products, service names or marks in use. Alteration, removal, obscuring, or destruction of any proprietary legend, copyright,
trademark, patent, or intellectual property notice contained in this document is prohibited.

Restricted Rights Legend

The DOCUMENTATION and SOFTWARE are subject to the restrictions on use and distribution in the Riverbed Software Master License Agreement (for
Agencies of the U.S. Government). Any use of the DOCUMENTATION or any SOFTWARE by an agency of the U.S. Government or a direct contractor
of an agency of the U.S. Government requires a valid Riverbed Software Master License Agreement and Riverbed Software Usage Agreement.

For all users, this Software and Documentation are subject to the restrictions (including those on use and distribution) in Riverbed's Master License
Agreement. Use of this Software or Documentation requires a current Riverbed license and shall be governed solely by the terms of that license. All other
use is prohibited. For the U.S. Government and its contractors, the Software is restricted computer software in accordance with Federal Acquisition
Regulations as applied to civilian agencies and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement as applied to military agencies. The Software and
Documentation qualify as “commercial items,” “commercial computer software,” and “commercial computer software documentation.”

No Warranty and Limitation of Liability

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS USER MANUAL IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. No representations by Riverbed, such as statements of capability, suitability for use, accuracy or performance, shall be a
warranty by Riverbed, or bind Riverbed or vary any term or condition of any Software Master License Agreement, unless contained in written agreement
and signed by Riverbed and any other party or parties to such Software Master License Agreement.

In no event shall Riverbed be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, or consequential damages whatsoever (including but not limited to lost profits
arising out of or relating to this document or the information contained herein) even if Riverbed has been advised, knew, or should have known of the
possibility of such damages.

THE USER UNDERSTANDS AND ACCEPTS THAT RIVERBED SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES WHICH ARE: (i) INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL, OR (ii) THE RESULT FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS, OR (iii) FROM THE USE OF THE
SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION, WHETHER BROUGHT IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF RIVERBED WAS
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Export Controls
Any User of the DOCUMENTATION including this document shall comply with the laws of the United States, including the provisions of the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry Security (“BIS”), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the U.S. Department of State, International Traffic
in Arms Regulations, and the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, regarding the export, re-export and disclosure of the
DOCUMENTATION or the SOFTWARE. Any export, re-export or disclosure of the DOCUMENTATION or the SOFTWARE shall be subject to the prior
written consent of Riverbed. Users shall not remove any Destination Control Notices provided by Riverbed from the DOCUMENTATION or the
SOFTWARE.

Destination Control Statement

The DOCUMENTATION and the SOFTWARE were manufactured in the United States by Riverbed. The initial export of the DOCUMENTATION and
the SOFTWARE from the United States, and any subsequent relocation or re-export to another country shall comply with the laws of the United States
relating to the export of technical data, equipment, software, and know-how. Any diversion contrary to the laws of the United States is prohibited.

SteelCentral Portal 3
Contents

Introduction .........................................................................................................................12

Getting Started ....................................................................................................................13

Chapter 1 - Introduction ................................................................................................................... 14
The End-To-End Solution .......................................................................................................................... 16
Where to Start: General Workflows ......................................................................................................... 17

Chapter 2 - The Basics ..................................................................................................................... 18

Access SteelCentral Portal ......................................................................................................................... 19
The Home Screen ........................................................................................................................................ 20
Dashboards........................................................................................................................................... 21
Search Option....................................................................................................................................... 23
Data Source Status ............................................................................................................................... 24
The User Interface....................................................................................................................................... 25
Navigation ............................................................................................................................................ 25
Dashboard Groups .............................................................................................................................. 27
Key Performance Indicators on Home Screen Cards ..................................................................... 28
Anatomy of a Dashboard ................................................................................................................... 29
Time Range........................................................................................................................................... 30
Toolbars................................................................................................................................................. 31
Customize Dashboard Look and Behavior ............................................................................................. 35

Dashboards Content Viewer ..............................................................................................36

Chapter 3 - Monitor and Troubleshoot............................................................................................ 37
Opening a Dashboard ................................................................................................................................ 38
Changing the Time Range ......................................................................................................................... 38
Cycling Dashboards ................................................................................................................................... 39
Troubleshoot Right-Click Options ........................................................................................................... 40
Drilldown..................................................................................................................................................... 41

SteelCentral Portal 4
 Contents

View Members of a Group ........................................................................................................................ 42

Launch into the Data Source ..................................................................................................................... 43
View Transactions in Transaction Trace Warehouse ..................................................................... 44
AppNetwork Path Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 45

Chapter 4 - Reports and Analytics .................................................................................................. 46

Reports.......................................................................................................................................................... 47
Create Reports from the Reports Menu ........................................................................................... 47
Create Reports from an Element Right-Click Menu....................................................................... 48
Create Reports from the Report Icon................................................................................................ 50
Analytics....................................................................................................................................................... 52

Dashboards Content Creator .............................................................................................53

Chapter 5 - Create a Custom Dashboard in 60 Seconds............................................................... 54

Chapter 6 - Dashboard Components............................................................................................... 56

Understanding Dashboard Components ................................................................................................ 57
Panels..................................................................................................................................................... 57
Elements................................................................................................................................................ 59
Guidelines for Choosing Elements........................................................................................................... 60
Gauges and Sliders .............................................................................................................................. 61
Graphs ................................................................................................................................................... 62
LEDs ...................................................................................................................................................... 68
LED Series............................................................................................................................................. 69
Compact Rows ..................................................................................................................................... 70
Changing Names of Elements (Objects)........................................................................................... 73

Chapter 7 - Create Custom Dashboards ......................................................................................... 74

Search Bar..................................................................................................................................................... 75
Dashboard Wizard...................................................................................................................................... 77
Dashboard Drilldowns............................................................................................................................... 78
Parameterized URLs................................................................................................................................... 79
URL Components ................................................................................................................................ 79
Example URL ....................................................................................................................................... 81
Edit a Custom Dashboard ......................................................................................................................... 82
Managing Custom Dashboards ................................................................................................................ 83
Snap-to-Grid Option for Panels......................................................................................................... 83
Provide Access to Dashboards by URLs and Embedded HTML ................................................. 84
Available Dashboard Settings............................................................................................................ 85
Time Aggregation Rules..................................................................................................................... 87
Auxiliary Panels................................................................................................................................... 90

Chapter 8 - Threshold Management ................................................................................................ 93

About Individual and Pattern-Based Thresholds .................................................................................. 94

SteelCentral Portal 5
 Contents

Considerations when Defining Thresholds.................................................................................. 95

Defining Thresholds Status Levels.................................................................................................... 96
Defining Thresholds for Elements and Panels ....................................................................................... 98
Managing Thresholds Globally .............................................................................................................. 100
Visualizing Threshold Status and Settings for Graph Elements........................................................ 102

Chapter 9 - Application Models ..................................................................................................... 104

Chapter 10 - Create Application Models ....................................................................................... 106

Guidelines for Modeling an Application .............................................................................................. 110
Access the Application Model Editor .................................................................................................... 111
Specify Data Sources ................................................................................................................................ 113
Define Back-end of Application Model ................................................................................................. 114
Add Hosts........................................................................................................................................... 114
Add Neighboring Hosts ................................................................................................................... 115
Add Relationships ............................................................................................................................. 117
Add End Users and Response Time ...................................................................................................... 118
Refine Application Model ....................................................................................................................... 119
Merge Hosts ....................................................................................................................................... 119
Group Hosts ....................................................................................................................................... 121
Exclude Internal Elements................................................................................................................ 122
Publish........................................................................................................................................................ 123
Unpublish .................................................................................................................................................. 123
Document Your Findings with Notes.................................................................................................... 124

Chapter 11 - Application Model Editor .......................................................................................... 125

Application Model Objects...................................................................................................................... 127
Menu Options............................................................................................................................................ 129
Inspector..................................................................................................................................................... 131
Hosts.................................................................................................................................................... 132
Groups................................................................................................................................................. 134
Relationships ...................................................................................................................................... 135
End User.............................................................................................................................................. 136
Response Time ................................................................................................................................... 137
Internal Elements............................................................................................................................... 138

Chapter 12 - Define Panels and Elements .................................................................................... 139

Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics ............................................................................ 140
Object Selection Wizard ........................................................................................................................... 142
Using the Object Selection Wizard.................................................................................................. 143
Copy and Paste Panels ............................................................................................................................. 146

Chapter 13 - Data Source Searches .............................................................................................. 148

AppInternals Searches ............................................................................................................................. 149

SteelCentral Portal 6
 Contents

Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 149

Top N and Bottom N......................................................................................................................... 151
AppInternals (9.x) Searches..................................................................................................................... 153
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 153
Object Name ....................................................................................................................................... 155
Top N and Bottom N......................................................................................................................... 158
Standard Application Components ................................................................................................ 160
Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals” ............................................. 162
AppResponse Searches ............................................................................................................................ 163
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 163
Top N and Bottom N......................................................................................................................... 164
AppResponse (9.x) Searches.................................................................................................................... 165
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 165
Top N................................................................................................................................................... 167
Application Model Searches ................................................................................................................... 171
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 171
Aternity Searches ...................................................................................................................................... 173
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 173
Top N and Bottom N......................................................................................................................... 174
NetCollector/NetSensor Searches.......................................................................................................... 176
Attribute.............................................................................................................................................. 176
IP Address .......................................................................................................................................... 178
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 179
Top/BottomN .................................................................................................................................... 181
Synthetic Tests.................................................................................................................................... 182
Related Drilldowns for NetSensor .................................................................................................. 184
NetIM Searches ......................................................................................................................................... 185
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 185
Top/BottomN .................................................................................................................................... 186
NetIM (<2.3.0) Searches ........................................................................................................................... 187
Attribute.............................................................................................................................................. 187
IP Address .......................................................................................................................................... 188
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 188
Top/BottomN .................................................................................................................................... 190
Synthetic Tests.................................................................................................................................... 191
Related Drilldowns for NetIM (<2.3.0)........................................................................................... 192
NetProfiler Searches ................................................................................................................................. 193
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 193
.............................................................................................................................................................. 194
Top N................................................................................................................................................... 194
UCExpert Searches ................................................................................................................................... 196
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 196
Top N and Bottom N......................................................................................................................... 198
Web Analyzer Searches............................................................................................................................ 200
Navigating Object Tree ..................................................................................................................... 200

SteelCentral Portal 7
 Contents

Top N and Bottom N......................................................................................................................... 202

Examples of a Geographic Status Map and a Geographic Heat Map........................................ 203

Chapter 14 - Group Elements......................................................................................................... 205

Grouping Elements................................................................................................................................... 207
Configuring the Rows and Columns of Grids .............................................................................. 212
Grouping Data into Multiple-Trace Graphs .................................................................................. 213
Using Content Templates to Create a Group ................................................................................ 221
Grouping Elements with Object Properties .......................................................................................... 222
General Overview of Object Property Types ................................................................................ 223
Introduction to User-Defined Object Properties ........................................................................... 224
Creating User-Defined Object Properties ...................................................................................... 225
Examples of User-Defined Object Properties ................................................................................ 227
Globally Managing User-Defined Object Properties........................................................................... 229
Customized Grouping of AppResponse (9.x) Data ............................................................................. 230
Customized Grouping: Defining Object Properties in AppResponse (9.x) .............................. 230

Chapter 15 - Configure Panels....................................................................................................... 233

Using Content Templates to Display Content...................................................................................... 234
Selecting a Content Template .......................................................................................................... 235
Content Templates that Specify Groups ........................................................................................ 236
Adding Drilldowns to Elements............................................................................................................. 237
Variables for URL Drilldowns ......................................................................................................... 240

Chapter 16 - Resource Management ............................................................................................. 242

General Workflow for Resource Management..................................................................................... 244
Content Templates.................................................................................................................................... 249
Creating a Content Template........................................................................................................... 250
Editing a Content Template ............................................................................................................. 258
Visualization Styles .................................................................................................................................. 259

Chapter 17 - Custom Dashboard Templates ................................................................................ 263

Custom Dashboard Template Guidelines............................................................................................. 263
Creating Custom Dashboard Templates ............................................................................................... 264
Template Properties .......................................................................................................................... 264
Template Visibility ............................................................................................................................ 264
Content Options................................................................................................................................. 265
Modifying Custom Dashboard Templates............................................................................................ 265

Central Manager ................................................................................................................266

Managing Distribution Lists ................................................................................................................... 266
Cloning Configuration Elements............................................................................................................ 267
Central Manager Sync Status .................................................................................................................. 268

Chapter 18 - Managed Appliances................................................................................................. 270

SteelCentral Portal 8
 Contents

AppResponse Appliance System Health .............................................................................................. 270

Appliance Software Update .................................................................................................................... 271
Valid Update Job States .................................................................................................................... 271

Chapter 19 - AppResponse User Administration......................................................................... 273

Administrator ....................................................................................................................275
Chapter 20 - Global Dashboard Settings ...................................................................................... 277

Chapter 21 - Data Source Management ........................................................................................ 278

Managing Data Sources ........................................................................................................................... 279
Adding a Data Source .............................................................................................................................. 280
Viewing the Details of a Data Source .................................................................................................... 282
Overriding the Base Data Source URL .................................................................................................. 283
Data Source-Side Object Changes .......................................................................................................... 284
Viewing Dashboard System Load and Setting Alerts ......................................................................... 285

Chapter 22 - Hostname/DNS .......................................................................................................... 287

Hostname and DNS Servers.................................................................................................................... 287
Static Name Resolution............................................................................................................................ 288
Editing a Static Hostname ....................................................................................................................... 288
Deleting a Static Hostname ..................................................................................................................... 289
Exporting and Importing Static Hostnames ......................................................................................... 289

Chapter 23 - Time ............................................................................................................................ 291

Time zone................................................................................................................................................... 291
Configuring NTP ...................................................................................................................................... 292
Configuring NTP Servers ................................................................................................................. 292
Editing NTP Servers.......................................................................................................................... 292
Deleting an NTP Server .................................................................................................................... 293
NTP Server Status.............................................................................................................................. 293
Manually Setting Date and Time............................................................................................................ 294

Chapter 24 - Email........................................................................................................................... 295

Chapter 25 - Management Interfaces ............................................................................................ 297

Default Gateway ....................................................................................................................................... 298
Configuring Management Interfaces ..................................................................................................... 298
Managing Routes ...................................................................................................................................... 298
Adding Routes ................................................................................................................................... 299
Editing a Route................................................................................................................................... 300
Deleting a Route ................................................................................................................................ 300

Chapter 26 - Web Server Settings ................................................................................................. 301

SteelCentral Portal 9
 Contents

Secure Vault For Encrypted Security Files............................................................................................ 301

Configuring HTTPS Settings................................................................................................................... 302
Configuring HTTP Access ....................................................................................................................... 303
SSL Certificates.......................................................................................................................................... 303
Viewing the SSL Certificate.............................................................................................................. 303
Replacing the SSL Certificate ........................................................................................................... 304

Chapter 27 - Proxy Settings ........................................................................................................... 305

Chapter 28 - Backup and Restore.................................................................................................. 306

Chapter 29 - Reboot/Shutdown...................................................................................................... 307

Rebooting Portal ....................................................................................................................................... 307
Shutting Down Portal............................................................................................................................... 308

Chapter 30 - Software Update ........................................................................................................ 309

Updating Portal Software........................................................................................................................ 309
Update Information.................................................................................................................................. 310
Update Source ........................................................................................................................................... 310

Chapter 31 - System Dumps .......................................................................................................... 311

Creating a System Dump......................................................................................................................... 311
Managing System Dumps ....................................................................................................................... 312
Downloading a System Dump................................................................................................................ 312

Chapter 32 - Audit Logging ............................................................................................................ 313

Chapter 33 - Recipients .................................................................................................................. 315

Chapter 34 - Authentication ........................................................................................................... 317

Remote Authentication ............................................................................................................................ 318
Configuring a Sequence of Authentication Types........................................................................ 318
LDAP Authentication............................................................................................................................... 319
LDAP Command-Line Configuration Wizard.............................................................................. 320
LDAP Configuration Commands ................................................................................................... 321
RADIUS Authentication .......................................................................................................................... 322
Setting the RADIUS Encryption Protocol ...................................................................................... 323
Setting RADIUS Server Priority ...................................................................................................... 323
TACACS+ Authentication....................................................................................................................... 323
Setting the TACACS+ Timeout ....................................................................................................... 324
Setting TACACS+ Server Priority ................................................................................................... 324
Setting Up RADIUS and TACACS+ Remote Authentication ............................................................ 324
RADIUS Server Information ............................................................................................................ 325
TACACS+ Server Information......................................................................................................... 325
SAML 2.0 Authentication ........................................................................................................................ 326

SteelCentral Portal 10
 Contents

Chapter 35 - User Administration .................................................................................................. 328

Local Users................................................................................................................................................. 328
Roles and Permissions.............................................................................................................................. 329
Password Policy ........................................................................................................................................ 330

Chapter 36 - Licensing.................................................................................................................... 332

Chapter 37 - Command-Line Interface .......................................................................................... 334

SteelCentral Portal 11
Introduction
Riverbed SteelCentral Portal redefines how companies visualize, monitor, report, and troubleshoot
application performance by combining user experience, and application and network data into a
centralized, dynamic solution. This holistic view gives operational teams a single source of truth for
application performance, keeping key resources focused on strategic projects—accelerating
troubleshooting, and providing meaningful data for stakeholders throughout the enterprise.
For easy reference, the SteelCentral Portal User Guide is divided into sections, organized by role.
 “Getting Started“
Provides an introduction to SteelCentral Portal and describes the basic information needed to get
started quickly, regardless of role. After reviewing this section, jump to the section that corresponds
with your role.
 “Dashboards Content Viewer“
Describes the role of the Dashboards Content Viewer, who is responsible for monitoring application
status and performance. Additionally, dashboards content viewers may be responsible for
troubleshooting existing and potential issues.
 “Dashboards Content Creator“
Describes the role of the Dashboards Content Creator, who is responsible for creation/management of
dashboards and applications.
 “Administrator“
Describes the role of the Administrator, who is responsible for installation and configuration, global
dashboards settings, data source management, and user management.

For additional documentation, see:

 Release Notes
Describes new features, enhancements, fixed problems, and known issues.
Important: You must login to view this documentation.
 Installation Guide
Describes preparing to deploy, deploying, and configuring SteelCentral Portal.
Important: You must login to view this documentation.
 Knowledge Base
Allows you to search for articles concerning your questions and issues.
Important: You must login to access knowledge base articles.

SteelCentral Portal 12
Getting Started
This section provides an introduction to SteelCentral Portal and describes the basic information needed to
get started quickly, regardless of role.
 “Introduction“
 “The Basics“

After reviewing this section, jump to the section that corresponds with your role:
 “Dashboards Content Viewer“
 “Dashboards Content Creator“
 “Administrator“

SteelCentral Portal 13
CHAPTER 1 Introduction

SteelCentral Portal fully integrates and correlates data from Riverbed's industry-leading SteelCentral
solutions to create a centralized, dynamic view of your organization’s application performance
infrastructure. This holistic view gives operational teams a single source for application performance,
accelerating troubleshooting, and providing meaningful data for stakeholders throughout the enterprise.

Features
SteelCentral Portal provides the following features:
 Powerful, adaptive out-of-the-box workflows
For each application, SteelCentral Portal includes adaptive workflows for application status,
monitoring, and troubleshooting. From the Home screen, you have one-click access to workflows. You
can determine the information you need and let SteelCentral Portal automatically curate different
workflows based on available data sources. As data sources are updated or added, SteelCentral Portal
updates workflows.
 Centralized reporting for a standard view to communicate to stakeholders
SteelCentral Portal gives you a central source of truth for application performance and supporting
infrastructure so you can more rapidly diagnose the root cause for issues and you can present
meaningful data to stakeholders.
 Role-based views
SteelCentral Portal offers each stakeholder a role-based home screen that prioritizes the information
that is most important to that user. You can include custom dashboards and default dashboards
tailored to the individual’s needs.
 SteelHead integration
With your SteelHead appliances integrated to AppResponse (9.x) or NetProfiler, you can look across
your Wide Area Network view, both non-optimized and optimized traffic. Regardless of whether the
data resides in the data center, branch, or in the cloud, SteelCentral Portal users can drill down to
understand which applications are optimized, which are running and what users are doing.
 Wizard-driven application model
SteelCentral Portal’s application model takes an interactive, wizard-driven process to help you
discover and build a model for your operational environment. As a result, you reduce the amount of
time and effort needed to develop and implement a reporting framework.
 Central Management
Portal supports the ability to centrally manage AppResponse 11 appliances. You can specify which
connected appliances to centrally manage, update the managed appliances, and push and remove
configuration elements to and from the managed appliances.

SteelCentral Portal 14
 Introduction

Benefits
By collecting performance and metric data from different data sources, SteelCentral Portal visually displays
the status and performance of applications in a simple, unified, and intuitive interface.

SteelCentral Portal

Dashboards Mapping Reports Analytics

Key benefits of SteelCentral Portal include

 Dashboards
– Provide the ability to monitor application status and performance
– Define custom dashboards for specific use-cases and stakeholders
– Troubleshoot issues and identify low-level problems
– Display both live and historical data
– Blend data from multiple data sources
 Mapping
– Build application maps from which dynamic dashboards are automatically created for monitoring
the status and performance of applications in real time
– Create application maps by searching data sources for hosts and discovering relationships
 Reports
– Capture information of interest in a PDF file that can be distributed to colleagues and management
 Analytics
– Perform analyses and troubleshoot issues

For more information, see

 “The End-To-End Solution“
 “Where to Start: General Workflows“

SteelCentral Portal 15
 Introduction

The End-To-End Solution

SteelCentral Portal fuses data from multiple SteelCentral products already implemented in your
environment. Using application maps that you define, SteelCentral Portal creates dashboards for
monitoring the performance and status of the applications. The dashboards are dynamic and adjust as new
data and data sources become available. Additionally, default dashboards are automatically created based
on the available data sources and you can create custom dashboards using templates.
The following figure shows how performance information is obtained from SteelCentral products and
displayed in application dashboards, custom dashboards, and default dashboards.

Application Dashboard

Custom Dashboard Default Dashboard

SteelCentral Portal

AppInternals Aternity NetIM UCExpert

AppResponse NetCollector/ NetProfiler

NetSensor

To satisfy customer requirements, SteelCentral Portal can be customized at all levels—globally (all
dashboards), per dashboard (all panels in a dashboard), per panel (all elements in a panel), and per element.
Additionally, you can customize sets of object metrics (content templates) and elements (visualization
styles) that can be easily and quickly selected when creating a dashboard or panel. Lastly, elements can be
grouped in a hierarchy, making it easier to monitor and drilldown for details.

Related Topics
 “Data Source Management“
 “Inheriting Setting Changes“

SteelCentral Portal 16
 Introduction

Where to Start: General Workflows

A good place to start is “The Basics“.
After that, the starting point depends on your role and what you want to accomplish. Generally,
SteelCentral Portal users are classified into the following roles.
 “Dashboards Content Viewer“
Responsible for monitoring application status and performance, and investigating issues.
 “Dashboards Content Creator“
Responsible for creating dashboards/resources, and sharing the dashboards/resources with other
users.
 “Administrator“
Responsible for installing and configuring software, managing users, and on-going maintenance.
 “Central Manager“
Responsible for managing AppResponse 11 appliances.

SteelCentral Portal 17
CHAPTER 2 The Basics

 “Access SteelCentral Portal“

 “The Home Screen“
– “Dashboards“
– “Search Option“
– “Data Source Status“
 “The User Interface“
– “Navigation“
– “Dashboard Groups“
– “Key Performance Indicators on Home Screen Cards“
– “Anatomy of a Dashboard“
– “Time Range“
– “Toolbars“
 “Customize Dashboard Look and Behavior“

Related Topics
 “Where to Start: General Workflows“

SteelCentral Portal 18
 The Basics

Access SteelCentral Portal

SteelCentral Portal is accessed using a Web browser. Simply enter the URL into the web browser address
field and, if necessary, login. For the exact URL and credentials, contact a Portal Administrator.

Procedure 1 Accessing SteelCentral Portal

1. Open a web browser and enter the URL for SteelCentral Portal. By default, the URL is as follows:

https://<hostname or IP address>

2. If prompted, enter your username and password and click Sign In.

The SteelCentral Portal Home screen appears.

The Home screen provides access to dashboards (for monitoring application performance) and to
options (for creating/maintaining dashboards and applications), depending on your role and
assigned permissions. For more information, see “The Home Screen“.

End of Procedure 1

For security reasons, be sure to log out after completing your session. To log out, click Sign Out, located in
the upper-right corner of the SteelCentral Portal screen.

SteelCentral Portal 19
 The Basics

The Home Screen

The Home screen provides access to dashboards and options based on the permissions assigned to your
account. Portal supports both light and dark themes.

SteelCentral Portal 20
 The Basics

Dashboards
SteelCentral Portal allows you to create, manage, and view dashboards. A dashboard is a visual display of
key performance indicators allowing you to monitor application performance. Typically, the displayed
information is consolidated and arranged on a single screen to allow for at-a-glance monitoring.
In general, important characteristics and distinctions of dashboards are:
 Creation
Dashboards can be created manually (using a template or free-hand) or automatically/dynamically
based on application models and available metrics from data sources.
 Editability
Some dashboards can be edited, meaning the content can be modified and the modifications can be
saved for future viewing.
 Interactivity
Users can drilldown (either by double-clicking or by right-click options) for more detailed information
in a temporary drilldown dashboard.
 Availability
Viewing of specific dashboards can be limited to particular users or groups of users. Additionally, the
ability to drilldown can be restricted.
 Automatic Update
Live dashboards (meaning dashboards that show the most recent n amount of time) update
automatically at regular intervals.

More specifically, the following table lists the types of dashboards that are available in SteelCentral Portal.

Table 1 Types of Dashboards Available in SteelCentral Portal

Type Creation Editability Automatic Update

Application Manual (through the user interface) Yes (with user permission) Yes

Custom Manual (using a template or free-hand) Yes (with user permission) Yes

Default Automatic/dynamic (based on available No Yes

data sources)

Drilldown Double-click/right-click options No Yes

The dashboard types are described in the following sections.

SteelCentral Portal 21
 The Basics

About Application Dashboards

Application dashboards are based on defined application models. (Application models consist of the
servers and relationships used by applications.) From each defined application map, SteelCentral Portal
generates the following dashboards based on the available metrics from data sources:
 High-Level Summary
 End-User Experience
 Application Map
 Application Performance
 Network Performance
While you can make configuration edits, you cannot change the metric data shown in application
dashboards. However, depending on the change, modifying application models can alter the information
shown in the dashboards.
Application dashboards can be shared with others. If an application model is altered after being shared, the
changes are automatically seen by the shared users after the changes are published.
If assigned the Drilldown Access permission, you can drilldown for detailed information.

About Custom Dashboards

Custom dashboards are created by the dashboards content creator to satisfy monitoring requirements not met
by application dashboards. Custom dashboards are crafted to display the necessary metrics and
dirilldowns to identify and troubleshoot application performance issues.
A custom dashboard can be created using one or more of the following methods:
 using a wizard and template
 saving an application dashboard or a default dashboard
 defining each panel manually
 copying and pasting a panel from another dashboard
After being created, a custom dashboard can be shared with other users. If the dashboard is edited after
being shared, the changes are automatically seen by the shared users after the changes are published.
If assigned the Drilldown Access permission, you can drilldown for detailed information.

SteelCentral Portal 22
 The Basics

About Default Dashboards

Default dashboards, are automatically created based on metric data from the available data sources. When
the available data sources and metric data change, the information shown in the default dashboards also
change.
A default dashboard cannot be edited. However, a default dashboard can be saved as a custom dashboard,
and edited as necessary. Additionally, panels can be copied from a default dashboard to a custom
dashboard, and edited as necessary.
If assigned the Drilldown Access permission, you can drilldown for detailed information.

About Drilldown Dashboards

Drilldown dashboards provide quick and easy access to detailed information for troubleshooting current
or potential performance issues. Drilldown dashboards are created by either of the following actions,
provided the user has the Drilldown Access permission:
 double-click on an element
 right-click on an element and choose a drilldown option
A drilldown dashboard can be saved as a custom dashboard, and edited as necessary.

Search Option
Use the Search option to search across all connected data sources for an object, such as a business group,
web application, host, device, or IP address. The type-ahead feature displays matching results as you type.
Click the object and choose one of the available templates to view data for that object. Alternatively, click
the “Show all result for...” link to see the “Search Results for...: page. You can also use the Search option to
search for your custom dashboards (by name) and open them from the list of matching results. For more
information, see “Search Bar“.

SteelCentral Portal 23
 The Basics

Data Source Status

The Data Source Status appears in the upper-left of the Home screen.

The following table lists the possible statuses.

Symbol Description

All data sources are connected.

At least one (but not all) data source is

disconnected.

All data sources are disconnected.

If the status indicates that data sources are disconnected, then a user with the ability to manage data sources
can start the troubleshooting process by attempting to reconnect data sources. Double-click the data source
status icon. Then select the disconnected data source and click the Reconnect button. For more information
see “Data Source Management“.)

SteelCentral Portal 24
 The Basics

The User Interface

SteelCentral Portal implements a uniform user interface, making it easy to learn and use. For more
information, see:
 “Navigation“
 “Anatomy of a Dashboard“
 “Time Range“
 “Toolbars“

Navigation
Open a Dashboard
 To open a dashboard, click the card on the Home screen.

Open Another Dashboard

 To open a different dashboard, click the dark bar on the left side of the current dashboard. Then use the
“Dashboard Group Navigator“ to select another dashboard.

Return to the Home screen

 To return to the Home screen, choose the HOME menu option.
Alternatively, click the browser’s Back button.

View Details for an Application Dashboard

 When viewing an application dashboard, click the down-arrow ( ) button next to the application
name and choose an option.

Alternatively, click the Inspect ( ) icon on the “Panel Toolbar“ for which you want more detail.

View Details for a Custom or Default Dashboard

 Double-click on an element or right-click on a element and choose an option to view details in a
floating window. Click the X in the upper-right corner to close the floating window.
 For Custom dashboards, choose a right-click Drilldown option to display the details in a new
dashboard. To return to the previous screen, click your browser’s Back button.
 For Custom and Default dashboards, choose the right-click Launch option to view the more data in the
data source.

View Details for an Application

 To view the Application Inspector, select Dashboards > Performance Inspectors: Application and then
use the “Dashboard Wizard“.

Alternatively, you can access the Application Inspector by searching for an application and selecting
the Application Details template.

SteelCentral Portal 25
 The Basics

 When viewing an Application Details dashboard, click the down-arrow ( ) button next to the
dashboard title to choose content options and the data sources to focus on.

View Details for a Host

 To view the Host Inspector, select Dashboards > Performance Inspectors: Host and then use the
“Dashboard Wizard“.

Alternatively, you can access the Host Inspector by searching for an IP address or host and selecting
the Host Details template.

 When viewing a Host Details dashboard, click the down-arrow ( ) button next to the dashboard title
to choose content options and the data sources to focus on.

View Details for a Host Group

 To view the Host Group Inspector, select Dashboards > Performance Inspectors: Host Group and then
use the “Dashboard Wizard“.

Alternatively, you can access the Host Group Inspector by searching for a host group or IP address and
selecting the Host Group Details template.

 When viewing a Host Group Details dashboard, click the down-arrow ( ) button next to the
dashboard title to choose content options and the data sources to focus on.

View Details for an IP Conversation

 To view the IP Conversation Inspector, select Dashboards > Performance Inspectors: IP Conversation
and then use the “Dashboard Wizard“.

Alternatively, you can access the IP Conversation Inspector by searching for an IP conversation and
selecting the IP Conversation Details template.

 When viewing an IP Conversation Details dashboard, click the down-arrow ( ) button next to the
dashboard title to choose content options and the data sources to focus on.

Related Topics
 “The User Interface“

SteelCentral Portal 26
 The Basics

Dashboard Groups
Use dashboard groups to organize dashboards on the Home screen (requires Dashboard Configuration
read-write permission).
Dashboard groups are global for the Portal instance: all users share the same set of groups. However, not
all groups have to be visible on all users’ home screens.

Built-in Dashboard Groups

The following dashboard groups are created and populated automatically:
 Application Dashboards: includes cards for application dashboards. Use the “Resource Management“
screen to control which content option to show when the application dashboard is opened.
 Default Dashboards: includes the default dashboards for the connected data sources.
 Uncategorized Dashboards: includes custom dashboards that have not been added to any other
dashboard groups.
Built-in dashboard groups will not appear on the Home screen if they are empty or if they are removed by
the user.

Manage Dashboard Groups

Choose Administration > Dashboards: Dashboard Groups to create, edit, and delete groups.
Use Edit to set the order of dashboards within a group. You can also add custom dashboards and instances
of dashboard templates to the group. These settings are global for the Portal instance and cannot be
overridden by users. Users can change the order of, and choose not to see, dashboard groups.
You can add dashboard groups from the Administration > Dashboards: Dashboard Groups page, from the
add icon ( ) on the toolbar when viewing a dashboard, and from the gear icon ( ) on Home screen
cards.

Edit Home Screen

Choose Administration > Dashboards: Edit Home Screen to configure your Home screen (requires Home
Screen Customization permission). You can set the display order of groups, hide or show groups, and reset
to the default home screen configuration.
If you have the read-write Dashboard Configuration permission, you can set the current Home screen
configuration to be the default for all users.
Click the Reset to Default button to remove user-level customization. If you have the read-write Dashboard
Configuration permission, then a second reset will reset the home screen back to the factory default.

Dashboard Group Navigator

Use the Dashboard Group Navigator to quickly access other dashboards without returning to the Home
screen. Click the dark bar on the left side of a dashboard to access the Dashboard Group Navigator which
shows an outline view of groups and dashboards with the open dashboard highlighted.

SteelCentral Portal 27
 The Basics

Key Performance Indicators on Home Screen Cards

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on Home screen cards give you a quick view of the status of the items
you are monitoring.
KPIs are provided for many default dashboards and for other curated content (for example, instances of
dashboard templates such as Host Details and Application Details).
“Custom Dashboard Templates“ support KPIs. If a KPI is set on a custom dashboard and you templatize
it, Portal will try to templatize the KPI.
You can disable all the KPIs on your Home screen. To do this, select Administration > Dashboards: User
Dashboard Settings, then uncheck Enable KPI on Home Screen.
You can also disable KPIs for all users (requires Dashboard Configuration read-write permission). To do this,
select Administration >Dashboards: Global Dashboard Settings, then uncheck Enable KPI on Home
Screen.

Note: A KPI can only be a single object-metric pair and neither aggregations nor live searches are
supported.

Adding and Changing KPIs

Dashboard Content Creators can add KPIs to dashboards (one KPI per dashboard). You can add KPIs to a
dashboard from the Home screen or from the dashboard (in edit mode). To create or edit a KPI you must
have the read-write Resource Configuration permission and access to the dashboard. If a dashboard has
multiple content options, the KPI is tied to just one of them.
To create (or change) a KPI from a dashboard in edit mode, right click on the element if the KPI object-metric
pair is visible on the dashboard and select Set as KPI for Dashboard. If the object-metric pair is not visible,
then click the gear icon ( ) and select Add KPI for Dashboard....
To create (or change) a KPI from the Home screen, click the gear icon ( ) on the card and select Add KPI
for Dashboard....
When adding a KPI, the “Object Selection Wizard“ opens in single-select mode.

Customizing KPIs
To customize a KPI for a dashboard, select Modify KPI for Dashboard... from the gear icon on the
dashboard’s Home screen card or from the gear icon in the toolbar from the dashboard’s edit screen.
 Selected Object and Selected Metric: clicking on either of the fields will open the “Object Selection
Wizard“ and let you specify a new object-metric pair to use for the KPI.
 Style: select one of: Sparkline with Value, Sparkline with Status, Text Value, or Text Value with Status.
 KPI Settings: configure additional KPI settings.
 Threshold: provides convenient access to configuring associated thresholds:
– Individual threshold for the specific object-metric pair
– Pattern-based threshold populated for object type and metric

SteelCentral Portal 28
 The Basics

Anatomy of a Dashboard
Regardless of the type (Application, Custom, Default), dashboards are comprised of panels, and panels are
comprised of elements.
 Panels
In the following figure, the sample dashboard has six panels. Also note the “Dashboard Toolbar“ in the
upper-right. The available toolbar options are dependent upon your assigned permissions and the
dashboard type.

Panel Panel Panel Dashboard

Toolbar

Panel Panel Panel

 Elements
The following figure shows a single panel. In this case, each line is an element. Depending on your
assigned permissions and the dashboard type, you can right-click on an element for additional options.
Also note the “Panel Toolbar“ that appears when you place the mouse pointer in the upper-right of the
panel. The available toolbar options are dependent upon your assigned permissions and the
dashboard type.

Panel
Toolbar

Right-click on an
element for
additional
options

When a dashboard is created, the Dashboards Content Creator selects the appropriate element type for
the metric. The available element types are area graph, bar chart, compact row, donut chart, gauge,
historic comparison row, geographic map, LED, LED Column, LED series, line graph, pie chart,
sparkline, table, text, and value row.

SteelCentral Portal 29
 The Basics

Time Range
When on the home screen or viewing a dashboard, you can change the time range for a broader or narrower
perspective.
When specifying the time range, you can choose between the following options:
 Live (Most recent)—Use this option to determine the current state of an application. This
“Most recent” option is a live search from the current time to a specified amount of time in the past
(e.g.: 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day, etc.). The home screen or dashboard is updated at regular intervals, since
the current time is always moving forward.
 Static (Custom)—Use this option to identify performance trends over a specified time period in the
past (e.g.: CPU usage for last month).

Note the following:

 Locked Time Range: Under certain conditions, even if you have the assigned permission, you may not
be able to change the time range for a custom dashboard. If the time range for a custom dashboard is
locked by the Dashboards Content Creator, then other users are prohibited from changing the time range.
Additionally, if the Dashboards Content Creator specifies a time range for a specific panel in a custom
dashboard, then changing the time range for the dashboard will not change the time range for the
panel.
 Home Screen Time Range: All of the KPIs on the home screen respect the specified time range.
 Performance Considerations: Wide time ranges can impact performance. For best performance, keep
time ranges as narrow as possible. And, if you do need to specify a wide time range, be sure to reset the
time range to a narrower time range when your analysis is complete.

SteelCentral Portal 30
 The Basics

Toolbars
 “Dashboard Cards on Home Screen“
 “Application Dashboards“
 “Dashboard Toolbar“
 “Panel Toolbar“

Dashboard Cards on Home Screen

To access a specific dashboard, click the card on “The Home Screen“.
Here are some typical cards.

For quick access to common operations, click the Settings/Gear ( ) option, available on Application and
Custom dashboard cards. The availability of certain options is dependent on the type of dashboard
(Application, Custom) and the permissions assigned to your account.
 Edit Description: Modifies the description shown on the card (only works if the description is visible
on the dashboard card).
 Modify Icon…: Changes the icon associated with the dashboard. By default, the first letter of the name
is shown in a circle.
 Rename: Renames the dashboard.
 Add to Group: Adds dashboard to a new group or an existing group.
 Remove from Group: Removes dashboard from its current group (it will return to the “Uncategorized
Dashboards” group).
 Add KPI for Dashboard…: Adds a Key Performance Indicator to be used on the dashboard card.
 Modify KPI for Dashboard…: Modifies the Key Performance Indicator to be used on the dashboard
card.
 Clear KPI for Dashboard…: Clears the Key Performance Indicator. The dashboard card will revert to
showing the description.
 Edit Application: Opens the application in the application model editor for modification.
 Delete Application: Deletes the application.

SteelCentral Portal 31
 The Basics

Application Dashboards
When you open an application dashboard, the high level summary dashboard appears. For detailed
information, click the down-arrow ( ) button next to the application name and choose an option:
 End-User Experience
 Application Map
 Application Performance
 Network Performance
Alternatively, click the Inspect ( ) icon on the “Panel Toolbar“ for which you want more detail.
To return to the high level summary dashboard, click the down-arrow ( ) button and choose
High-Level Summary or use your browser’s Back button.

Dashboard Toolbar
The Dashboard Toolbar is located in the upper-right of all dashboards.

The dashboard toolbar provides quick access to common operations. The availability of certain options is
dependent on the type of dashboard (Application, Custom, Default), the current dashboard mode (monitor,
edit), and the permissions assigned to your account.
The following table lists the dashboard toolbar options.

Table 2 Dashboard Toolbar Options

Option Icon Description

Search Creates a dashboard for a found object.

For more information, see “Search Bar“.

Time Range Specifies the time range of data shown in the dashboard.
For more information, see “Time Range“.

Add to Group Adds the dashboard to one or more dashboard groups or create
new dashboard groups.
For more information, see “Dashboard Groups“.

Analytics Performs analyses and troubleshoots issues.

For more information, see “Analytics“.

Refresh Reloads the current page.

SteelCentral Portal 32
 The Basics

Table 2 Dashboard Toolbar Options (Continued)

Option Icon Description

Save As Custom Saves the current dashboard as a new custom dashboard after
Dashboard prompting for a new dashboard name.

Link or Embed Provides quick access to live, read-only dashboard content.

Dashboard
For more information, see “Provide Access to Dashboards by
URLs and Embedded HTML“.

Create a Custom Invokes the Custom Dashboard Template Wizard.

Dashboard Template
For more information, see “Custom Dashboard Templates“.
from this Dashboard
Create a Report from this Creates a report based on the current dashboard.
Dashboard
For more information, see “Create Reports from the Report
Icon“.

Edit Dashboard Places the dashboard in edit mode.

(This option is available when a custom dashboard is in
monitor mode.)

Dashboard Settings Defines dashboard-specific settings.

(This option is available when a custom dashboard is in
edit mode.)
For more information, see “Customize Dashboard Look and
Behavior“.

Add Content Adds a new panel to the dashboard.

(This option is available when a custom dashboard is in
edit mode.)

Done Editing Places the dashboard in monitor mode.

(This option is available when a custom dashboard is in
edit mode.)

SteelCentral Portal 33
 The Basics

Panel Toolbar
Each panel has a toolbar for performing options on the panel. The following figure shows a panel toolbar.
To display the toolbar, move the mouse pointer to the upper-right corner of the panel.

Figure 1 Panel Toolbar

The following table lists the panel toolbar options.

Table 3 Panel Toolbar Options

Option Icon Description

Inspect Displays detailed information.

(This option is available only on the high level summary dashboard for
an application.)

Refresh Reloads the panel.

Edit Settings Edits the thresholds, object properties, and allows you to copy the
panel.
Additional options are available if the custom dashboard is in edit
mode: pane configuration, time range settings, visualization styles, and
grouping options.

Add Content to panel Opens the Object Selection Wizard to add elements to the panel.
(This option is available when a custom dashboard is in edit mode.)
For more information, see “Using the Object Selection Wizard“.

Close Deletes the panel.

(This option is available when a custom dashboard is in edit mode.)

Note: If you do not see all of the panel toolbar options, then you either don’t have the assigned permission
to perform the option or the custom dashboard is not in edit mode. To edit a dashboard, click the
Edit Dashboard ( ) icon on the “Dashboard Toolbar“.

Related Topics
 “The User Interface“

SteelCentral Portal 34
 The Basics

Customize Dashboard Look and Behavior

You can customize the look and behavior of dashboards to suite your personal preference, including:
 whether to display the dashboard navigator
 whether to display KPIs on the Home Screen
 whether to enable Operations View—which shrinks the header to provide more display area for
dashboards
 choosing dark or light theme
 drilldown options on element right-click menus
 and many others...
These customizations are defined with the User Settings option

Note: Changes made with the User Dashboard Settings option apply only to you, and not other users.

Procedure 2 Customize User Settings

1. Go to Administration > Dashboards: User Dashboard Settings.

The User Settings dialog box appears.

2. Change the settings as desired.

Note the following:

• Setting Descriptions: For a description of a setting, place the mouse pointer over the option text to
display a tooltip.

• Identify Non-Default Settings: When a default setting is modified, an asterisk displays next to the
option text as a visual cue that the default setting has been changed.

3. Click OK to save the changes.

Or, click Restore to System Global Settings to reset all settings to the globally defined settings,
including the drilldown settings.

End of Procedure 2

SteelCentral Portal 35
Dashboards Content Viewer
This section describes the role of the Dashboards Content Viewer, who is responsible for monitoring
application status and performance. Additionally, dashboards content viewers may be responsible for
troubleshooting existing and potential issues.
 “Monitor and Troubleshoot“
 “Reports and Analytics“

Related Topics
 “Getting Started“
 “Dashboards Content Creator“
 “Administrator“

SteelCentral Portal 36
CHAPTER 3 Monitor and Troubleshoot

Use SteelCentral Portal to monitor and troubleshoot application/network status and performance.
Monitor:
 “Opening a Dashboard“
 “Changing the Time Range“
 “Cycling Dashboards“

Troubleshoot:
 “Troubleshoot Right-Click Options“
 “Drilldown“
 “Launch into the Data Source“
 “Analytics“
 “AppNetwork Path Analysis“

Related Topics
 “Dashboards Content Creator“

SteelCentral Portal 37
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

Opening a Dashboard
If you did not specify the URL for a specific dashboard, the Home screen appears when you login.
From the Home screen, click the card for the dashboard you want to open.
To return to the Home screen, click HOME on the menu bar.
If you do not see the dashboard that you want to view, contact a Content Creator.

Changing the Time Range

To change the time range of a dashboard, click the time range option and select a time range.

• To show live data, click one of the “Recent” options:

Recent 15 minutes, Recent hour, Recent 4 hours, Recent day, Recent week.

• To show static data, click the “Select a Time Range” option and specify the time range.
The specified time range becomes your new default time range, until you change it.

Note: Dashboards may be configured with a time range that you may not be able to change.

For more information, see “Time Range“.

SteelCentral Portal 38
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

Cycling Dashboards
The Dashboard Cycling feature is used to cycle through dashboards, typically for display on a large screen
in a network operations center. Simply specify a Dashboard Group to use for cycling and SteelCentral Portal
will cycle through all of the dashboards in the group, showing each dashboard for the defined interval.
Note the following:
 Defined on a per-user basis
Each user can define a Dashboard Group for cycling.
 Restricted to accessible dashboards
Only dashboards that a user can access can be specified for cycling.

WARNING: Dashboard cycling adds extra load to the system and will impact the overall performance of
SteelCentral Portal for all users.

Procedure 3 Cycling Dashboards

1. Select Administration> Dashboards: Dashboard Cycling.

The “Dashboard Cycling” screen appear

2. Select the Enable checkbox.

3. Select the Cycling Interval.

4. Select the Cycling Group.

5. Click the Start Dashboard Cycling button.

5.1. Move the mouse pointer outside of the browser window.

6. Stop/redirect dashboard cycling:

6.1. Move the mouse pointer inside the browser window.

The dashboard cycling controls appear at the bottom of the window.

6.2. Click one or more of the following:

- Previous: Displays the previous dashboard
- Next: Displays the next dashboard
- Stop: Stops dashboard cycling

For example, suppose you saw something in the previous dashboard that you wanted to see
again. You could click Previous (to display the previous dashboard) and then click Stop (to stop
dashboard cycling). To restart dashboard cycling, choose Administration > Dashboards:
Dashboard Cycling and click the Start Dashboard Cycling button.

End of Procedure 3

SteelCentral Portal 39
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

Troubleshoot Right-Click Options

For a quick and easy way to troubleshoot an issue, simply right-click on an element and choose an available
option. The following table lists right-click options in alphabetical order.

Table 4 Right-Click Options for Troubleshooting

Element Right-Click Option Description

Analytics Performs analyses. When created, analytics appear in pop-up panels.

For more information, see “Analytics“.

Display in Graph Displays the metric for the selected element in a graph. When created, the
graph appears in a pop-up panel.

Drilldowns Displays detailed information,

For more information, see “Drilldown“

Download Packets Displays a list of AppResponse packet capture jobs.

Is available for IP addresses and IP conversations. Selecting a capture job
launches the AppResponse web UI, takes you to the Insight page for the
selected object, and opens/populates the download packets dialog box.

Find Transactions Launches Transaction Trace Warehouse for viewing transactions.

For more information, see “View Transactions in Transaction Trace
Warehouse“.

Launch Launches the data source for viewing the raw data.
For more information, see “Launch into the Data Source“.

Open in New Panel Displays the selected element in a new panel.

Reports Creates reports.

For more information, see “Create Reports from an Element Right-Click
Menu“.

Response Time Composition Displays a response time composition chart in a new panel.
Chart

View Members Displays members of the grouped element in a pop-up panel.

For more information, see “View Members of a Group“.
View Members with Displays members of a grouped element with warning/critical status in a
Warning/Critical Status pop-up panel.
For more information, see “View Members of a Group“.

SteelCentral Portal 40
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

Drilldown
For detailed information, double-click on an element. Also, you can use the Drilldown option on the
element right-click menu. You need Drilldown Access permission access to use this feature.

Procedure 4 Using the Drilldown Option

1. Right-click on an element and choose Drilldowns.

2. Select an available dashboard from the list.

(When a dashboard is available, that means the data to create the dashboard can be obtained from the
data source. Unavailable dashboards are grayed-out.)

The drilldown dashboard appears.

The following figure shows an example of the Drilldown option.

End of Procedure 4

SteelCentral Portal 41
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

View Members of a Group

For grouped elements, you can view all members or view members with warning/critical status. Simply
right-click on the grouped element and choose the View Members or the View Members with
Warning/Critical Status options.

SteelCentral Portal 42
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

Launch into the Data Source

For additional troubleshooting information, you can launch into the data source of the metric data.

Procedure 5 Launching into the Data Source

1. Right-click on an element.

2. From the right-click menu, choose Launch and select an option from the sub-menu.

The selected data source appears in a new browser tab.

Note: If you are not already logged in to the data source, the data source login page appears and
requests your username and password. For more information about the data source, see the data
source documentation.

End of Procedure 5

SteelCentral Portal 43
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

View Transactions in Transaction Trace Warehouse

If configured, for AppInternals (9.x) and AppResponse (9.x), you can drilldown into metrics to view
transactions in Transaction Trace Warehouse. (Transaction Trace Warehouse, a component of
AppInternals (9.x), collects all transactions from monitored applications and makes them available for
searches and analysis.)
To view transactions in Transaction Trace Warehouse, right-click on an element and choose
Find Transactions. Transaction Trace Warehouse opens in a new browser tab and displays the related
transaction.

Right-click on an element and

choose “Find Transactions”

If you are not already logged in, the Transaction Trace Warehouse login page appears and requests your
username and password. For more information about Transaction Trace Warehouse, see the Transaction
Trace Warehouse online documentation.

SteelCentral Portal 44
 Monitor and Troubleshoot

AppNetwork Path Analysis

SteelCentral Portal provides Application Network Path (ANP) Analysis, which is the determination of the
Layer 2 and Layer 3 path through the network between a given IP address pair. The result includes detailed
identification of each device and interface in that path.

Requirements for AppNetwork Path Analysis

The following is required for AppNetwork Path analysis:
 One of the following data sources must be connected to SteelCentral Portal:
– NetCollector 18.0.5 and later
– NetIM 1.0.0 and later
– NetSensor 3.0.0 and later
 The connected data source must be configured for AppNetwork Path Analysis and must have access to
the necessary devices. For more information, see the NetSensor User Guide or the NetIM User Guide.

Generating an AppNetwork Path Analysis for NetIM

AppNetwork Path Analysis is provided as a contextual launch into NetIM. The launch is available from the
right click menu on Monitored Path Definition objects and IP address pairs.

Generating an AppNetwork Path Analysis for NetIM (<2.3.0)

AppNetwork Path Analysis requires an IP pair.
There are two methods for generating AppNetwork Path Analysis:
 Method 1: Generating an AppNetwork Path Analysis from an Object Representing an IP Pair
This method generates an AppNetwork Path Analysis for an IP pair or anything representing
communicating pairs from NetProfiler or AppResponse (9.x). For example: an application relationship,
IP conversation pairs, top talkers. Simply right-click on the object and choose the drilldown option.
 Method 2: Generating an AppNetwork Path Analysis between two Specified IPs
This method generates an AppNetwork Path Analysis between two specified IPs. The analysis only
includes a list (not a diagram) of devices that are accessible to NetCollector/NetSensor or NetIM. This
method is performed using the Object Selection Wizard.

AppNetwork Path Analysis FAQs

How is AppNetwork Path Analysis calculated?
For detailed information about AppNetwork Path Analysis, see NetCollector/NetSensor or NetIM
User Guide > Application Path Analysis.

Why is AppNetwork Path option sometimes grayed out?

The option is not available when IP pairs and their connected devices are not accessible to
NetCollector/NetSensor or NetIM.

Why does AppNetwork Path Analysis sometimes fail?

The analysis can fail because the requirements were not met or due to the lack of available data.

SteelCentral Portal 45
CHAPTER 4 Reports and Analytics

Use the reports and analytics features to capture information for distribution, future reference, and
troubleshooting application performance and status.
For more information, see:
 “Reports“
Captures information of interest in a PDF file that can be distributed to colleagues and management.
Additionally, reports can include analytic sections.
 “Analytics“
Perform analyses and troubleshoot issues. When created, analytics appear in pop-up panels.

SteelCentral Portal 46
 Reports and Analytics

Reports
Use the reporting feature to capture information of interest in a PDF file that can be distributed to colleagues
and management. Additionally, reports can include analytic sections.
There are three ways to create reports, depending on the content that you want included in the report:
 Reports menu (based on no prior content)
Use this method to define a report without any prior context, including a report template and
parameters. From the Reports menu, choose a template or choose Create…, then follow the on-screen
instructions.

For more information, see “Create Reports from the Reports Menu“.
 Element right-click menu (based on panel content)
Use this method to define a report based on the information in the element’s panel. Right-click on an
element in a dashboard, choose Reports, and then select a report option. Then follow the on-screen
instructions.

For more information, see “Create Reports from an Element Right-Click Menu“.
 Report toolbar icon (for a printout of the existing dashboard)
Use this method to create a report of the open dashboard. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, simply click
the Report ( ) icon and follow the on-screen instructions.

For more information, see “Create Reports from the Report Icon“.
All reports are created in PDF and require a PDF viewer (e.g., Adobe Reader).
All reports are saved on the SteelCentral Portal server in the user’s download directory. (For example:
C:\Users\admin\Downloads.)

Related Topics
 “Reports and Analytics“

Create Reports from the Reports Menu

Use this method to define a report without any prior context, including a report template and parameters.
From the Reports menu, choose a template or choose Create…, then follow the on-screen instructions.

Note: To create reports from the Reports menu, you must have the Resource Configuration permission.

Procedure 6 Create Reports (from the reports Menu)

1. From the Reports menu, choose Create…

Alternatively, from the Reports menu, choose a report from the FEATURED list of reports.

If Create… was selected, the “Create a New Report” dialog box appear.

Select a report and click Next.

SteelCentral Portal 47
 Reports and Analytics

2. If applicable, follow the on-screen prompts for report parameters.

3. Lastly, the report options dialog box appears.

4. Specify the report options:

• Title: The report tile shown on the cover page.

Note: Do not use a slash (“/”) in the report title, which causes the report to fail.

• Time Range: The time range for the report. Click the current time range to specify a different time
range.

• Paper Size: The page size.

• Paper Orientation: The page orientation. Choose Portrait or Landscape.

• Options:

• Cover Page: Whether to include a cover page.

• Generate Captions: Whether to include descriptive captions below the panels.

5. Click Next.

The report status appears in the upper-right, next to the user name.
Place the mouse pointer over the status for a toolip.
When complete, the report can be opened for viewing.

Note: You must have a PDF viewer to view the report.

6. Optionally, and depending on the web browser, use the web browser’s Save As option to save the
report to your local computer.

Hint: Use your browser’s download history feature to view a previously created report.

End of Procedure 6

Create Reports from an Element Right-Click Menu

Use this method to define a report based on the information in the element’s panel. Right-click on an
element in a dashboard, choose Reports, and then select a report option. Then follow the on-screen
instructions.

Procedure 7 Create Reports (from an element right-click menu)

1. Open the dashboard of interest.

2. In the panel that you want to create a report for, right-click on an element, chose Reports, and then
choose a report.

The report options dialog box appears.

SteelCentral Portal 48
 Reports and Analytics

3. Specify the report options:

• Title: The report title shown on the cover page.

Note: Do not use a slash (“/”) in the report title, which causes the report to fail.

• Time Range: The time range for the report. Click the current time range to specify a different time
range.

• Paper Size: The page size.

• Paper Orientation: The page orientation. Choose Portrait or Landscape.

• Cover Page—Whether to include a cover page.

4. Click Create.

A status bar appears while the report is created. When complete, the report can be opened for
viewing.

Note: You must have a PDF viewer to view the report.

5. Optionally, and depending on the web browser, use the web browser’s Save As option to save the
report to your local computer.

Hint: Use your browser’s download history feature to view a previously created report.

End of Procedure 7

Related Topics
 “Create Reports from the Reports Menu“
 “Create Reports from the Report Icon“
 “Reports“

SteelCentral Portal 49
 Reports and Analytics

Create Reports from the Report Icon

Use this method to create a report of an open dashboard. Simply click the report toolbar button and follow
the instruction on the screen.

Note: Panels created using the analytic feature are not included in reports.

Procedure 8 Creating Reports from the Report Icon

1. Open the dashboard of interest.

2. Click the Report ( ) icon.

3. Choose the report that you want to create:

• Create a Report from this Dashboard…

• Metric Summary Report

• Change Analysis (1 Week Report)

• Change Analysis (1 Day Report)

The report options dialog box appears.

4. Specify the report options:

• Title: The report title shown on the cover page.

Note: Do not use a slash (“/”) in the report title, which causes the report to fail.

• Time Range: The time range for the report. Click the current time range to specify a different time
range.

• Layout: The panel layout:

- As Is to layout panels as they appear on the screen
- Single Column to layout panels in single column

Typically, the “Single Column” layout report will require more pages. However, depending on the
number of panel columns, the “Single Column” layout will be more readable than a report with
“As Is” layout.

Note: This option only applies when you select the Create a Report from this Dashboard… report.
(See step 3.)

SteelCentral Portal 50
 Reports and Analytics

• Paper Size: The page size.

• Paper Orientation: The page orientation. Choose Portrait or Landscape.

• Cover Page: Whether to include a cover page.

5. Click Create.

A status bar appears while the report is created. When complete, the report can be opened for
viewing.

Note: You must have a PDF viewer to view the report.

6. Optionally, and depending on the web browser, use the web browser’s Save As option to save the
report to your local computer.

Hint: Use your browser’s download history feature to view a previously created report.

End of Procedure 8

Related Topics
 “Create Reports from the Reports Menu“
 “Create Reports from an Element Right-Click Menu“
 “Reports“

SteelCentral Portal 51
 Reports and Analytics

Analytics
Use the analytics feature to perform analyses and troubleshoot issues. When created, analytics appear in
pop-up panels.
Analyses can be based on a dashboard or a specific element:
 Dashboard analysis (based on existing dashboard)
Use this method to generate an analysis based on all elements in a dashboard. On the “Dashboard
Toolbar“, simply click the Analytics ( ) icon and then select an available analysis option:
– Metric Summary
– Change Analysis (1 Week)
Compares all metrics in the dashboard with historical data from 1 week ago.
– Change Analysis (1 Day)
Compares all metrics in the dashboard with historical data from 1 day ago.
– Site Health Report Card
 Element-specific analysis (based on selected element)
Use this method to generate an analysis based on a selected element. Right-click on an element, choose
Analytics, and then select an available analysis option:
– Correlation Analysis
Identifies the metrics in the current dashboard that are most strongly correlated to the selected
element, even if those metrics are from different data source types. In the analysis results, the
anchor metric appears at the top of the table, and the correlated metrics fill in below it, in order
from most strongly to least strongly correlated. A higher correlation score means the metric is more
strongly correlated to the anchor metric, with the spark line providing a visual indication of where
in the target time period the metrics were correlated.
– .NET Activity Analysis
If the metric is monitoring .NET data, displays a detailed view of activity on the tier.
– Site Health Report Card

Related Topics
 “Reports and Analytics“
 “Monitor and Troubleshoot“

SteelCentral Portal 52
Dashboards Content Creator
This section describes the role of the Dashboards Content Creator, who is responsible for
creation/management of dashboards and applications

Dashboards
 “Create a Custom Dashboard in 60 Seconds“
 “Dashboard Components“
 “Create Custom Dashboards“
 “Threshold Management“

Applications Model
 “Application Models“
 “Create Application Models“
 “Application Model Editor“

Advanced Topics
 “Define Panels and Elements“
 “Data Source Searches“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“
 “Resource Management“

Related Topics
 “Getting Started“
 “Dashboards Content Viewer“
 “Administrator“

SteelCentral Portal 53
CHAPTER 5 Create a Custom Dashboard in 60
Seconds

SteelCentral Portal includes templates that can be used to quickly create custom dashboards to monitor
application status and performance.

Note: To create custom dashboards, you must have at least one connected data source. For information
about adding data sources, see “Managing Data Sources“.

To begin monitoring with a new custom dashboard, just select the appropriate template and then step
through a few short configuration steps. The following procedure describes the steps for creating a custom
dashboard using the wizard.

Procedure 9 Creating a Custom Dashboard using the Wizard

1. From the Dashboards menu, choose Create…

The “Create a New Dashboard” dialog box appears.

2. Select a dashboard template and click Next.

To filter the list of templates, use the Show pull-down list.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions, including:

• If there is more than one data source type that is used by a template (i.e., two connected
AppInternals data sources), then you are prompted to select the data source(s) from which to
include metrics.

• Select the applicable objects.

• Specify the dashboard name and size.

SteelCentral Portal 54
 Create a Custom Dashboard in 60 Seconds

The following figure shows the workflow from screen to screen.

The custom dashboard appears.

End of Procedure 9

SteelCentral Portal 55
CHAPTER 6 Dashboard Components

Dashboards are comprised of components (panels and elements) that display the necessary information for
monitoring status and performance.
For more information, see:
 “Understanding Dashboard Components“
 “Guidelines for Choosing Elements“
Related Topics
 “Create Custom Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 56
 Dashboard Components

Understanding Dashboard Components

The following sections describe the components of dashboards:
 “Panels“
 “Elements“

Panels

Note: This section describes panels, and how to control their display. For instructions on creating panel
content for dashboards, see “Define Panels and Elements“.

A dashboard is made up of panels. Each panel is a floating, arrangeable window that contains a particular
type of element (e.g., LEDs, gauges, graphs, etc.) You can group these elements in a meaningful way. (See
“Group Elements“.) Additionally, panels include options for defining the display and sorting of elements.
Each panel has a toolbar for performing tasks, such as refreshing the panel. (See “Panel Toolbar“.) If you
want to change the panel’s display, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon for options. For more information
about these settings, see “Configuring Panel Settings“.

Configuring Panel Settings

All the settings related to a panel, and how it displays data, can be found in the “Panel Configuration”
dialog box. Note that the changes you make with “Panel Configuration” dialog box affect all the elements
in the panel.

Procedure 10 Opening the “Panel Configuration” dialog box

1. Set the dashboard in edit mode:

1.1. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

2. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit > Panel Configuration.

The Panel Configuration dialog box appears.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box includes the following options:

• Panel Name: Specifies the name of the panel.

• Visualization Style: Selects a defined visualization style (element) for displaying metrics.

• Order By: Based on the style, there are three potential options for ordering elements:

Name (alphabetical or reverse alphabetical by the element label)

Status (green, yellow, and red)

Value (ascending or descending numerical value)

• Edit Panel Settings: Defines additional panel settings, such as the layout and the time aggregation
rules for elements.

SteelCentral Portal 57
 Dashboard Components

• Advanced Grouping: Defines element groups.

End of Procedure 10

Panel and Element Error Notifications

Occasionally, there may be errors when you create a panel. For example, the search that the panel was based
on may have failed, or the data source itself may have disconnected. In such situations, a message in the
panel notifies you of the error. For some panel errors, you can obtain additional information by clicking the
error ( ) icon in the upper-left corner of the panel (for example, when a panel based on a live search fails
to load). Additionally, the error icon will appear if there are errors with the data received from the data
source, such as when there are gaps in data.
By default, data-error notification for elements is disabled. However, you can enable the notification by
specifying a threshold value, as described in the following procedure.

Procedure 11 Setting the Threshold for Data Error Notifications

1. Perform one of the following:

• To set the notification threshold for all panels in a dashboard:

On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Dashboard Settings ( ) icon.

The “Dashboard Settings” dialog box appears.

• To set the notification threshold for a panel:

On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit > Panel Configuration.
Then click the Edit Panel Settings button.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears.

2. Scroll down to the Data Error Notification Threshold (%) option.

In the Data Error Notification Threshold (%) field, enter a value representing a percentage of the
element’s time range. If the percentage of the data-related errors that occurred during the element’s
time range exceeds the specified percentage, then an error symbol will be displayed on the element.

By default, Data Error Notification Threshold (%) option is disabled with a value of “101”.

SteelCentral Portal 58
 Dashboard Components

3. Click OK.

End of Procedure 11

Elements
Elements display metric data (such as CPU utilization, memory utilization, or interface throughput) for a
given object or group of objects. Your choice of element depends on the particular metrics that you want to
monitor, as well as the best way to view the data. For more information about choosing the appropriate
element, see “Guidelines for Choosing Elements“.
Right-click on an element to access options. Depending on the element, those options include:
 Editing the settings for the particular element
 Deleting the element
 Configuring thresholds and object properties
 Opening the element in a new panel
 Displaying element in a graph
 Launching into other products
 Drilling into other related objects

Each element comes with its own set of attributes. To access the attributes, right-click on the element and
choose Edit > Settings.

SteelCentral Portal 59
 Dashboard Components

Guidelines for Choosing Elements

When creating dashboards, you must decide what data is appropriate for the task. The elements that you
choose determines how the data is displayed. The following table lists guidelines for selecting appropriate
elements.

Table 5 Guidelines for Choosing Elements

Dashboard Task Appropriate Element

Immediate view of status: LEDs, Geographic Status Maps, and

normal (green), warning (yellow), and critical (red) Text

Metric status over time LED Series

Current metric values Gauges, Sliders, and Geographic Heat

Maps, Compact Row Bar Charts, Text

Tracking metric values over time Graphs

Comparing metric values Pie charts, Donut Charts

Health (status) overview of multiple metrics LEDs and LED Series

Grouping of metric values (such as total thread count for all JVMs on Graphs, Gauges, and Sliders
a host, or average wait time for all JSPs)

Metric status over time on a row-by-row basis Compact Row with LED Series
Metric value trend on a row-by-row basis Compact Row with Sparkline

Key Concept—A group is a collection of multiple (element) members under a single element. The members
of a group can include metrics and other groups, all of which would be found in one or more lower levels
in the group hierarchy. To get to a particular metric from a group, you must drill down through any
associated grouped members in the hierarchy. For more information, see “Group Elements“.

For a description of elements, see:

 “Gauges and Sliders“
 “Graphs“
– “Historical Comparisons“
– “Historical Comparison Row“
– “Graph Summary Information“
 “LEDs“
 “LED Series“
 “Compact Rows“
– “Aligning Compact Rows“
To change the object name of an element, see “Changing Names of Elements (Objects)“

SteelCentral Portal 60
 Dashboard Components

Gauges and Sliders

Gauges, both half and full, and sliders show a metric’s value, observed range, and expected range. Gauges
and sliders are useful for confirming that a metric is within normal limits, as well as showing how close a
metric’s current value is to its warning (yellow) or critical (red) limits.

Full Gauge Half Gauge Slider

To show the green, yellow, and red colors on a gauge or slider, you must specify values for
“Threshold Warning” and “Threshold Critical” in the “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box. To access this
dialog box, click the “Panel Toolbar“ Edit Settings ( ) icon, choose Edit > Panel Configuration”, and then
click the Edit Panel Settings button.
Additionally, from the same “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box, you can configure the range shown on
the gauge or slider by specifying minimum and maximum values. For example, you could specify the
values of Gauge Minimum and Gauge Maximum to be “0” and “100” respectively. Alternatively, you
could accept the default setting of “auto” for both the minimum and maximum values. An “auto” value for
Gauge Minimum, with a default setting of “0”, will reset itself to reflect metric values dropping below “0”.
Likewise, an “auto” value for Gauge Maximum, with a default setting of “100,” will reset itself to reflect
metric values exceeding “100”.

SteelCentral Portal 61
 Dashboard Components

Graphs
Graphs display the change of a metric over time. For example, you could use a graph to show throughput
for the last 15 minutes in one-minute increments. The following figure shows the three styles of available
graphs: line graph, area graph, bar chart.

Line Graph

Area Graph

Bar Chart

To change the style of a graph, right-click on the element and choose Edit > Settings. Then, from the
“Graph Settings” dialog box, click the Graph Style” pull-down menu and choose Line Graph, Area Graph,
or Bar Chart. (If you select Line Graph or Area Graph, click the Stepline option to connect data points with
horizontal and vertical lines.)
For threshold visualization options, see “Visualizing Threshold Status and Settings for Graph Elements“.
Grouped graphs can show average, sum, maximum and minimum values, as well as multiple traces on a
single axis (for a Line Graph). For more information, see “Grouping Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 62
 Dashboard Components

Historical Comparisons
For graphs (area graphs and line graphs), including those with multiple traces, you can show overlaid
historical data for a particular metric. This feature is useful for visually comparing a metric with its
historical values. As shown in the following figure, the historical data is presented by a dashed gray line.

Figure 2 Line Graph Comparing Recent and Historical Data

The following procedure describes how to display historical data for graphs.

Procedure 12 Displaying Historical Data in a Graph

1. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and then select Edit > Panel Configuration.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

2. Click the Edit Panel Settings button.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears.

3. Define the historical data time range:

Under the “Dashboard Panel Settings” section:

3.1. Select a time range option from the Historical Data Time Range pull-down list.
- N Days Ago /N Weeks Ago: Displays historical data for a single time period
- Last N Days /Last N Weeks: Displays the average of the historical data for multiple time
periods

3.2. Specify the historical time range, in days or weeks, in the Number of Days / Number of Weeks
field.

4. Turn on the display of historical data for graphs:

4.1. Under the “Graph Settings” section, select the Show Historical Data checkbox.

5. Click OK to close the “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box.

SteelCentral Portal 63
 Dashboard Components

6. Click OK to close the “Panel Configuration” dialog box.

The graphs in the panel refresh and display historical data with a dashed gray line.

End of Procedure 12

Historical Comparison Row

With this feature (using the “Historical Comparison Row” visualization style), you can view the current
value for a particular metric and the change from a previous time period. The following figure shows a
panel using the “Historical Comparison Row” visualization style. Additionally, you can double-click on a
row to display a graph with a comparison line.

Click on a row to display

a graph with
a comparison line.

The following procedure describes how to create a panel that displays textual historical comparison data.
Additional, the procedure describes how to define the order of the rows.

Procedure 13 Configuring an Historical Comparison Row Panel

1. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and then select Edit > Panel Configuration.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

SteelCentral Portal 64
 Dashboard Components

2. On the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, define the visualization style and order of rows:

• Visualization Style
From the pull-down list, choose Historical Comparison Row.

• Order By
From the pull-down list, choose the order of the rows:
- Displayed Values
- Displayed Value (Ascending)
- Name
- Percentage Change
- Percentage Change (Ascending)

3. Click the Edit Panel Settings button.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears.

4. Under the “Dashboard Panel Settings” section, define the historical data time range:

4.1. Select a time range option from the “Historical Data Time Range” pull-down list.
- N Days Ago /N Weeks Ago: Displays historical data for a single time period
- Last N Days /Last N Weeks: Displays the average data for multiple time periods

4.2. Specify the historical time range, in days or weeks, in the Number of Days / Number of Weeks
field.

5. Under the “Compact Row Settings” section, define the look of the panel.
Note: For a description of each setting, place the mouse pointer over the field label to display a tooltip.

6. Click OK to close “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box.

7. Click OK to close the “Panel Configuration” dialog box.

The panel updates with the defined configuration settings.

End of Procedure 13

SteelCentral Portal 65
 Dashboard Components

Graph Summary Information

You can display time aggregation numerical values (summary information) in a graph. This capability
enables you to select, then see at a glance, whatever summary information you deem important for a
particular graph. The following figure shows the summary information, which displays as text in the
upper-right corner of the graph, as well as in the tooltip when you place the mouse pointer over the legend.

For more information on the time aggregation numerical rules used to display values, see “Time
Aggregation Rules“.

Note: For a Multiple Trace chart, the graph summary information only appears in a tooltip.

The following procedure describes how to configure the display of graph summary information for a graph.

Procedure 14 Configuring the Display of Graph Summary Information

1. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and then select Edit > Panel Configuration.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

2. Click the Edit Panel Settings button.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears.

3. In the “Graph Settings” section, click the Edit… button for the Graph Summary Information option.

The “Graph Summary Information” dialog box appears.

4. Specify the values to display:

5. Select a single display value or multiple values.

Use the arrows to the right of the fields to specify the order of the values.

6. Click OK to close the “Graph Summary Information” dialog box.

End of Procedure 14

SteelCentral Portal 66
 Dashboard Components

SteelCentral Portal 67
 Dashboard Components

LEDs
LEDs show status with the use of color:
 green = normal
 yellow= warning
 red = critical
Choose LEDs when you want to present a single status in a minimum amount of space.

LEDs

Note: When no data is available, LEDs display the status as a gray circle containing a diagonal line ( )
and when no threshold is set, LEDs display the status as a gray circle containing a question mark ( ).

LEDs are particularly useful for overviews of grouped elements. For example:
 Overall status of a host or many hosts
 Overall status of an application
 Status of all “.NET Web” requests in an application

SteelCentral Portal 68
 Dashboard Components

LED Series
An LED Series shows status over a time range. This element is particularly useful for displaying the status
of intermittent problems. For example, you can use an LED Series to answer the following questions:
 When did the critical issue first occur?
 How long did the critical issue last?
LED Series elements also support visual correlation of multiple metrics, so you can easily identify periods
of violations.

Note: By default, the LED Series element displays a time period with no data as white. Gray indicates a time
period where the data has not yet been received.

SteelCentral Portal 69
 Dashboard Components

Compact Rows
The Compact Row element shows multiple aspects of a single metric in a compact area. For example, you
could show the metric name, LED Series, numerical value, and status LED for each row of a displayed
metric. Doing so enables you to quickly identify violations and to determine the period when the violations
occurred.
The following figure shows a panel with example Compact Row elements.

In the example (above), the Compact Row style employs the following column selections (for each row):
<Metric Name> <Spark Line> <Displayed Value (Text)> <Displayed Status (LED)>
However, there are multiple element types from which you can select for each column. You can also change
the order of the columns, as well as add (or delete) columns.
The following procedure describes how to configure a Compact Row by creating a new visualization style.
After the Compact Row element is configured, you can then select the element when defining the
visualization style for a panel.

Procedure 15 Configuring a Compact Row Element

1. From the Administration menu, choose Resources.

The “Resource Management” screen appears.

2. Click the Visualization Styles tab.

3. Click the New… button.

4. If prompted, specify the owner of the visualization style and click OK.

The “Create Visualization Style” dialog box appears.

5. In the Name field, enter a name.

6. From the Display As pull-down menu, choose Compact Row.

SteelCentral Portal 70
 Dashboard Components

7. Next to Column Settings, click the Configure button.

The “Compact Rows Settings” dialog box appears.

8. Define the compact row by selecting and arranging the columns and click OK.

A Compact Row can include the following columns:

- Bar Chart
- Bar Chart (Stacked)
- Displayed Status (LED)
- Displayed Value (Text)
- Historical Comparison Bar Chart
- Historical Comparison Value
- LED Series
- Metric Name
- Spark Line

9. Optionally, click the Configure Settings button to define additional settings.

10. Click OK.

End of Procedure 15

SteelCentral Portal 71
 Dashboard Components

Aligning Compact Rows

To improve readability of compact row data, you can align the compact rows for all panels in a dashboard.
For example, you can change the horizontal (pixel) spacing of a compact row’s name and value columns, as
well as the vertical (pixel) spacing between compact rows.

Procedure 16 Aligning Compact Rows in a Panel

1. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and then select Edit >
Compact Row Settings.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears and shows the “Compact Row Settings”.

2. To set the width of the “Metric Name” column, from the Name Column Width field, change the value
to Specify Pixel Width and enter the pixel width in the column that appears.

3. To set the width of the “Displayed Value (Text)” column, from the Value Column Width (pixels) field,
select a pixel width.

4. Click OK.

End of Procedure 16

SteelCentral Portal 72
 Dashboard Components

Changing Names of Elements (Objects)

If you prefer to display object names for the elements in the panel, you may want to display more
meaningful names than the original object names, which sometimes can be too long.
Important: Changing the name of an element is global. The name change will effect all dashboards
displaying that particular object, for all users.

Procedure 17 Changing the Name of an Element (Object)

1. Right-click on an element and choose Edit > Name.

The “Configure Dashboards Elements” dialog box appears.

2. Click the Naming tab.

3. In the Object Name field, enter a new name and click Apply.

To revert back to the original name, click Reset.

4. Click Close.

End of Procedure 17

For more information, see:

 “Define Panels and Elements“
 “Configure Panels“

SteelCentral Portal 73
CHAPTER 7 Create Custom Dashboards

There are different methods for creating custom dashboards and panels, depending on your knowledge of
the source data.
Create custom dashboards using the following methods:
 “Search Bar“*
Creates a dashboard based on an object (such as a server)
 “Dashboard Wizard“
Creates a dashboard based on a selected template and objects (such as data sources, applications, and
servers)
 “Dashboard Drilldowns“*
Creates a dashboard related to an existing dashboard
 “Parameterized URLs“*
Creates a dashboard based on the parameters in a URL

* About Saving Dashboards

When a dashboard is created by the Search Bar, Drilldown, or Parameterized URL method, you can save
the dashboard by clicking the Save as custom dashboard ( ) icon on the “Dashboard Toolbar“.

Custom dashboards can be edited using the method described in “Edit a Custom Dashboard“.
For additional custom dashboard options, see “Managing Custom Dashboards“.

Related Topics
 “Dashboard Components“

SteelCentral Portal 74
 Create Custom Dashboards

Search Bar
Use the Search Bar method to access data and create dashboards for specific objects—even when you start
your search by having only a vague notion of the actual object name. As you type criteria into the search
bar, SteelCentral Portal searches all connected data sources for objects (such as applications, hosts, devices,
and IP addresses) and displays the matching objects.

Note: The Drilldown Access permission is required to access the Search Bar.

Procedure 18 Creating a Dashboard using the Search Bar

1. Enter the name of an object in the Search field.

For example, enter “trade” into the search field to find the TradeFast application, as shown in the
following figure.

SteelCentral Portal 75
 Create Custom Dashboards

2. Select an object from the search results.

If more than one template is available, the “Create New Dashboard” dialog box appears.

3. Select the dashboard template that displays the metrics that you want to monitor.

4. Click Next.

If more than one data source is available, SteelCentral Portal prompts for the data source to use.

The new dashboard is created.

End of Procedure 18

Related Topics
 “Create Reports from the Report Icon“

SteelCentral Portal 76
 Create Custom Dashboards

Dashboard Wizard
Use the Dashboard Wizard to create a dashboard. First choose a template that corresponds with the
information you want to see in the dashboard. After selecting a template, you are prompted for additional
information.

Procedure 19 Creating a Custom Dashboard using the Wizard

1. From the Dashboards menu, choose Create…

The “Create a New Dashboard” dialog box appears.

2. If necessary, to filter the list of templates, click the Show pull-down menu (upper-right) and choose a
filter option.

3. Select the dashboard template that corresponds to the metrics that you want to monitor and click Next.

4. If there is more than one object for the selected template, select the object(s) from which to include
metrics and click Next.

For some templates a list of objects is presented for others use the search box to find the object(s) of
interest.

5. If there is more than one data source for the selected template, select the data source(s) from which to
include metrics or choose “Use All Connected Data Sources” and click Next.

6. If applicable, set custom dashboard options then click Finish.

End of Procedure 19

SteelCentral Portal 77
 Create Custom Dashboards

Dashboard Drilldowns
From an element, you can create one or more associated dashboards across connected data sources—even
if the data sources are of a different type.

Procedure 20 Creating a Dashboard using the Drilldown Option

1. Right-click on an element and choose Drilldowns.

2. Select an available dashboard from the list.

(When a dashboard is available, that means the data to create the dashboard can be obtained from the
data source. Unavailable dashboards are grayed out.)

The new dashboard appears.

End of Procedure 20

SteelCentral Portal 78
 Create Custom Dashboards

Parameterized URLs
Parameterized URLs enable users outside of SteelCentral Portal to launch dynamically created dashboards.
After entering the URL in a Web browser, you must log in to SteelCentral Portal (if you have not already).
The best method for building a URL is to create the dashboard in SteelCentral Portal. When you have the
dashboard that you want, simply copy the URL from the Web browser address field. If you want to build a
URL from scratch, see the list of template names and required object properties located at
http://<scportal_host>/scportal/info?report=url_parameters

URL Components
A dashboard URL is comprised of the following components:

Base Object Properties & Data Source & Template

Note: You can also specify the Project Time and Dark/Light Theme in the URL. For more information, see
KB S30088. (You must login to view this knowledge base article.)

Note the following rules:

 Sequence of Components: The URL must start with the Base component. The other components can
be specified in any order following the Base component.
 Required Components: The Base component and any required Object Properties must be specified. If
there are no required Object Properties, then the Template must be specified.
 Component Separator: Except for the component immediately following the Base component,
components are separated with an ampersand (&). (Also note, when multiple object properties are
specified, the object properties are separated by an ampersand.)
 Escaped Encoding: Spaces and special characters should be escaped. If you do not specify escaped
encoding in the URL, often the encodings will be added automatically when you type the URL in a
Web browser. However, if a template name includes a special character, such as a colon (:), you must
specify the encoded version of the character (%253A) in the URL. For example, if specifying the
template name “Code Details: Java”, you should enter “Code Details%3A Java”. Another common
encoding is “%2520” for a space.

Base Component
The Base component consists of the SteelCentral Portal host, and the necessary path to display a dashboard.
The Base syntax is as follows:
http://<scportal_host>/scportal/WebConsole.jsp#dashboard:
For example, if SteelCentral Portal is installed on “myhost”, then the base would look as follows:
http://myhost/scportal/WebConsole.jsp#dashboard:

Note that the Base component always ends with a colon (:).

SteelCentral Portal 79
 Create Custom Dashboards

Object Properties Component

The Object Properties component consists of the relevant object properties for the template.
An object property is specified using the following syntax:
<object_property_name>=<value>

For example, to specify the Host object property with the value engtfdataaccesss01, you would enter the
following:
Host=engtfdataaccess01

If specifying more than one object property, separate the object properties with an ampersand (&).For
example, the following string specifies two properties: Host and IP Address.
Host=engtfdataaccess01&IP Address=172.16.18.167

Data Source Component

The Data Source component consists of the data source(s) to use for the dashboard. It is only necessary to
specify the data source(s) when there are multiple data sources of the same type (for example, multiple
AppResponse appliances).
For a list of the connected data sources, choose Administration > Dashboards: Data Sources. Specify data
sources using the “Host Name” (the first column in the “Data Source Management” page).
The Data Source is specified using the following syntax:
data_source_hostname=<Host_Name>

For example, to specify a data source with the host name “tfrd.lab.rvbd.com”, you would enter the
following:
data_source_hostname=tfrd.lab.rvbd.com

You can specify multiple data sources separated by two colons (::) encoded as “%253A%253A”. For
example, to specify the “trfd.lab.rvbd.com” and “tfaix.lab.rvbd.com” data sources, you would enter the
following:
data_source_hostname=tfrd.lab.rvbd.com%253A%253Atfaix.lab.rvbd.com

When specifying the multiple data sources, note the following:

 If the data sources are of different types (for example, AppResponse and NetProfiler), then
SteelCentral Portal will use both data sources for the dashboard (assuming the template uses the
specified data source types).
 If the data sources are of the same type (for example, AppResponse data sources), then
SteelCentral Portal will prompt for the data source to use for the dashboard.

Template Component
The Template component consists of the dashboard template to use.
The Template is specified using the following syntax:
template_name=<template_name>
For example, to specify the “Host Details” template, you would enter the following:
template_name=Host Details

SteelCentral Portal 80
 Create Custom Dashboards

Example URL
The following is an example parameterized URL and a description of each component:
http://myhost/scportal/WebConsole.jsp#dashboard:Host=engtfdataaccess01&IP%2520Address=
172.16.18.167&data_source_hostname=tfrd.lab.rvbd.com%253A%253Atfaix.lab.rvbd.com&templ
ate_name=Host%2520Details

Base Component:
http://myhost/scportal/WebConsole.jsp#dashboard:
 The component specifies the SteelCentral Portal host, and the necessary path.
 The component ends with a colon (:).

Object Properties:
Host=engtfdataaccess01&IP%2520Address=172.16.18.167
 The component specifies two object properties, which are required for the specified template.
 The object properties specify the host and IP address.
 The object properties are separated by an ampersand (&) and the space in the “IP address” object
property name is escaped with the space encoding (%2520).

Data Source:
&data_source_hostname=tfrd.lab.rvbd.com%253A%253Atfaix.lab.rvbd.com
 The component starts with an ampersand (&) to separate it from the previous component.
 The component specifies two data source hosts: tfrd.lab.rvbd.com and tfaix.lab.rvbd.com.
 The two data sources are escaped with double colon (::) encoding (%253A%253A).

Template:
&template_name=Host%2520Details
 The component starts with an ampersand to separate (&) it from the previous component.
 The component specifies the template “Host Details”, which requires the specified object properties.

SteelCentral Portal 81
 Create Custom Dashboards

Edit a Custom Dashboard

Custom dashboards can be modified to display the metric data that you require in the arrangement that you
want. When edited, a dashboard remains in edit mode until the edits are complete, indicated by clicking the
Done Editing ( )icon. Therefore, a custom dashboard can be edited in multiple sessions. If a custom
dashboard is shared, the changes are not visible to other users until the edits are complete.

Procedure 21 Editing a Custom Dashboard

1. Open the custom dashboard that you want to edit using one of the following options:

• Click the custom dashboard card on the Home screen.

• From the Dashboards menu, choose Open Custom… Then from the “Open Dashboard” dialog box,
select the custom dashboard that you want to edit, and click Open.

• If the custom dashboard is already in edit mode, from the Dashboards menu, choose Current Edits.
From the “Dashboards Locked for Editing” dialog box, select the custom dashboard, and click
Open. (Note: To complete the edits and to make the updated dashboard available to all shared
users, click Save Change. To delete all edits, click Discard Changes.)

2. If the custom dashboard is not already in edit mode, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

If the custom dashboard is already in edit mode, and the edits were made by another user,
SteelCentral Portal prompts whether you want to steal the lock. Click Yes for access to the custom
dashboard.

3. Edit the custom dashboard using the “Dashboard Toolbar“ and “Panel Toolbar“ options.

4. When all edits have been made, click the Done Editing ( )icon.

End of Procedure 21

Related Topics
 “Managing Custom Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 82
 Create Custom Dashboards

Managing Custom Dashboards

For more information, see:
 “Snap-to-Grid Option for Panels“
 “Provide Access to Dashboards by URLs and Embedded HTML“
 “Available Dashboard Settings“
 “Time Aggregation Rules“
 “Auxiliary Panels“
For other operations, such as deleting and copying dashboards, see “Resource Management“.

Snap-to-Grid Option for Panels

After creating a dashboard, you can adjust the layout of panels with the snap-to-grid option, which
provides finer control and consistency when arranging panels. Simply drag and drop panels into location.
The snap-to-grid option ensures proper panel alignment and consistent panel resizing.

Procedure 22 Enabling the Snap-to-Grid Option for a Dashboard

Note: Before you can apply the snap-to-grid option, the dashboard must be in edit mode. Additionally,
the option only applies to the dashboard that you are editing.

1. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Dashboard Settings ( )icon.

The “Dashboards Settings” dialog box appears.

2. In the “Dashboard Settings” section, click the option Enable Snap-to-Grid.

3. In the Grid Size (pixels) field, set the grid size.

(A lower value provides for greater control. The default is 10.)

4. Click OK.

End of Procedure 22

When the snap-to-grid option is enabled, a blue dashed-line box appears when dragging a panel. The blue
dashed-line indicates where the panel will be placed.

Related Topics
 “Define Panels and Elements“
 “Managing Custom Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 83
 Create Custom Dashboards

Provide Access to Dashboards by URLs and Embedded HTML

You can provide read-only access to dashboards with URLs. Additionally, dashboards can be embedded in
HTML pages, such as your company’s intranet website.
By modifying the parameters in the URL, you can specify many aspects of the displayed dashboard. For
more information, see “Parameterized URLs“.

Important: Access to dashboards that are embedded in HTML pages is disabled by default, see KB S31065. This
was done to protect SteelCentral Portal from clickjacking (or “cross-site framing”) attacks.

Procedure 23 Providing Access to Dashboards by URLs and Embedded HTML

1. Open the dashboard that you want to provide access to.

2. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Link or Embed Dashboard ( ) icon.

The “Link or Embed Dashboard” dialog box appears.

3. To obtain a URL:

3.1. Specify whether the viewer must provide a username and password:
From the pull-down menu, select Requires login or No login required.

Note: Only custom dashboards can be configured to be accessed without login. Additionally, you
must have the Resource Configuration read/write privilege and the RBAC read only privilege to
select the Requires login option.

3.2. If Requires login was selected, click the Select Users… button and choose the users and roles that
can access the dashboard with the URL.

3.3. Copy the entire text string from the Dashboard URL field and provide the text string to users.

4. To obtain an embedded HTML text string:

4.1. From the pull-down menu, select No login required.

4.2. Copy the entire text string from the Embeddable HTML field and paste the text string into an
HTML page.

5. To close the dialog box, click the Close ( ) icon in the upper-right corner.

End of Procedure 23

Related Topics
 “Managing Custom Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 84
 Create Custom Dashboards

Available Dashboard Settings

Dashboard settings are user-configurable options that you can access from multiple locations. Although
SteelCentral Portal provides defaults, you can change the settings to satisfy your requirements. You also
determine the granularity of setting changes. In other words, the level at which you make a settings change
determines its scope. For more information on determining the scope of the change, see “Inheriting Setting
Changes“.

Table 6 Types of Settings

Name Description & Access Information Additional Information

Global Global dashboard settings. See “Global Dashboard Settings“.

Dashboard
Choose “Administration > Dashboards:
Settings
Global Dashboard Settings”.

Dashboard Panel and element settings. For additional information, see “Customize
Settings Dashboard Look and Behavior“.
On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the
“Dashboard Settings” icon.

Visualization Define the look of elements. For more information, see:

Style Settings
Choose “Administration > Dashboards: • “Visualization Styles“
Resources” and click the
• “Resource Management“
“Visualization Styles” tab.

Panel Settings Define panels. In the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, you
can edit panel settings and define the display of
On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the
elements.
“Edit Settings” icon.
Or, on the “Panel Toolbar“, click the “Edit From the panel-level settings, you can
Settings” icon. propagate changes to element settings.
For more information, see “Panels“.

Element Settings Define the element to display and its The element settings available depend on the
behavior. selected element.
Right-click on an element and choose For more information about elements, see
“Edit > Settings”. “Elements“.

Thresholds and Define metric thresholds and In the “Configure Dashboard Elements” dialog
Object characteristics, box, thresholds and object properties each have
Properties their own tabbed page from where you can edit
Right-click on an element and choose
and configure their settings.
either “Edit > Thresholds” or “Edit >
Object Properties”. For more information, see:
Or, on the “Panel Toolbar“ choose either
• “Threshold Management“
“Edit > Thresholds” or “Edit > Object
Properties”. • “Grouping Elements with Object Properties“

Data Sources Define sources of metric data. “Managing Data Sources“

Choose “Administration > Dashboards:
Data Sources”.

Content Define sets of dashboard settings. Content Templates are named collections of
Templates settings for displaying dashboard content.
Choose “Administration > Dashboards:
Resources” and click the “Content For more information, see “Using Content
Templates” tab. Templates to Display Content“.

SteelCentral Portal 85
 Create Custom Dashboards

Inheriting Setting Changes

Settings at the System Default level are inherited by lower levels. However, you can override these higher
level settings at a lower level. Setting changes at a higher level are inherited by the same setting at a lower
level. Changes made to a lover level setting will override the corresponding higher level setting and will be
inherited by lower level settings.
The following figure shows the levels at which you can change settings, and the lower levels which inherit
the changes.

Figure 3 Levels of Settings and the Path of Inheritance

System Default

Global

User

Dashboard

Visualization Style

Panel

Element

For example, if you change the “Show Factored Metric Name in Title Bar” setting at the Global Default level
(see “Customize Dashboard Look and Behavior“), the setting change applies to all dashboards, and
wherever this setting is found. If you change the setting at the Element level, the setting applies to the
particular element only.

Related Topics
 “Managing Custom Dashboards“
 “Global Dashboard Settings“

SteelCentral Portal 86
 Create Custom Dashboards

Time Aggregation Rules

Each element that shows a single value (such as an LED), has a default time aggregation rule for
determining which value to display over the specified time range (which contains multiple single data
points).
Time aggregation rules can be numerical-based or status-based. The rule that you choose to use depends on
the type of elements that you want to display in the panel. For example, with LEDs, you would typically
use a status rule, such as “Numerical Value Status.” For gauges or sliders, you would typically use a
numerical rule, such as “Maximum”.
The following figure shows a half gauge element representing the page views for the “TradeFast” web
application. The “Maximum” numerical rule is being specified here, meaning the displayed value
represents the highest number of page views over the specified time range.

Figure 4 Element Specified with a Time Aggregation Rule

Half Gauge element showing the highest number of

page views for “TradeFast.” The “Maximum” time
aggregation numerical rule was specified.

Note: The gauge is blue because the “Threshold

Warning” and “Threshold Critical” values have not
yet been specified for “Gauge Settings” (accessible
from either the panel or element settings level). Once
these values are specified, the gauge will show the
green (normal), yellow (warning), and red (critical)
colors.

For more information, see:

 “Setting the Time Aggregation Rule“
 “Time Aggregation Numerical Rules“
 “Time Aggregation Status Rules“

SteelCentral Portal 87
 Create Custom Dashboards

Setting the Time Aggregation Rule

You have the option of changing the default time aggregation rule at the dashboard and panel levels.
 Dashboards: On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Dashboard Settings ( ) icon.
 Panels: On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit >
Panel Configuration. Then, from the Panel Configuration dialog box, click the Edit Panel Settings
button.

Time Aggregation Numerical Rules

The “Time Aggregation Numerical Rule” setting is used when the numerical value of time is displayed by
elements (such as gauges, sliders, or text elements).
The available time aggregation numerical rules are:
 Last Value: the most recent (last) data point within the time range
 Average: the average value of all the data points within the time range
 Maximum: the maximum value of all the data points within the time range
 Minimum: the minimum value of all the data points within the time range
 Sum: the total value of all the data points within the time range
 Status Violation Count: the count of data points where the object is over its threshold
 Violation Percentage: percentage of time viewed where the object is over its threshold
 Valid Values Violation Percentage: percentage of time viewed, not including any missing data points,
where the object is over its threshold
 Automatic (default): based on the selected Rollup or metric, this rule automatically determines the
correct time aggregation numerical rule to use. For example, in AppInternals, if the Rollup is
“Maximum,” the Maximum time aggregation numerical rule is used. Or, in AppResponse (9.x), if the
metric is “Page Views,” the Sum rule is used.
For more information about selecting Rollups in the Object Selection Wizard, see “About Rollups:“.

SteelCentral Portal 88
 Create Custom Dashboards

Time Aggregation Status Rules

The “Time Aggregation Status Rule” is used when status data (normal (green), warning (yellow), or critical
(red)) is display by an element (such as LEDs) for a time range.
The following time aggregation status rules are available:
 Last Status: the most recent status within the time range. For example, if the last data point in the
specified time range has a warning status, the element representing that object is yellow.
 Worst Case: the worst single status within the time range. If at least one data point for an object has a
critical status over a given time range, the element representing that object is red.
 Percentage Time: the percentage of the time range where the status of the data points is critical. In the
accompanying “Threshold Critical” and “Threshold Warning” fields, you must specify values
(representing percentages of the time range) to determine when a element turns to a warning (yellow)
or critical (red) status.
For example, suppose that you set the time range for 10 minutes, and then specify “30” for “Threshold
Warning” and “50” for “Threshold Critical” (in the “Dashboard Settings” dialog box). If the status is
critical for more than 30% of the time (that is over 3.0 minutes), the element turns yellow. If the status is
critical for more than 50% of the time (that is, over 5.0 minutes), the element is red.
 Percentage Time of Valid Status: the percentage of the time range where the status of valid data points
is critical. This rule is identical to the “Percentage Time” rule, however, the difference is only existing
data points are considered. In the accompanying “Threshold Critical” and “Threshold Warning” fields,
you must specify values (representing percentages of the time range) to determine when an element
turns to a warning (yellow) or critical (red) status.
For example, suppose you set the time range for 10 minutes, and then specify “50” for
“Threshold Warning” and “75” for “Threshold Critical” (in the “Dashboard Settings” dialog box). Also
suppose there is data for only five of those 10 minutes. If the status is critical for more than 50% of five
minutes (that is, over 2.5 minutes), the element is yellow. If the status is critical for more than 75% of
five minutes (that is, over 3.75 minutes), the element is red.
 Violation Count: renders as warning (yellow) or error (red) when the object violates its threshold more
than the specified number of times. For example, if a device is down more than once in an hour, the
LED representing that device is red.
 Numerical Value Status (default): compares the value produced by a time aggregation numerical rule
with the threshold value specified for the object-metric pair (as represented by the element).
For example, suppose you select the time aggregation numerical rule of “Average” and configure a
threshold value in SteelCentral Portal (for a data source type such as AppResponse 9.x). If that
“Average” value exceeds the threshold value for critical, the LED is red. For more information about
thresholds, see “Threshold Management“.

Related Topics
 “Managing Custom Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 89
 Create Custom Dashboards

Auxiliary Panels
Use auxiliary panels to add labels, hyperlinks, and images to custom dashboards.
Supported image formats are: .png, .jpeg, .jpg, and .gif.

HTML Panels
Here are two possible uses of Auxiliary Panels with Panel Type set to HTML:
 Example 1: To define a hyperlink to the Riverbed website, enter
<a href="http://www.riverbed.com">Visit Riverbed</a>

 Example 2: To embed the Riverbed Support website, enter:

<iframe width=100% height=1000px src="https://support.riverbed.com/"></iframe>

Only use HTML5 elements. Anything outside of the <body> element will get stripped out. Don’t include
attributes in the <body> element—for example, instead of this:
<body style="background-color:powderblue;">
...
</body>

use this:
<body>
<div style="background-color:powderblue;">
...
</div>
</body>

If the auxiliary panel is blank, see KB S23839. (You must be logged in to view knowledge base articles.)

Procedure 24 Adding an Auxiliary Panel to a Custom Dashboard

1. Open the custom dashboard to which you want to add an auxiliary panel.

2. If the custom dashboard is not already in edit mode, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon on the
“Dashboard Toolbar“.

3. To access the “Add (Auxiliary) Panel” dialog box, click the Add Content ( )button on the
“Dashboard Toolbar“ and choose Create a new auxiliary panel.

The “Add Panel” dialog box appears.

4. Select a Panel Type:

• HTML: For defining labels, hyperlinks, and other HTML-based text.

• Static Image: For defining an uploaded image.

SteelCentral Portal 90
 Create Custom Dashboards

• URL Image: For defining an image from a URL.

HTML Static Image: Existing Static Image: New URL Image

5. Specify the panel parameters for the selected panel type:

• Title: Panel title

• HTML: For HTML panel type, defines the HTML. After it is displayed, the panel can be resized to
display the entire embedded web page.

• Image Type: For Static Image panel type, select:

- Existing Image if the image has been uploaded previously
- New to choose and upload an image

• Image/Choose File: For Static Image panel type, either select the existing image or choose the
image file.

• URL: For URL Image panel type, defines the URL of the image.

• Refresh Rate

• AutoSize: If selected, the image resizes itself when the panel is smaller than the image. Otherwise,
the image is cropped.

• Maintain Aspect Ratio: If selected, the image retains its height to width ratio when resizing.

• Center Image: If selected, the image is centered in the panel. Otherwise, the image is left-justified.

• Hide Title Bar: If selected, the title bar is not shown.

• Transparent Background

6. Click Create.

The auxiliary panel appears in the custom dashboard.

7. To adjust/edit an auxiliary panel, right-click on the panel and choose one of the following options:

SteelCentral Portal 91
 Create Custom Dashboards

• Edit Settings

• Show Title Bar /Hide Title Bar

• Reset Panel Size

End of Procedure 24

Related Topics
 “Managing Custom Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 92
CHAPTER 8 Threshold Management

A threshold specifies a starting point. When defining elements that use color to indicate status (such as LEDs,
LED Series graphs, and Graphs with status bars), a threshold specifies the numeric starting point of a status:
Normal (green), Warning (yellow), and Critical (red).
For example, the following figure shows a dashboard LED Series element with warning and critical statuses
reflecting specified ranges defined by thresholds.

Normal Warning Critical

For example, suppose the LED Series has a High Critical threshold value of “90” and a High Warning
threshold value of “80.” When outbound utilization reaches or exceeds 80 (%), the element turns yellow.
Similarly, when outbound utilization reaches or exceeds 90 (%), the LED turns red. For detailed examples,
see “Defining Thresholds Status Levels“.
This section deals with data sources for which you must configure thresholds directly in SteelCentral Portal.
If you do not configure the thresholds, the elements will be gray, and will not display status colors (green,
yellow, red).

Note: Some data sources (such as AppInternals 9.x) have thresholds configured in the data source itself.

For more information, see:

 “About Individual and Pattern-Based Thresholds“
 “Defining Thresholds for Elements and Panels“
 “Managing Thresholds Globally“
 “Visualizing Threshold Status and Settings for Graph Elements“

SteelCentral Portal 93
 Threshold Management

About Individual and Pattern-Based Thresholds

SteelCentral Portal has two types of thresholds:
 Individual threshold
An individual threshold applies to a specific metric (such as “User Response Time (Servers)”) on a
specific object (such as the application “STOCK TRADER”). If the same object-metric pair appears in
multiple panels, then the specified threshold is applicable for the corresponding elements in those
panels.
 Pattern-based threshold
A pattern-based threshold applies to one or more metrics for one or more objects. When creating a
pattern-based threshold, you use one or more of the following fields to define the scope of the
threshold:
– Object type (for example, “Connected IP”)
– Metric (for example, “% Slow Pages (Servers) (%)”)
– Object Name pattern: a wildcard string that enables the user to define a pattern with which to
match object names.

For example, a *NY* object name pattern would match these object names: NY_router_1,
NY_router_2, etc.
– Object Property: a pull-down menu containing object property names, and a field for entering a
wildcard string search that enables the user to find matches for a specific object property.

For example, you might select the object property “State” from the object property pull-down
menu. In the adjacent text field, you could then enter a wild card search for the object property
value *PA* for objects such as PA_router_1, PA_router_2, etc. For more information on object
properties, see “Grouping Elements with Object Properties“.
These pattern-based threshold fields enable you to define a set of elements to which you can apply the
pattern-based threshold. You can be as general or specific as required. For example, you could select
just an object type, such as “IP Conversation”. Consequently, the threshold would apply to all metrics
for objects of the object type “IP Conversation”. You could narrow the scope of the applied
pattern-based threshold by choosing a single metric, such as “User Response Time (Servers)”. In this
case, the pattern-based threshold would apply to only “User Response Time (Servers)”) for the set of
objects of the object type “IP Conversation”.
You can access and configure thresholds in different ways:
 To configure thresholds from either the panel or element level, see “Defining Thresholds for Elements
and Panels“.
 To view all thresholds, as well as to edit, delete, and prioritize them at a global level, see “Managing
Thresholds Globally“.

SteelCentral Portal 94
 Threshold Management

Considerations when Defining Thresholds

Note the following considerations when defining thresholds:
 Only one threshold can apply to the same object-metric pair at a time. This rule becomes important
when both an individual threshold and one or more pattern-based thresholds apply to the same
object-metric pair. For these situations, the individual threshold always takes precedence over
pattern-based thresholds.

More specifically, thresholds are applied based on the following precedence:

1. assigned by data resource (See considerations specific to pattern-based thresholds, below.)
2. assigned Individual threshold
3. assigned Pattern-based threshold
4. unassigned Pattern-based threshold, based on the priority from the “Threshold Management”
screen. See “Managing Thresholds Globally“.
 Changes to an individual or pattern-based threshold can affect elements in other panels, if those
elements match the modified threshold.

Note the following considerations specific to pattern-based thresholds:

 For pattern-based thresholds, it is always the pattern-based threshold with the highest priority (that is,
the one at the top of the pattern-based threshold table) that is applied. Use the Increase Priority and
Decrease Priority buttons to move the thresholds up or down.
 Restrict the scope of the pattern-based threshold by selecting the Object Name Pattern checkbox and
then using a wildcard string to search on objects sharing a common naming pattern.
 Restrict the scope of the pattern-based threshold by selecting the Object Property checkbox, choosing
an applicable object property from the pull-down menu, and then using a wildcard string to match a
object property value. For more information, see “Grouping Elements with Object Properties“.
 Most data sources provide default thresholds. Having these thresholds already configured enables you
to start monitoring data quickly. Default thresholds also provide a good starting point when creating
dashboards. Optionally, the default thresholds can be overridden, simply by assigning a threshold or
by an unassigned pattern-based threshold.

Note: The thresholds that are set for alerts within NetSensor and NetIM are not reflected in
SteelCentral Portal.
 For NetSensor and NetIM, if there are Rollups associated with the selected metric, you can further
scope a Pattern-based threshold by selecting a Rollup from the Rollup pull-down menu. For more
information see “Select Metrics to Monitor using the Object Selection Wizard“.
 AppInternals 9.x data provide default thresholds that cannot be overridden from SteelCentral Portal.
Instead the thresholds must be defined in AppInternals 9.x.

SteelCentral Portal 95
 Threshold Management

Defining Thresholds Status Levels

There are five possible status levels for thresholds:
 High Critical and above
 High Warning to High Critical
 Normal
 Low Warning to Low Critical
 Low Critical and below

The following examples describe different ways of specifying ranges for thresholds.
 Example 1—Specifying high ranges for a threshold
The following figure shows how you can use High Critical and High Warning boundaries to specify
ranges.

In this example, High Critical is set to 10 and High Warning is set to 5. When the value of an element is
equal to or greater than 10, the element turns red (critical). Similarly, for values equal to or greater than
5 but less than 10, the element turns yellow (warning). A green element, reflecting the normal state,
appears for values less than 5.

 Example 2—Specifying low ranges for a threshold

The following figure shows how you can use Low Warning and Low Critical boundaries to specify
ranges.

In this example, Low Warning is set to 5 and Low Critical is set to 2. When the value of an element is
equal to or less than 2, the element turns red. Similarly, when the value is equal to or less than 5, but
greater than 2, the element turns yellow. A green element, reflecting the normal state, appears for
values greater than 5.

SteelCentral Portal 96
 Threshold Management

 Example 3—Specifying ranges of a threshold by using a single boundary

The following figure shows how you can specify a single boundary, such as High Critical.

In this example, High Critical is set to 10. When the value of an element is equal to or greater than 10,
the element turns red. For a value below 10, the element is green. There is no warning (yellow)
boundary specified.

SteelCentral Portal 97
 Threshold Management

Defining Thresholds for Elements and Panels

This section describes how to define individual and pattern-based thresholds. (Before defining thresholds,
be sure to review “About Individual and Pattern-Based Thresholds“, which includes “Considerations when
Defining Thresholds“.)
Important: This procedure requires the Dashboard Configuration permission.

Procedure 25 Defining a Threshold

1. Perform one of the following options:

• Right-click on an element and choose Edit > Thresholds.

• On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit > Thresholds.

The “Configure Dashboard Elements” dialog box appears.

The following figure shows the “Configure Dashboard Elements” dialog box for a single element
(on the left) and for multiple elements (on the right).

2. If the dialog box includes a list of multiple elements, select the element for which you want to define
thresholds.

To filter elements, click the Show Without Thresholds checkbox to only show elements with no
defined threshold values.

SteelCentral Portal 98
 Threshold Management

3. Click the Edit Threshold button.

The “Edit Threshold” dialog box appears.

To define an individual threshold, see step 4.

To define a pattern-based threshold see step 5.

For more information, see “About Individual and Pattern-Based Thresholds“.

4. Define an individual threshold:

4.1. Click the Individual radio button.

4.2. Select the checkbox and specify a value, as needed, for each threshold status level:
- High Critical: Change to red if the metric is greater than or equal to the specified value.
- High Warning: Change to yellow if the metric is greater than or equal to the specified value.
- Low Warning: Change to yellow if the metric is less than the specified value.
- Low Critical: Change to red if the metric is less then the specified value.
- No Data Representation: Specify the icon to use when a data source returns “no data”.

For more information, see “Defining Thresholds Status Levels“.

To help you define threshold values, the line graph next to the individual threshold values shows
the current data for the selected element and the defined threshold levels in the background.

4.3. Click OK to close the “Edit Threshold” dialog box.

5. Define a pattern-based threshold:

5.1. Select the Pattern-based radio button.

5.2. If pattern-based thresholds have been defined for the same object/metric pair, you can select the
threshold from the table and click Move to Top. Only the top threshold is applied.

SteelCentral Portal 99
 Threshold Management

5.3. If a pattern-based threshold has not been defined for the object/metric pair, you can create one:

a. Click the Create Pattern-based Threshold button.

b. In the “Create Pattern-based Threshold” dialog box, specify the necessary information.

c. Click Create.

d. In the “Edit Threshold” dialog box, if necessary, move the threshold to the top of the table.
(Select the threshold and click Move to Top.) Only the top threshold is applied.

5.4. Click OK to close the “Edit Threshold” dialog box.

6. Click Close to close the “Configure Dashboard Elements” dialog box.

End of Procedure 25

Managing Thresholds Globally

You can globally manage thresholds from the “Threshold Management” screen, which lists all thresholds,
Individual and Pattern-based. To access the “Threshold Management” screen, choose Administration >
Dashboards: Thresholds.
From the “Threshold Management” screen, you can perform the following operations:

Note: Before making changes to thresholds, be sure to review “About Individual and Pattern-Based
Thresholds“. Be aware that changes to individual or pattern-based threshold can affect elements in multiple
panels, if those elements match the modified threshold. For more information, see “Considerations when
Defining Thresholds“.

 Individual Thresholds
– Edit
Use this option to edit a previously defined Individual threshold without opening the dashboard
and locating the associated element. (On the “Threshold Management” screen, click the
“Individual Thresholds” tab, select the individual threshold from the list, and click Edit. Editing a
threshold is similar to Procedure 25 “Defining a Threshold“.)
– Delete
Use this option to delete a previously defined Individual threshold to clear the threshold setting
from an existing dashboard element. Additionally, use this option to remove an Individual
threshold that was defined for a dashboard that has been deleted. (On the “Threshold
Management” screen, click the “Individual Thresholds” tab, select the individual threshold from
the list, click Delete, and then click OK to confirm.)

SteelCentral Portal 100

 Threshold Management

 Pattern-based Thresholds
– Create
Use this option to create a pattern-based threshold. You can then define priority for the threshold,
which defines when the threshold is applied. (On the “Threshold Management” screen, click the
“Pattern-based Thresholds” tab, and click New. Editing a threshold is similar to
Procedure 25 “Defining a Threshold“.)
– Edit
Use this option to edit a previously defined pattern-based threshold without opening the
dashboard and locating the associated element. (On the “Threshold Management” screen, click the
“Pattern-based Thresholds” tab, select the individual threshold from the list, and click Edit. Editing
a threshold is similar to Procedure 25 “Defining a Threshold“.)
– Duplicate
Use this option to make a copy of an existing pattern-based threshold. You can then edit the copy to
define a similar threshold. (On the “Threshold Management” screen, click the “Pattern-based
Thresholds” tab, select the individual threshold from the list, and click Duplicate. The new copy is
added to the bottom of the list.)
– Delete
Use this option to delete a previously defined pattern-based threshold. (On the
“Threshold Management” screen, click the “Pattern-based Thresholds” tab, select the threshold
from the list, click Delete, and then click OK to confirm.)
– Define Priority
Use the Increase Priority and Decrease Priority buttons to arrange the pattern-based thresholds in
priority order, with the top being the highest priority. (On the “Threshold Management” screen,
click the “Pattern-based Thresholds” tab, select the threshold from the list, click Increase Priority
or Decrease Priority to move the selected threshold up/down.)

 Import/Export Thresholds
Use the Import and Export options for the following purposes:
– Backup thresholds for archive purposes
– Copy thresholds to another SteelCentral Portal server (such as from a test server to a production
server)
– Edit multiple thresholds at one time. Simply export, edit the comma separated values, and import.
(Important: This option should only be performed by an experienced user. Importing a malformed
file will cause unexpected behavior.)

SteelCentral Portal 101

 Threshold Management

Visualizing Threshold Status and Settings for Graph Elements

The following setting options are available to help you determine the threshold status and levels in custom
dashboard graphs.
 Show Status Bar
Shows the critical (red), warning (yellow), and normal (green) statuses of the corresponding data
points along the x-axis.

The following figure shows a threshold status bar at the bottom of the graph. The bar indicates that the
metric reached the critical threshold level twice during the time period shown.

 Show Threshold Bands

Shows the critical (red), warning (yellow), and normal (green) threshold settings in the background of
graphs.

The following figure shows the defined threshold levels in the background of the graph.

To implement the visual settings in graph elements, perform the following procedure.

Procedure 26 Visualizing Threshold Status and Settings in Graph Elements

1. Set the custom dashboard in edit mode. (In the dashboard toolbar, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

2. In the panel toolbar, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon, and choose Edit > Graph Settings.

The Dashboard Panel Settings dialog box appears.

SteelCentral Portal 102

 Threshold Management

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the dialog box to see the threshold status and level settings.

4. Select one of the settings.

5. Click OK.

End of Procedure 26

Hint: To quickly add a threshold visualization to graphs: define a graph visualization style with the
threshold visualization style setting, then apply the graph visualization style to elements/panels.

SteelCentral Portal 103

CHAPTER 9 Application Models

An application model defines the hardware and software used to support a business application. After an
application is mapped (with hosts, internal elements, relationships, and end users), SteelCentral Portal uses
the information to create dynamic dashboards for monitoring the end-to-end performance and status of the
application.

SteelCentral Portal

Application Model
(User-Defined)

Application Dashboard

Summary
End-User Application
Experience Map

Application Network
Performance Performance

SteelCentral Portal 104

 Application Models

When an application model is used to create an application map, the map visually shows performance and
status using colors, defined by thresholds. The following figure shows an application model and the
application dashboard summary created from the model. Note that the application map in the dashboard
summary shows colors to indicate performance and status. From the application dashboard summary, you
can easily view tooltips and drilldown for details.

Application Model

Application Dashboard Summary

Application dashboards are adaptive in nature, in that they show the best content available for the given
model. For example, the dashboards for an application monitored with NetProfiler and NetSensor will be
different than those monitored by AppInternals and AppResponse (9.x).

Hint: Panels from application dashboards can be copied and pasted for re-use in custom dashboards. (See
“Copy and Paste Panels“.)

For more information, see:

 “Create Application Models“—describes the workflow for creating application models
 “Application Model Editor“—describes the user interface for creating application models

SteelCentral Portal 105

CHAPTER 10 Create Application Models

Creating an application model may seem like a daunting task, especially if your knowledge of the
application is limited. However, if you breakdown the process into manageable steps, you may be surprised
how easy it is. But don’t expect to create an application model in a single session. The iterative process
involves trial and error. That is why the software is designed to save your updates as the model is refined
and to not allow others to use the model for monitoring until you indicate that the model is complete.
Additionally, the software allows you to enter notes to support your updates and findings.

SteelCentral Portal 106

 Create Application Models

The following table lists the general workflow for creating an application model. Consider the workflow as
a starting point and then customize the process to your specific requirements.

Table 7 Suggested Steps for Creating an Application Model

# Step Description

1 Research Application Learn as much as you can about the application.

For more information, see “Guidelines for Modeling an Application“.

2 Access Editor Access the application editor to define the application model.
For more information, see “Access the Application Model Editor“.

3 Specify Data Sources Specify the data sources to use for an application model.
For more information, see “Specify Data Sources“.

4 Define Back-end “Define Back-end of Application Model“ includes:

• “Add Hosts“
• “Add Neighboring Hosts“ (discover relationships)
• “Add Relationships“ (if necessary)

Note: Skip this step if you are modeling an application outside of the monitored
network, such as a SaaS deployment. When the “Add Hosts” dialog box appears
after defining the application name, simple click Close.

5 Define Front-end “Add End Users and Response Time“

6 Refine “Refine Application Model“ includes:

• “Merge Hosts“ (if necessary)
• “Group Hosts“ (if necessary)
• “Exclude Internal Elements“ (if necessary)

7 Publish “Publish“ the application model.

8 Define Thresholds Define thresholds for the objects (i.e., hosts, relationships) in the application
dashboard.
For more information, see “Threshold Management“.
Important: The ability to define thresholds for objects depends on the connected
data sources. For more information, see “About Defining Thresholds for
Application Model Objects“.

Hint: Document Your Findings

Enter notes regarding the application and objects (hosts, relationships, internal elements, and end users) for future
reference. For more information, see “Document Your Findings with Notes“.

SteelCentral Portal 107

 Create Application Models

About Defining Thresholds for Application Model Objects

The ability to define thresholds for objects depends on the connected data sources. If one of the following data
sources is connected, then you can define thresholds for those objects. (Also included are the metrics used to create
the objects.) If one of the following data sources is not connected, then you cannot define thresholds for those
objects. For example, if only AppResponse (9.x) and/or NetProfiler is connected, then you cannot define thresholds
for hosts. But you can define thresholds for relationships.

Host
• AppInternals (CPU, Disk, Memory)
• AppInternals (9.x) (CPU, Disk, Memory)
• NetCollector/NetSensor (CPU, Disk, Memory)
• NetIM (CPU, Disk, Memory)
• NetIM (<2.3.0) (CPU, Disk, Memory)

.NET
• AppInternals (.NET health metrics (free memory, heap consumption, heap size, process CPU, thread count, time
garbage collecting))
• AppInternals (9.x) (.NET health metrics (free memory, heap consumption, heap size, process CPU, thread count,
time garbage collecting))

Java
• AppInternals (.NET health metrics (free memory, heap consumption, heap size, process CPU, thread count, time
garbage collecting))
• AppInternals (9.x) (.NET health metrics (free memory, heap consumption, heap size, process CPU, thread count,
time garbage collecting))

Group
• Aggregate of hosts

Relationship
• AppResponse (Response time)
• AppResponse (9.x) (Request rate, response time)
• NetProfiler (Response time, active connections, number of TCP resets, TCP retransmissions)

End User / Response Time

• AppInternals (Page Load Count, Page Load Time, and Violation Percentage)
• AppInternals (9.x) (Completed/Sec, Max. Active, Max. Response Time)
• AppResponse Application Stream Analysis (Connection Request Rate, Connections Failed Rate, User Response
Time)
• AppResponse WTA (Page Time & Page View Rate)
• AppResponse (9.x) WTA (Page Time, Page View Rate, % Pages Optimized)
• AppResponse (9.x) Defined Application (Server Response Time (Servers), Turn Rate (Servers))
• Aternity (Activity Score)
• NetIM Synthetic Tests (Test Response Time, Test Status)
• NetIM (<2.3.0) Synthetic Tests (Test Response Time, Test Status)
• NetSensor Synthetic Tests (Test Response Time, Test Status)
• NetProfiler (Resp. Time, New Connections)
• Web Analyzer (Response Time, Page Views)

Related Topics
 “Application Models“

SteelCentral Portal 108

 Create Application Models

 “Application Model Editor“

SteelCentral Portal 109

 Create Application Models

Guidelines for Modeling an Application

Before creating an application model, conduct a little research. Ask the application developers and/or the
IT staff about the application:
 On what server is the application deployed/installed (IP address/DNS name)
 Does the application access a database and/or other components
 Does the application use Java or .NET framework
 Is the application behind a load balancer
 Are different transaction types performed at various times of the day or month
 Are there low-throughput or infrequent processes (e.g., overnight batch operation)

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“
 “Access the Application Model Editor“

SteelCentral Portal 110

 Create Application Models

Access the Application Model Editor

After learning about an application (see “Guidelines for Modeling an Application“), it’s time to create the
model. Application models are defined using the application model editor.
To access the application model editor, perform one of the following procedures:
 “Creating an Application Model“
 “Accessing an Existing Application Model“

To create a new application model in the application model editor, perform the following procedure.

Procedure 27 Creating an Application Model

1. From the Applications menu, choose Create…

The “Application Name” dialog box appears.

2. Enter a unique application name to identify the application and click OK.

Note: If necessary, the application name can be changed at a later time. For more information, see
“General Workflow for Resource Management“.

The “Add Hosts“ dialog box appears for defining hosts (clients/servers) and relationships used by
the application. For more information, see “Define Back-end of Application Model“.

End of Procedure 27

SteelCentral Portal 111

 Create Application Models

To access an existing application model, perform the following procedure.

Procedure 28 Accessing an Existing Application Model

1. From the Applications menu, choose Manage.

The “Resource Management” screen appears with the Applications tab selected.
(See “Resource Management“.)

Alternatively, if the application model has been published, from the Home screen, click on the
application card’s gear icon and choose Edit Application.

2. Select the application that you want to edit and click Edit.

The application opens in the application model editor.

End of Procedure 28

Note: To copy or delete an application model, use the procedure above (“Accessing an Existing Application
Model“). However, after selecting the application, click the Make a Copy… or Delete button. For more
information, see “General Workflow for Resource Management“.

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“

SteelCentral Portal 112

 Create Application Models

Specify Data Sources

You can specify the data sources to use for an application model. That is, search results will include
components from all data sources and relevant metrics from all data sources will be used for monitoring the
application. By default, all data sources are included.

Note: If necessary, you can specify the data sources to use when monitoring individual hosts and
relationships (see the “Hosts“ and “Relationships“ inspectors, respectively).

Procedure 29 Specifying Data Sources

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Select Data Sources from the Model Menu/button

The “Data Sources” dialog box appears.

3. Select Use specific data sources.

A list of available data sources appears.

4. Click data sources to select or unselect.

Only selected data sources will be used for monitoring. Unselected data sources will be excluded as
will any data sources added or connected later.

5. Click OK.

End of Procedure 29

SteelCentral Portal 113

 Create Application Models

Define Back-end of Application Model

Defining the back-end of an application model includes the following procedures:
 “Add Hosts“ to search for and add hosts to the application model
 “Add Neighboring Hosts“ to discover hosts one hop away from found hosts
 “Add Relationships“ to manually add relationships between hosts, if necessary

Add Hosts
Hosts are servers that are involved in the execution of an application. When adding hosts one hop away
from specific hosts, the relationships, representing traffic between the hosts, are also added.
The following procedure describes how to add hosts and relationships to an application model.

Procedure 30 Adding Hosts to the Application Model

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Choose Add > Add New Hosts…

The “Add Hosts” dialog box appears.

3. Enter the search criteria:

3.1. In the search field, enter the full or partial name of the host or IP address.

For detailed information about searching the data sources for hosts and IP addresses, see
KB S26458. (You must login to view this knowledge base article.)

3.2. Optionally, click the time range to specify a different time range.

4. Click Search.

The search results are listed in the dialog box.

5. Add found hosts to the application model:

Note: If no hosts are found during the search, you can optionally add a host manually be entering an
IP address in the “Manually-Added Host (IP Address)” field (not shown above) and clicking
Add Hosts. However, be aware that when published, no data will be shown for the manually-added
host until the host is monitored by a data source.

5.1. Choose the hosts to add to the application model by selecting the checkbox in the first column.

5.2. Optionally, unselect the checkbox next to the Include hosts one hop [downstream] from selected
host(s) option to not add hosts that are one hop away. Or, from the pull-down menu, select
downstream, upstream, in both directions.
- Click Excluded Relationships to specify the relationships to exclude when adding hosts to the
application model.

SteelCentral Portal 114

 Create Application Models

- Select an option from the NetProfiler search by pull-down menu:

Ports Only= relationships have port names specified, but no application names
Apps Only= relationships have application names specified, but no ports
Apps with Ports = relationships have application names and ports specified
Note: Downstream vs. Upstream
- Downstream relationships are those where the host initiated the connection.
- Upstream relationships are those where the host accepted a connection request.

5.3. Optionally, change the setting for the Include previously deleted hosts and relationships in
results option. If the checkbox is not selected, that previously deleted host/relationships are not
added to the application model.

5.4. Click Add Hosts.

The hosts and relationships are added to the application model.

5.5. Click Finish.

End of Procedure 30

Add Neighboring Hosts

The following procedure describes how to add hosts that neighbor the selected host(s). In other words, use
this option to add hosts that are a single hop from selected host(s). This is an easy way to fill out an
application model.

Procedure 31 Adding Neighboring Hosts to the Application Model

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Select the host(s) in the application model to which you want to add neighboring hosts.

Hint: To select multiple hosts, hold down the SHIFT key and click on the hosts.

3. Choose Add > Add Neighboring Hosts…

The “Add Hosts” dialog box appears.

SteelCentral Portal 115

 Create Application Models

4. Specify the search criteria:

• Time Range:
Click the current time range to specify a different time range for the search.

• Direction of Hop:
From the hosts one hop x from select host(s) option, choose the direction from the pull-down
menu: downstream, upstream, in both directions.
Note: Downstream vs. Upstream
- Downstream relationships are those where the host initiated the connection.
- Upstream relationships are those where the host accepted a connection request.

• Exclude Relationships:
Click the Excluded Relationship button to filter relationships.

4.1. NetProfiler Relationships

Select an option from the NetProfiler search by pull-down menu:
Ports Only = relationships have port names specified, but no application names
Apps Only = relationships have application names specified, but no ports
Apps with Ports = relationships have application names and ports specified

• Include Deleted Objects:

Change the setting for Include previously deleted hosts and relationships in results to
include/exclude hosts and relationships that match the search criteria.

5. Click Add Hosts.

The matching hosts and relationships are added to the application model.

6. Click Finish.

End of Procedure 31

SteelCentral Portal 116

 Create Application Models

Add Relationships
If a relationship between two hosts is not being observed by any of the current data sources, then you can
manually add relationships between the hosts.

Note: Relationships represent the traffic flowing between hosts. A relationship is the application protocol
used by two hosts.

Important: When published, a manually-created relationship will not be monitored until a relationship
with the specified name is observed by a data source. Therefore, it is best to add relationship using the “Add
Neighboring Hosts“ option.

Procedure 32 Adding Relationships Between Hosts

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Select the host or internal element to which you want to add a relationship.

3. From the “Hosts“ or “Internal Elements“ inspector, select the relationships Add button.

Hint: To display internal elements for a host, select the host and choose View >
Show Internal Elements.

The “Add Relationship” dialog box appears.

4. In the Name field, specify the application protocol and port.

The specified name is listed on the “Relationships“ inspector when the relationship is selected.

5. In the application model, click a host or internal element to designate it as the server.

6. If necessary, click the Switch button to switch the designed client and server.

7. Click Add.

The relationship is added and appears as a dashed line until the application map is published.

End of Procedure 32

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“
 “Add End Users and Response Time“

SteelCentral Portal 117

 Create Application Models

Add End Users and Response Time

When defining the front-end of an application model, end users are a conceptual representation of how
actual users access the application. End users connect to the application using one more relationships
(response time).
Note that multiple end users can be added to an application model to signify different sets of users.
The following procedure describes how to define end-user experience monitoring in an application model.

Procedure 33 Adding End Users to the Application Model

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Choose Add > Add End Users.

An “End Users” object is added to the application model.

3. Select the “End Users” object.

The ““End User“ (Not Configured)” inspector appears.

4. Optionally, change the name of the “End Users” object by editing the Name field in the inspector.

5. Add a Response Time:

5.1. From the “End User“ inspector, click Add Response Time.

The Add Response Time Wizard appears.

5.2. Follow the instructions shown in the three-step wizard:

• Select a server (host)

Note: Select Unknown if the application is hosted outside of the monitored environment.

• Select the end-user experience measurement type (data source)

• Select the application

The Response time appears as an arrow from the End Users object to the selected server (host).

End of Procedure 33

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“
 “Define Back-end of Application Model“

SteelCentral Portal 118

 Create Application Models

Refine Application Model

Refining the application model includes the following procedures:
 “Merge Hosts“ (if necessary)
 “Group Hosts“ (if necessary)
 “Exclude Internal Elements“ (if necessary)

Merge Hosts
Use the merge feature when modeling Network Address Translation (NAT) hosts, where the IP address
used within one network is translated to a different IP address in another network. In other words, when
defining an application model, you can merge the front-end with the back-end. For example, you might see
the following:
1.1.1.1 --> 2.2.2.2
3.3.3.3 --> 4.4.4.4
where 2.2.2.2 and 3.3.3.3 are different interfaces on the same physical host.

Procedure 34 Merging Hosts

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Select the two or more hosts that you want to merge.

To select multiple hosts, hold down the SHIFT key and click on the hosts.

3. In the “Hosts“ inspector, click Merge selected hosts.

The selected hosts are merged into a single host.

End of Procedure 34

SteelCentral Portal 119

 Create Application Models

To unmerge hosts, select the merged host, and click the Unmerge ( ) button in the “Hosts“ inspector.

SteelCentral Portal 120

 Create Application Models

Group Hosts
Use the group feature to represent logical hierarchy within the application model. When the application
model is published and monitored, the status of a group will be based on the status of its members.
Groups can be collapsed or expanded using the View > Collapse Group and View > Expand Group
options.

Procedure 35 Grouping Hosts

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. Select one or more hosts that you want to group.

To select multiple hosts, hold down the SHIFT key and click on the hosts.

3. In the “Hosts“ inspector, choose an In Group option:

• To create a new group, click New, specify a group name, and click OK.

• To add the selected host(s) to en existing group, click the pull-down arrow and select the existing
group name.

The selected host(s) are grouped.

When grouped hosts are expanded (View > Expand Group), the hosts are displayed in a
shaded box.

End of Procedure 35

To remove a host from a group, select the grouped host. Then in the “Groups“ inspector (shown below),
select the host that you want to ungroup and click Remove.

SteelCentral Portal 121

 Create Application Models

Exclude Internal Elements

You can specify the internal elements (databases, Java, .NET instances) to include when the application
model is published and monitored. By default, all internal elements are included. That is, all internal
elements will be monitored.

Procedure 36 Excluding Internal Elements

1. Open the application model that you want to edit. (See “Access the Application Model Editor“.)

2. If the internal elements are not already shown, from the View menu, choose Show Internal Elements.

3. Select the host from which you want to exclude internal elements.

The “Hosts“ inspector appears.

4. Next to Internal Elements, click the Edit button.

The “Internal Elements” dialog box appears.

5. If the list of internal elements is not already shown, click the arrow.

6. Click on internal elements to select or unselect.

Only selected internal elements will be monitored. Unselected internal elements will be excluded.

7. Click Save.

End of Procedure 36

SteelCentral Portal 122

 Create Application Models

Publish
When the application model is complete, you can publish the model. When an application model is
published, SteelCentral Portal generates an application dashboard that can be used to monitor the
end-to-end performance and status of the application.

Procedure 37 Publishing an Application Model

1. Choose Publish.

The “Publish” dialog box appears.

2. Click OK.

SteelCentral
Portal creates an application dashboard from the model. The dashboard can then be
used for monitoring the defined application.

End of Procedure 37

After publishing an application for monitoring, the application can be shared with users and/or groups so
that others can monitor the application.
To view and monitor the application, select the application card from the Home screen.

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“

Unpublish
Published application models can be unpublished. When an application model is unpublished, it will no
longer be available for monitoring. To unpublish an application model, edit the model and click the
Unpublish button.

SteelCentral Portal 123

 Create Application Models

Document Your Findings with Notes

Documenting your findings (such as how you learned about a specific host or your reasoning for excluding
a relationship) is an important part of creating an application model. Your notes are a valuable resource for
refining and maintaining application models.
The following table lists the available places to enter your notes.

Table 8 Places to Enter Notes

Object Place to Enter Notes

Application Application Notes field in the Notes dialog box

(Choose Model > View Notes.)

Host Notes field in the “Hosts“ inspector

Relationship Notes field in the “Relationships“ inspector

(Click the Add button.)

End User Notes field in the “End User“ inspector

Internal Element Notes field in the “Internal Elements“ inspector
If multiple objects are selected (hold down the SHIFT key and click the objects), then the
notes are applied to all selected objects. Be aware that adding notes to multiple objects at
once will override any existing object notes.

To review notes for the application and objects (hosts, relationships, end users, response times,
internal elements), open the Notes dialog box. (Choose Model > View Notes.)
Use the following features to find an object in the list:
 Filter by Object Status
Filter the list by object status using the following Show options:
– Published—Objects that have been published
– Note Published—Objects that were added after the application map was last published
– Deleted—Objects that have been added and then deleted from the application model
 Display Objects with No Notes
Display objects with no notes using the Show option Object with no notes.
 Sort by Column Information
Sort the list by the information in a column by clicking the column header. Click the column header
again to reverse the order.
 Reinstate a Deleted Object
To reinstate a previously deleted object in the application model, click the Add Back option for the
object.

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“

SteelCentral Portal 124

CHAPTER 11 Application Model Editor

Use the Application Model Editor to define application models. The following figure identifies notable
items in the Application Model Editor, with more information below.

Application Name Publication Status

Menu Options
Inspector

Zoom In/Out
Buttons

Application Model

 Application Name
Identifies the application model. This user-defined name is specified when the model is created. (See
“Access the Application Model Editor“.) To change the application name, see “General Workflow for
Resource Management“.
 Menu Options
Operations for defining applications. For more information see “Menu Options“.
 Zoom In/Out Buttons
Buttons for resizing the application model. Alternatively, use the View menu options to resize the
application model.
 Application Model
A visual representation of the application model. For more information, see “Application Model
Objects“

SteelCentral Portal 125

 Application Model Editor

 Publication Status
A message indicating whether the current application model has been published for monitoring.
 Inspector
Displays information and options specific to the selected object in the application model. If multiple
types of objects are selected, the inspector displays the information on separate tabs. The width of the
inspector can be adjusted by dragging the left side of the panel. For more information, see “Inspector“.

Related Topics
 “Create Application Models“

SteelCentral Portal 126

 Application Model Editor

Application Model Objects

Application models are graphically defined with the objects listed in the following table.

Table 9 Application Model Objects

Object Description Data Source

Hosts The servers that are involved in the execution of the • AppInternals
application
• AppInternals 9.x
• NetCollector/NetSensor
• NetIM
• NetIM (<2.3.0)

Relationships The traffic flow between hosts in the application • Web Transaction Analysis
(AppResponse and
AppResponse 9.x)
• NetProfiler

End Users The users accessing the application • Web Transaction Analysis
(AppResponse and
Response Time The end user experience measurement for the AppResponse 9.x)
application
• Applications (Aternity)
• Application Stream
Analysis (AppResponse
and AppResponse 9.x)
• JavaScript (AppInternals)
• JavaScript (AppInternals,
Web Analyzer,
(BrowserMetrix)
• Enhanced Flow Data
(NetProfiler)
• Synthetic Tests (NetIM,
NetIM (<2.3.0), and
NetSensor)
• Code Instrumentation
(AppInternals 9.x)

Groups Provide structure in the application model. —

Groups are manually created.
Groups can be expanded or collapsed.

Internal Elements The .NET or Java instances running inside a host. • AppInternals
Internal Elements can be shown or hidden. • AppInternals 9.x

SteelCentral Portal 127

 Application Model Editor

The following figure show examples of the application model objects.

Figure 5 Example Objects in an Application Model

Hosts & Relationships End Users & Response Times
Hosts End Users

Relationships Response Times

Groups Internal Elements

Groups (expanded)

Groups (collapsed)

Related Topics
 “Application Model Editor“

SteelCentral Portal 128

 Application Model Editor

Menu Options
Table 10 Application Model Editor Menu Options
Options Description

Model

Data Sources Select the data sources to use for the model
Note: If you select data sources, then only the selected data sources will be
used for the model and any data sources which are not explicitly selected
(including, for example, data sources which are connected to
SteelCentral Portal later) will not be used for the model.

Discard Edits Removes all edits made to the application since the model was last
published

View Notes Allows you to review notes for current and deleted objects
(Additionally, deleted objects can re-instated.)

Exit Saves the application model and returns to the Home screen

Add

Add Neighboring Hosts… Adds client/servers and their relationships to the application model for
selected hosts

Add New Hosts… Adds client/servers and their relationships to the application model

Add End Users Adds an unconfigured end user to the application model

Select

Select All Selects all hosts in the application model

Select All Not Published Selects all hosts in the application model that were added after the last
publication of the model

Select All Published Selects all hosts in the application model that were included in the last
publication of the model

View

Zoom In Zoom in on the application model

(Alternatively, use the Zoom In ( )button.)

Zoom Out Zooms out of the application model

(Alternatively, use the Zoom Out ( )button.)

Zoom to 100% Sets the zoom level to 100 percent

Fit All Sets the zoom level to display the entire application model

Center Map Centers the application model in the application model editor

Show Internal Elements Displays internal elements for a selected host

Hide Internal Elements Hides internal elements for a selected host

SteelCentral Portal 129

 Application Model Editor

Table 10 Application Model Editor Menu Options

Options Description

Expand Group Shows all hosts in a selected collapsed group

Collapse Group Collapses all hosts in a selected expanded group

Delete Deletes the selected objects from the model

(To re-instate deleted objects, see Model > View Notes option.)

Publish/Unpublish Enables/disables the current application model for monitoring

SteelCentral Portal 130

 Application Model Editor

Inspector
The inspector displays information and options specific to the selected object in the application model. If
multiple types of objects are selected, the inspector displays the information on separate tabs. For a
description of each inspector tab, see the following sections:
 “Hosts“
 “Groups“
 “Relationships“
 “End User“
 “Response Time“
 “Internal Elements“

Note: The width of the inspector can be adjusted by dragging the left side of the panel.

SteelCentral Portal 131

 Application Model Editor

Hosts

Table 11 Hosts Inspector

Field Description

Name User-specified name of the host

To change the name, select the field and edit the text.

Hostname Name of the host

IP Address IP address of the host

When a merged host is selected, this field lists the IP addresses of the merged host.
Click the Unmerge button to move an IP address to its own host. (See Merge Hosts
field.)

Operating System Operating system of the host

In Group Adds the host to a group

Use the group option to represent the selected hosts as a logical tier.
Click New to create a new group or select an existing group from the pull-down
menu.
For more information, see “Group Hosts“.

Merge Hosts Merges the selected hosts

Use the merge option to represent two or more hosts as a single host.
(This option appears when two or more hosts are selected. Hold down the SHIFT
key and click on each host.)
Click the Merge Selected Hosts button to merge the hosts.
For more information, see “Merge Hosts“.

SteelCentral Portal 132

 Application Model Editor

Table 11 Hosts Inspector (Continued)

Field Description

Monitoring Data Sources Excludes data from specific data sources from monitoring the host
Click Edit to specify the data sources to exclude from monitoring the host when the
application is published.
Note: If it makes sense, it is better to configure which data sources to use at the
model level. For more information, see “Specify Data Sources“.

Internal Elements Excludes interface elements (databases, Java, .NET instances) from the host
Click Edit to specify the interface elements to exclude from monitoring the host
when the application is published.
Hint: Excluding unnecessary internal elements will reduce processing, which can
improve overall performance.

Relationships Adds a relationship from the host

Click Add to manually define a client/server relationship with another host.
For more information, see “Add Relationships“.

Notes Specifies documentation regarding the host

For more information, see “Document Your Findings with Notes“.

SteelCentral Portal 133

 Application Model Editor

Groups

Table 12 Groups Inspector

Field Description

Name User-specified name of the group

To change the name of the group, select the field and edit the text.

Related Actions:
• To create a group, see the In Group field on the “Hosts Inspector“.
• To collapse a group, select the group and choose View > Collapse Group.
• To expand a group, select the group and choose View > Expand Group.

Remove Removes the selected item from the group

Delete Deletes the selected item from the application model

Note: To delete a group, remove all items from the group. Then select the empty
group and choose Delete.

Note that when multiple groups are selected, the Group column of the table identifies the group to which
the item belongs.

SteelCentral Portal 134

 Application Model Editor

Relationships

Standard View

Advanced View

Table 13 Relationships Inspector

Field Description

Delete Deletes the selected relationship from the application model

Add Displays the “Edit Notes” dialog box for making notes about the specific
relationship.

Edit Displays the “Select Monitoring Data Source” dialog box for specifying the data
sources to use for monitoring the selected relationship when the application model
is published.
(Advanced View only.)
Note: If it makes sense, it is better to configure which data sources to use at the
model level. For more information, see “Specify Data Sources“.

Time Range/ Changes the time range and updates the throughput values for the selected items,
Update Throughput which helps to identify the relationships to include in the application model.
(Advanced View only.)

SteelCentral Portal 135

 Application Model Editor

End User
To add an end user, choose Add > Add End Users.

Table 14 End User Inspector

Field Description

Name Name of the end user

To change the name, select the field and edit the text.

Connect end user to an Adds a response time from the selected end user to a host.
application
Click Add Response Time to define the response time between the end user and a
host.
For more information, see “Add End Users and Response Time“.

Notes Specifies documentation regarding the end user

For more information, see “Document Your Findings with Notes“.

SteelCentral Portal 136

 Application Model Editor

Response Time

Table 15 Response Time Inspector

Field Description

Client Name of the client (end user)

Server Name of the server

Type Data source type

Name Name of the application

Data Source The data source ID

Delete Response Time Deletes the response time

SteelCentral Portal 137

 Application Model Editor

Internal Elements
To display internal elements for a host, select the host and choose View > Show Internal Elements.

Table 16 Internal Elements Inspector

Field Description

Name Name of the internal element

Type Type of internal element, such as .NET or Java

Host Name of the host

Relationships Adds a relationship from the internal element.

Click Add to define a client/server relationship with another host.
For more information, see “Add Relationships“.

Notes Specifies documentation regarding the internal element

For more information, see “Document Your Findings with Notes“.

SteelCentral Portal 138

CHAPTER 12 Define Panels and Elements

Elements display the metric values of objects. The first step in creating a dashboard is choosing the objects
whose metrics you want to monitor. You then decide which elements are best to display the values of the
applicable metrics. The Object Selection Wizard helps you complete both tasks.
For more information, see:
 “Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics“
 “Object Selection Wizard“
 “Copy and Paste Panels“
Important: If your user account does not have the necessary permissions, you may not be able to perform
certain tasks described in this chapter. For assistance, contact a Portal Administrator.

SteelCentral Portal 139

 Define Panels and Elements

Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics

To create dashboards, you must first choose the appropriate data source (such as AppInternals,
AppResponse, or NetIM).
Each data source has a specialized use. For example:
 AppInternals continuously monitors thousands of system and application metrics within each server,
across all tiers, and automatically spots performance problems.
 AppResponse monitors and analyzes end-user experience for all levels of transactions. AppResponse
also supports in-depth monitoring and analysis of the underlying network, a domain that is vital to
comprehensive application performance management.
 NetIM uses remote instrumentation interfaces (SNMP, for example) to capture performance
information from infrastructure components such as servers, application components, and network
devices.
No matter the data source, the fundamentals are the same. Each data source monitors the environment and
produces measurements on objects in that particular environment. Consequently, the two most important
concepts to understand are objects and metrics.
An object is anything that a data source can monitor. Object types (such as Windows, Business Group, Disk,
or CPU) are classes or categories of objects. Some object types are not monitored by a data source and
contain no objects themselves, but act only as “containers” of other object types (such as in “Windows”
containing “CPU”).
Objects are the individual instances of an object type. For example, CPU (0), CPU (1), and CPU (2) are all
instances of the object type “CPU”. An object paired with a metric can be represented as a element.
Elements use metrics to represent either the status or the numerical data associated with objects. Because
each data source monitors many objects, there can be hundreds or even thousands of available metrics.

SteelCentral Portal 140

 Define Panels and Elements

Consider the following example. A CPU object, such as “CPU(1),” might be paired with a metric called
“Usage (%)” and displayed as an LED showing CPU % Usage. The LED would be green, yellow, or red,
depending on whether the percentage of usage falls within normal, warning, or critical threshold ranges.
By double-clicking the LED, you display a graph showing the amount of usage (by percentage) over time,
as shown in the following figure.

Figure 6 Double-click LED (showing status) to Display Graph (showing metrics)

Double-click the LED to display the graph

SteelCentral Portal 141

 Define Panels and Elements

Object Selection Wizard

The Object Selection Wizard guides you through the steps of selecting and displaying (through panels and
elements) the data-source-specific metrics that you want to monitor. The available choices of objects and
metrics depends on the data that is managed by the selected data source.

Note: Rather than manually selecting metrics, you can use predefined content templates. Content templates
specify the metric data that you want your elements to display, as well as how to group that data and which
visualization styles to use. For more information, see “Using Content Templates to Display Content“.

After you choose metrics or content templates, the Object Selection Wizard enables you to configure a new
panel or use an existing one. In either case, you can set up one or more visualization styles for the elements
that will monitor the metrics.
The following figure shows the Object Selection Wizard.

1. Search for Objects 2. Select Objects 3. Select Metrics:

Select the data source type Choose the objects whose metrics you want to monitor. Choose the metrics to
and then the search criteria. include in the panel.

SteelCentral Portal 142

 Define Panels and Elements

Using the Object Selection Wizard

The general workflow for adding content to a panel using the Object Select Wizard is as follows:

1) Search for Objects:

a) Select the appropriate data source type (such as AppInternals, AppResponse, or NetIM).
b) Specify the search criteria. The search criteria fields depend on the selected data source type and
the selected search criteria. For more information about search types, see “Data Source Searches“.
c) Click Search Now.

2) Select Objects:
a) Choose from the objects that match the search criteria.

3) Select Metrics:
a) Choose the information to monitor on the selected objects by specifying the corresponding metrics
or selecting a content template.

Note: Content templates are also useful for displaying grouped elements because they specify all of
the objects and metrics found within the group’s hierarchy. For more information about content
templates, see “Using Content Templates to Display Content“. For more information about groups,
see “Group Elements“.
b) Click Create Panel.

4) Configure Panel:
a) In the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, specify the panel name and visualization style.

Optionally, you can specify additional panel settings and grouping. For more information, see
“Configuring Panel Settings“.
b) Click OK.

The following procedure describes using the Object Selection Wizard to select metrics for monitoring.

Procedure 38 Select Metrics to Monitor using the Object Selection Wizard

1. Open a custom dashboard.

2. If the dashboard is not already in edit mode, on the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard
( ) icon.

3. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Add Content ( ) icon and choose Create new dashboard
panel.

4. Select the data source from the pull-down menu.

4.1. If there is more than one data source type available (for example: AppInternals and
AppResponse), select the data source type from the pull-down menu.

SteelCentral Portal 143

 Define Panels and Elements

4.2. If there are multiple data sources of the same type, select the specific data source(s) from a
separate pull-down menu.

The search fields appear for you to specify the search criteria.

For more information, see “Data Source Searches“.

5. After defining the search criteria, click Search Now.

The “Select objects” panel lists the objects that are managed by the selected data source and that
match the search criteria.

6. Select the appropriate objects in the “Select Objects” panel.

When you make your selection, the default is Use the following objects setting. In contrast, the
Use live search results option dynamically updates the objects according to the search criteria. For
example, if you search for the top three CPU objects by “Usage (%)” the objects used in the panel will
change in real time as the “Usage (%)” of the CPU objects change.
Note: For the Use live search results option, the frequency by which objects update will depend on
the search criteria. For example, with AppResponse (9.x) as the data source type, “Top N” search
results update every minute, while “Navigating Object Tree” search results update every two hours.

In the “Select Metrics” panel, either choose an available content template (from the “Templates” tab)
or manually select the appropriate metrics (from the “Metrics” tab). The available content templates
and metrics are determined by the previously selected object type.

About Rollups:

For certain data source types (such as NetIM), you can choose various Rollups. In other words, you can
select from the multiple rules by which a data source rolls up data (such as Minimum, Maximum, 95th
Percentile, Median). For example, in the “Dashboard Data” panel, you can use the “Rollup Selection”
pull-down menu to specify one or more Rollups for each metric.
Note: To create 95th Percentile panels with data from NetSensor or NetIM, you must first enable 95th
percentile rollups in NetSensor or NetIM using the Rollup Wizard. For more information, see the
NetSensor User Guide or the NetIM User Guide.

7. After selecting metrics, click Create Panel.

8. Select a visualization style from the “Visualization Style” pull-down menu and provide a name for the
panel. For more information about visualization styles, see “Visualization Styles“.

For more information about the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, see “Configuring Panel Settings“.

For more information about grouping, see “Group Elements“.

9. In the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, click OK to create the new panel.

End of Procedure 38

Related Topics
 “Dashboard Components“
 “Group Elements“

SteelCentral Portal 144

 Define Panels and Elements

 “Configure Panels“
 “Data Source Searches“

SteelCentral Portal 145

 Define Panels and Elements

Copy and Paste Panels

Use the copy and paste panel options to:
 Quickly deliver the same content to new or existing custom dashboards
 Gather related panels from different dashboards into a single custom dashboard
(For example, you could create a custom dashboard that shows all the monitored application maps on
a single screen. See figure below.)
 Experiment with panel settings (using the copied panels), while still ensuring that the original panel
remains intact
 Visualize identical metrics in various ways (such as LEDs and graphs) by defining the objects in each
of the copied panels (using different visualization styles)

Figure 7 Example: Custom Dashboard with Copied Application Map Panels

SteelCentral Portal 146

 Define Panels and Elements

Procedure 39 Copying & Pasting Panels

1. Copy a panel:

1.1. Open the dashboard (Application, Custom, or Default) with the panel that you want to re-use:

1.2. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Copy Panel.

1.3. Click Home to return to the Home screen.

2. Paste the panel:

2.1. Open the custom dashboard to which you want to paste the panel.

2.2. Verify that the dashboard is in edit mode.

(On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.)

2.3. Right-click on the dashboard background and choose Paste Panel.

End of Procedure 39

Related Topics
 “Dashboard Components“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“
 “Data Source Searches“

SteelCentral Portal 147

CHAPTER 13 Data Source Searches

When creating dashboard content with the Object Selection Wizard, you can search the following data
source types for objects and metrics:
 AppInternals
 AppInternals (9.x)
 AppResponse
 AppResponse (9.x)
 Application Model
 Aternity
 NetCollector/NetSensor
 NetIM
 NetIM (<2.3.0)
 NetProfiler
 UCExpert
 Web Analyzer (BrowserMetrix)

SteelCentral Portal 148

 Data Source Searches

AppInternals Searches
AppInternals 10.0.1 and later provide the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N and Bottom N“

Navigating Object Tree

Use the “Navigating Object Tree” search as the general search function when you want to view and select
from all applicable object type pull-down menus, but are not interested in filtering the search results (as in
“Top N and Bottom N“).
The following procedure describes how to use the Navigating Object Tree search fields for creating a panel
that shows the page load count for the Tradefast application in the United States.

Procedure 40 AppInternals Search Example — Navigating Object Tree

1. Select AppInternals as the data source type.

If there are multiple AppInternals data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources
from the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. From the Search by field, select Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Select Type field, select Application.

Then in the adjacent field, select Tradefast.

4. In the Search within Application ‘Tradefast’ field, select Country.

Then in the adjacent field, select a country or select “*” for all countries.

SteelCentral Portal 149

 Data Source Searches

5. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Navigating Object Tree” search
example.

End of Procedure 40

SteelCentral Portal 150

 Data Source Searches

Top N and Bottom N

Use “Top N” or “Bottom N” to search for objects of a particular metric, and then filter the results to only the
top or bottom n values.
The “Top N” and “Bottom N” searches are similar to the “Navigating Object Tree“ search. The only
difference is that “Top N” and “Bottom N” enable you to base your search on a particular metric and then
filter the results to only n values.

Note: The search example in this section is based on a “Bottom N” search. The steps for a “Top N” search
are the same, the only difference being that the filtered search results would be for top “n” values.

The following procedure describes how to use the “Bottom N” search for finding the bottom Apdex scores
for countries.

Procedure 41 AppInternals Search Example—Bottom N

1. Select AppInternals as the data source type.

If there are multiple AppInternals data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources
from the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. In the Search by field, select Bottom N.

3. Select the Bottom N value of 5 (or click Edit… in the pull-down menu and enter a number).

4. Select the object type of Country and all (*) of its object instances.

5. Select the metric of Apdex.

SteelCentral Portal 151

 Data Source Searches

6. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Bottom N” search example.

End of Procedure 41

SteelCentral Portal 152

 Data Source Searches

AppInternals (9.x) Searches

AppInternals (9.x) provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Object Name“
 “Top N and Bottom N“
 “Standard Application Components“

If you have used the AppInternals 9.x desktop console, these searches will be familiar to you. Each search
type generates object patterns that are the same as those used in the desktop console. For more information
about object patterns and the desktop console, see the AppInternals 9.x documentation.
For additional information, see “Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals”“.

Navigating Object Tree

Use the “Navigating Object Tree” search as the general search function when you want to view and select
from all applicable object type pull-down menus, but are not interested in filtering the search results (as in
“Top N and Bottom N“) or using predefined queries (as in the “Standard Application Components“).
The following procedure describes how to use the Navigating Object Tree search fields for finding CPU
objects on all hosts in a Windows environment.

Procedure 42 AppInternals (9.x) Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. Select AppInternals (9.x) as the data source type.

If there are multiple AppInternals 9.x data sources, you can select specific data sources or select all
from the adjacent data source pull-down menu.

2. Select Navigating Object Tree as the search type.

The “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals” check boxes are selected by default. For more
information, see “Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals”“.

3. Select a Host. In this case, all (*) hosts are chosen, but you could choose an individual host.

4. Select the Windows object type and all (*) of its object instances.

5. Select the CPU object type and all (*) of its object instances.

To limit the number of search results, you could choose an individual instance (either 0, 1, 2, 3) or the
aggregated instance (“_Total”). Select Edit… to further restrict the search with the asterisk (*) and
question mark (?) wildcard characters. For details about search strings, see “Building an Object Search
String“.

6. Click Search Now.

SteelCentral Portal 153

 Data Source Searches

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Navigating Object Tree” search
example.

End of Procedure 42

SteelCentral Portal 154

 Data Source Searches

Object Name
Rather than select by search fields, you can simply type in a search string when you use the “Object Name”
search (thus eliminating the need to fill in the search fields if you were to use “Navigating Object Tree“).

Note: In the AppInternals 9.x desktop console, you would enter this same search string as an object pattern
in the “Object” text box of any table. For details about object patterns, see the AppInternals 9.x
documentation.

The following procedure describes how to use the “Object Name” search for finding CPU objects on all
hosts in a Windows environment.

Procedure 43 AppInternals (9.x) Search Example—Object Name

1. Select AppInternals (9.x) as the data source type, and then select all available SMPs from the adjacent
data source pull-down menu. (Optionally, you could also select an individual SMP.)

2. Select Object Name as the search type.

The “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals” check boxes are selected by default. For more
information, see “Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals”“.

3. Enter search string “Host (*) > Windows (*) > CPU (*)” to scope the search to all instances of
Windows-based CPUs across all hosts.

For details about search strings, see “Building an Object Search String“.

SteelCentral Portal 155

 Data Source Searches

4. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Object Name” search example.

End of Procedure 43

SteelCentral Portal 156

 Data Source Searches

Building an Object Search String

The following table lists the characters that you can use to build an object search string.

Character Specifies…

Semicolon (;) A delimiter between searches.

For example:
Host (vh20*) > Windows (*) > CPU (*); Host (vh19*) > Windows (*) > CPU (*)

Asterisk (*) A multi-character wildcard.

For example:
“vh20*” will match any host with “vh20” as the starting string, as in “vh20-tradesmp” or
“vh20-batch”

Question mark (?) A single-character wildcard.

For example:
“vh?” will match “vh1,” “vh2,” and “vh3” (but not “vh10,” “vh20,” or “vh30”); while
“vh?0” will match “vh10,” “vh20,” etc.

Note the following:

 Both the asterisk (*) and the question mark (?) wildcards can be used in the same string.
 An asterisk (*) can be used to represent all applicable levels of object types.
For example, the search string “Host (vh20-tradesmp) > *” would include all levels of object types
under “Host” (beginning with the level for Windows, SQL Server, etc.; then followed by the next lower
level - CPU, Disk, Memory, etc.).
 A question mark (?) can be used to represent the next lower level of object types.
For example, “Host (vh20-tradesmp) > Windows (*) > ?” would include only the object types under
Windows (such as CPU, Disk, Memory).

SteelCentral Portal 157

 Data Source Searches

Top N and Bottom N

Use “Top N” or “Bottom N” to search for objects by a particular metric, and then filter the results to only
the top or bottom n values. For example, if there are a large number of monitored CPUs, your search could
be for the “top 10” Windows-based CPUs having the highest “% Usage”.
The “Top N” and “Bottom N” searches are similar to the “Navigating Object Tree“ search. The only
difference is that “Top N” and “Bottom N” enables you to base your search on a particular statistic of a
particular metric and then filter the results to only n values.

Note: The search example in this section is based on a “Top N” search. The steps for a “Bottom N” search
are the same, the only difference being that the filtered search results would be for bottom “n” values.

The following procedure describes how to use the “Top N” search for finding the top 10 CPU objects by
“% Usage” on all hosts in a Windows environment.

Procedure 44 AppInternals (9.x) Search Example—Top N

1. Select AppInternals (9.x) as the data source type and then select the SMP (data source) from which to
direct your search. If you select All Data Sources, the search results would provide the top five results
(or possibly less, depending on available objects) across all AppInternals 9.x SMPs.

2. Select Top N as the search type.

The “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals” check boxes are selected by default. For more
information, see “Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals”“.

3. Select a Top N value of 10 (or click Edit… in the pull-down menu and enter a number).

4. Select Host, which in this case is “engtfconnect01”.

If you specify all (*) hosts, the search results would provide the top 10 results (or possibly less,
depending on available objects) across all hosts that are being monitored by this data source.

5. Select the object type of Windows and all (*) of its object instances.

6. Select the object type of CPU and all (*) of its object instances.

To limit the number of search results, you could choose an individual instance (either 0, 1, 2, 3) or the
aggregated instance (“_Total”). Select Edit… if you want to further restrict your search with the
asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcard characters. For details about search strings, see “Building
an Object Search String“.

7. Select % Usage as the metric.

8. Select the Statistic Selection of Average.

SteelCentral Portal 158

 Data Source Searches

9. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Top N” search example.

End of Procedure 44

SteelCentral Portal 159

 Data Source Searches

Standard Application Components

Use “Standard Application Components” to search for application component types, such as
“Server Resources” or “Databases”. These predefined searches allow you to quickly specify objects without
being familiar with the object hierarchy of the AppInternals 9.x desktop console.
For example, if you choose the application component type “Server Resources”, the available predefined
searches would be CPU Usage, Disk Usage, Memory Usage, and Network Usage.

Note: The “Standard Application Components” search corresponds to all saved filters (other than
Favorites) in the desktop console. For more information see the AppInternals 9.x documentation.

The following procedure describes how to use the “Standard Application Components” search for finding
“CPU Usage” in a Windows environment.

Procedure 45 AppInternals (9.x) Search Example—Standard Application Components

1. Select AppInternals (9.x) as the data source type, and then select all (*) available SMPs from the
adjacent data source pull-down menu. (Optionally, you could also select an individual SMP.)

2. Select Standard Application Components as the search type.

The Include Aggregates and Include Individuals checkboxes are selected by default. For more
information, see “Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals”“.

3. Select an application component type. In this case, Server Resources.

4. Select from the predefined query types that are available for the selected application component type.
In this case CPU Usage and Windows.

SteelCentral Portal 160

 Data Source Searches

5. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Standard Application Components”
search example.

End of Procedure 45

SteelCentral Portal 161

 Data Source Searches

Explanation of “Include Aggregates” and “Include Individuals”

The Include Aggregates and Include Individuals check boxes (shown in the AppInternals 9.x searches)
can be selected separately or together. However, at least one of the check boxes must be selected. The
following table lists the impact of the check box section on the search results.

Selection Impact on Search Results

Include Individuals The search results will include only individual object member instances.

For example, in a Windows system, the member instances of the object type “CPU,”
would be “0,” “1,” “2,” etc.

Include Aggregates The search returns an average or total object instance based on all of the member
instances.

For example, in a Windows system, there is an instance called “_Total”, which is defined
as an average (aggregate) of the individual instances.

Include Individuals The search results will include both the member instances and the aggregated instance.
and
Based on the preceding examples for the Windows system, the CPU object type search
Include Aggregates results would be “0,” “1,” “2,” and “_Total”.

For details about aggregate and individual object instances for different metrics, see the AppInternals 9.x
Configuration Guide.
For more information, see:
 “Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics“
 “Object Selection Wizard“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“

SteelCentral Portal 162

 Data Source Searches

AppResponse Searches
AppResponse 11.1.0 and later provide the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N and Bottom N“

Navigating Object Tree

Use the “Navigating Object Tree” search as the general search function when you want to view and select
from all applicable object type pull-down menus, but are not interested in filtering the search results (as in
“Top N and Bottom N“).
The following procedure describes how to investigate why a particular client IP address is experiencing
problems with the web application called “TradeFast Cluster 1 WebApp”.

Procedure 46 AppResponse Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. Select AppResponse as the data source type.

If there are multiple AppResponse data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources
from the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. From the Search by field, select Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Select Group field, select Web Transaction Analysis.

4. From the Select Type field, select Web App.

5. Next to the Select Type field, select the application. In this case, select TradeFast Cluster 1 WebApp.

At this point, if you do not want to narrow the search any further, and wanted only to show the
performance of the TradeFast Cluster 1 WebApp application itself, you could click Search Now.
However, in this search example we want to investigate the performance of TradeFast Cluster 1
WebApp for a particular client IP address.

6. To narrow the search, from the Search within Web App field, select Web Client IP.

7. Next to the Search within Web App ‘TradeFast Cluster 1 WebApp’ field, select the client IP address
to be investigated—12.0.0.1

8. Click Search Now.

End of Procedure 46

SteelCentral Portal 163

 Data Source Searches

Top N and Bottom N

Use “Top N” or “Bottom N” to search for objects by a particular metric, and then filter the results to only
the top or bottom n values.
The “Top N” and “Bottom N” searches are similar to the “Navigating Object Tree“ search. The only
difference is that “Top N” and “Bottom N” enable you to search for the objects with the highest or lowest n
values based on the selected metric.
The following procedure describes how to use the “Top N” search to find the top five Page Families by
number of Slow Pages.

Procedure 47 AppResponse Search Example—Top N

1. Select AppResponse as the data source type.

If there are multiple AppResponse data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources
from the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. In the Search by field, select Top N.

3. Select the Top N value of 5 (or click Edit… in the pull-down menu and enter a number).

4. From the Select Group field, select Web Transaction Analysis.

5. Select the object type of Web App and choose a specific application (e.g., TradeFast Cluster 1
WebApp).

6. In the Search within Company ‘TradeFast Cluster 1 WebApp’ field, select Page Family.
Then in the adjacent field, select ‘*’.

7. Select the metric of Slow Pages.

8. Click Search Now.

End of Procedure 47

SteelCentral Portal 164

 Data Source Searches

AppResponse (9.x) Searches

AppResponse (9.x) provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N“

Navigating Object Tree

Search by “Navigating Object Tree” when you are familiar with the objects for which you want to create
dashboards.
The following procedure describes how to investigate why a particular client IP address is experiencing
problems with the web application called “TradeFast”.

Note: SteelCentral Portal does not actively validate values entered into a search field. For example, if you
type in an incorrect or partial IP address, an incorrect result is returned. Consequently, the format of values
entered for fields labeled “Prefix/24,” “IP Conversation,” and “IP Address” must match those displayed in
the AppResponse (9.x) desktop console.

Procedure 48 AppResponse (9.x) Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. From the Data Source field, choose AppResponse (9.x).

2. Next to the Data Source field, select a specific AppResponse (9.x) data source or select
All Data Sources to search all AppResponse (9.x) data sources.

3. From the Search by field, choose Navigating Object Tree.

4. From the Select Type field, choose Web Application.

5. Next to the Select Type field, choose the application. In this case, choose TradeFast.

At this point, if you do not want to narrow the search any further, and wanted only to show the
performance of the TradeFast application itself, you could click Search now. However, in this search
example we want to investigate the performance of TradeFast for a particular client IP address.

6. To narrow the search, from the Search within field, choose Client IPs - IP Address.

7. Next to the Search within field, enter the client IP address to be investigated—10.3.60.21.

8. Click Search Now.

The search yields the object instance “TradeFast>10.3.60.21”. You can then select the applicable metrics
that you want to monitor for that particular client IP address (such as Page Time or Slow Page Rate).

SteelCentral Portal 165

 Data Source Searches

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Navigating Object Tree” search
example.

End of Procedure 48

SteelCentral Portal 166

 Data Source Searches

Top N
Search for “Top N” when you want to rank the results of an object search by metric values, such as
throughput, page time, or page views. You may also just want to limit the number of search results.
Top N results, by default, provide the most recent 15 minutes of data. You can change this time range in the
“Dashboard Toolbar“.

Note: For “Top N” object search results involving IP addresses, see “IP Address Resolution“.

How you set up the search depends on the scope:

 For a basic search, select an object type and metric.
For example, you might want the top 10 web applications based on the highest number of page views.
You would select Web Application (object type) and then select Page Views as the metric.

For details, see “AppResponse (9.x) Search Example—Top N (Basic Search)“.

 For an advanced search, select an object for the corresponding object types.
For example, within the context of a particular web application, such as “TradeFast” you might want to
see the top 10 page views.

For details, see “AppResponse (9.x) Search Example—Top N (Advanced Search)“.

Note: SteelCentral Portal does not validate values entered into a search text field. For example, if you type
in an incorrect or partial IP address, an incorrect result is returned. Consequently, the format of values
entered for fields labeled “Prefix/24,” “IP Conversation”, or “IP Address” must match those displayed in
the AppResponse (9.x) desktop console.

Procedure 49 AppResponse (9.x) Search Example—Top N (Basic Search)

1. Select Top N.

2. Select a number for N (or select Edit… to enter a number in the accompanying field). In this case, 5 is
the selected value for N.

3. Select an object type. In this case, Web Application is the selected object type. By selecting All in the
adjoining pull-down menu, you are specifying to search all web applications.

4. Select the metric Page Views.

5. Click Search Now.

The search results rank the five web applications with the highest number of page views.

Note: In the Select Objects panel, you can select the Use live search results… option, so that objects
change dynamically. For example, as page views of web applications change in real time, the objects
representing these applications will be updated every five minutes (in the panel).

SteelCentral Portal 167

 Data Source Searches

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Basic Search” search example.

End of Procedure 49

Procedure 50 AppResponse (9.x) Search Example—Top N (Advanced Search)

1. Select Top N.

2. Select a number for N from the pull-down menu (or select Edit… to enter a number in the
accompanying field). In this case, 5 is the selected value for N.

3. Select the object type, and then select an object (the particular application for which you are interested).
In this case, the selected object type is Web Application, and the selected object is the application
TradeFast.

4. Within the application TradeFast, select Page Family.

5. Select the metric Page Views.

SteelCentral Portal 168

 Data Source Searches

6. Click Search Now.

The search results rank the top five highest page views for the TradeFast application.

Note: In the Search Objects panel, you can select the Use live search results… option, so that objects
change dynamically. For example, as page views of web applications change in real time, the objects
representing these applications will change accordingly (in the panel).

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Advanced Search” search example.

End of Procedure 50

SteelCentral Portal 169

 Data Source Searches

IP Address Resolution
For “Top N” object search results involving IP addresses (for example, “IP Address” or “IP Conversation”),
a fourth column in the “Select Objects” panel will provide the original host names (whenever available) for
the corresponding IP addresses.

Related Topics
 “Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics“
 “Object Selection Wizard“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“

SteelCentral Portal 170

 Data Source Searches

Application Model Searches

Application Model provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 Top/Bottom N
 Synthetic Tests

Navigating Object Tree

Search by “Navigating Object Tree” when you are familiar with the objects for which you want to create
dashboards.
Suppose you want to investigate why a particular client IP address is experiencing problems with the web
application called “TradeFast”. The following procedure describes how to use the Navigating Object Tree
search to find the hosts using a specific port (tcp/32792) in an application model.

Procedure 51 Application Model Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. From the Data Source field, choose Application Model.

2. From the Application field, choose the application model.

If you do not want to narrow the search any further, you could click Search now. The search results
would list only the application. After selecting the application, you could select a metric to monitor.

3. From the Application Model Object Type(s) field, choose Hosts.

Then, in the adjoining data source field, choose NetProfiler.

4. From the Search field, choose Navigating Object Tree.

5. From the Search within Host field, choose Port.

Then, in the adjoining field, choose tcp/32792.

SteelCentral Portal 171

 Data Source Searches

6. Click Search Now.

The search results list the hosts in the selected application model that use port tcp/32792. You can then
select the applicable metrics that you want to monitor.

End of Procedure 51

SteelCentral Portal 172

 Data Source Searches

Aternity Searches
Aternity provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N and Bottom N“

Navigating Object Tree

Use the “Navigating Object Tree” search as the general search function when you want to view and select
from all applicable object type pull-down menus, but are not interested in filtering the search results (as in
“Top N and Bottom N“).
The following procedure describes how to use the Navigating Object Tree search fields to show information
about a monitored application.

Procedure 52 Aternity Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. Select Aternity as the data source type.

If there are multiple Aternity data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources from
the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. From the Search by field, select Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Select Type field, select Monitored Application.

Then in the adjacent field, select *.

4. Click Search Now. Then select a monitored application and the metrics to include in the panel.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Navigating Object Tree” search
example.

End of Procedure 52

SteelCentral Portal 173

 Data Source Searches

Top N and Bottom N

Use “Top N” or “Bottom N” to search for objects by a particular metric, and then filter the results to only
the top or bottom n values.
The “Top N” and “Bottom N” searches are similar to the “Navigating Object Tree“ search. The only
difference is that “Top N” and “Bottom N” enable you to search for objects with the highest or lowest n
values based on the selected metric.
The following procedure describes how to use the “Top N” search to find the top departments using
Internet Explorer by Activity Score.

Procedure 53 Aternity Search Example—Top N

1. Select Aternity as the data source type.

If there are multiple Aternity data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources from
the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. In the Search by field, select Top N.

3. Select the Top N value of 5 (or click Edit… in the pull-down menu and enter a number).

4. From the Select Type field, select Monitored Application

Then in the adjacent field, select Internet Explorer.

5. In the Search within Monitored Application ‘Internet Explorer’ field, select Department.
Then in the adjacent field, select ‘*’.

6. Select the metric of Activity Score.

SteelCentral Portal 174

 Data Source Searches

7. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Top N” search example.

End of Procedure 53

SteelCentral Portal 175

 Data Source Searches

NetCollector/NetSensor Searches
NetCollector/NetSensor provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Attribute“
 AppNetwork Path (See “AppNetwork Path Analysis“)
 “IP Address“
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top/BottomN“
 “Synthetic Tests“

For drilldowns on various NetCollector/NetSensor objects, see “Related Drilldowns for NetSensor“.

Attribute
Use the “Attribute” search to perform a keyword search on groups, devices, or interfaces. You can also filter
devices by vendor.
The following procedure describes how to perform a search on all objects with names containing “CS”.

Procedure 54 NetCollector/NetSensor Search Example—Attribute

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetCollector/NetSensor.

2. From the Search by field, choose Attribute.

3. Optionally, select the Case Sensitive checkbox if you want to use case-sensitive text to further filter the
search results.

4. From the Attribute Value field, select Contains and then, to narrow the search, enter a search string in
the adjoining text box. In this case, the search string is specified to match objects whose names contain
“CS”.

Note: If you choose Contains and leave the adjoining text box blank, the search results would include
every group, device, and interface in the network (similar to the results achieved by using the wildcard
value “*” in other search selections). The other search-string qualifiers from the Attribute Value field,
with the exception of Equals, will also return all applicable network objects if you leave the adjoining
text box blank. If you select Equals without specifying a text string, you will not receive any search
results.

5. From Filter Devices by Vendor field, choose All Vendors.

SteelCentral Portal 176

 Data Source Searches

6. Click Search Now.

The search results list all objects with name containing “CS”.

End of Procedure 54

SteelCentral Portal 177

 Data Source Searches

IP Address
Use the “IP Address” search when you want to return devices or interfaces with matching IP address
information. This search type is useful when you are troubleshooting a particular device or interface and
already know at least part of the applicable IP address, as shown in the following search example.

Procedure 55 NetCollector/NetSensor Search Example—IP Address

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetCollector/NetSensor.

2. From the Search by field, choose IP Address.

3. From the IP Address field, choose Contains, and then enter an IP address search string. In this
example, we use the IP search string “172” to match objects whose IP address contains “172”.

Note: If you choose Contains and leave the adjoining text box blank, the search results would include
every group, device, and interface in the network (similar to the results achieved by using the wildcard
value “*” in other search selections). The other search-string qualifiers from the Attribute Value field,
with the exception of Equals, will also return all applicable network objects if you leave the adjoining
text box blank. If you select Equals without specifying a text string, you will not receive any search
results.

4. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search results.

End of Procedure 55

SteelCentral Portal 178

 Data Source Searches

Navigating Object Tree

Search by “Navigating Object Tree” when you are familiar with the objects for which you want to create
dashboards.
The following procedure describes how to search for all CPUs in the network.

Procedure 56 NetCollector/NetSensor Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetCollector/NetSensor.

2. From the Search by field, choose Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Groups field, choose Select all.

4. A search at this point yields all groups in the network. However, you can narrow the search to identify
specific CPUs.

5. From the Devices field, choose “*” (all devices).

6. From the Component Type field, choose CPU.

To narrow the search results further, you could enter a text string in the Object Name Filter field.

SteelCentral Portal 179

 Data Source Searches

7. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search results.

End of Procedure 56

SteelCentral Portal 180

 Data Source Searches

Top/BottomN
Use the “Top/BottomN” search when you want to rank the results of the object search by a particular
metric.
The following procedure describes how to search the top 10 interfaces by (average) incoming
interface-utilization for a particular device within a group.

Procedure 57 NetCollector/NetSensor Search Example—Top/BottomN

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetCollector/NetSensor.

2. From the Search by field, choose Top/Bottom N.

3. From the N Value field, select Top and then select the value (or select Edit to enter a number in the
accompanying field). In this case, “10” is the TopN value. To search on a BottomN value, select
“Bottom” before selecting a value.

4. From the Search For field, choose Interface.

5. From the by Metric field, choose [Interface Utilization and Throughput] Interface
Incoming Throughput. Then select Avg.

At this point, the search is for the top 10 interfaces by average incoming interface utilization. However,
you can narrow the search within a specific group, such as “Bethesda”.

6. From the Within Group field, choose Bethesda.

You can narrow the search further still by a specific device, which is what is done in the following step.

7. From the Within Device field, choose BETH-CS-COR01.

8. Click Search Now.

End of Procedure 57

SteelCentral Portal 181

 Data Source Searches

Synthetic Tests
Use the synthetic test search option to visualize synthetic testing status and performance for a selected
application, test source, or the entire synthetic infrastructure.

Procedure 58 NetCollector/NetSensor Search Example—Synthetic Tests

1. Specify the Synthetic Tests search:

1.1. From the Search by field, choose Synthetic Tests.

2. Specify the search criteria:

• Search Within

• Source

• Target URL

• Target Device

• Target Application

• Type

• Profile name

SteelCentral Portal 182

 Data Source Searches

3. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the specified search criteria.

4. To create the panel, select the objects from the “Select Objects” panel, select the metrics and rollup
selection from the “Select Metrics” panel, and then click Create Panel.

End of Procedure 58

SteelCentral Portal 183

 Data Source Searches

Related Drilldowns for NetSensor

For device objects in NetSensor, as well as three lower-level objects under devices—CPU, memory, and
interfaces—there are right-click menu drilldowns. These drilldowns provide immediate information for
analysis and troubleshooting. For example, you might be encountering an interface configuration problem.
To investigate, you can select the “Packet Error Rate” drilldown to immediately view that data.
The following figure shows the drilldowns related to a NetSensor device.

For information about drilldowns, see “Create Custom Dashboards“.

Related Topics
 “Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics“
 “Object Selection Wizard“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“

SteelCentral Portal 184

 Data Source Searches

NetIM Searches
NetIM provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top/BottomN“

Navigating Object Tree

Search by “Navigating Object Tree” when you are familiar with the objects for which you want to create
dashboards.
You can search by *, or use the Edit... field to typeahead and search for a single object. You can't multi-select
objects and there is no object name filtering (because the typeahead searching is the filtering). You don't
necessarily have to select Group first, but selecting a Group will filter out Devices that don't belong to that
group.
Synthetic Test is an object type found at the same level as Object and Device.
The following example procedure describes how to search for all CPUs in the network.

Procedure 59 NetIM Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetIM.

2. From the Search by field, choose Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Select Type field, choose Device.

4. From the Search within Device field, choose CPU.

5. Click Search Now.

The search results list all objects of type “CPU”.

End of Procedure 59

SteelCentral Portal 185

 Data Source Searches

Top/BottomN
Use the “Top/BottomN” search when you want to rank the results of the object search by a particular
metric.
The following procedure describes how to search the top 10 interfaces by (average) incoming
interface-utilization for a particular device within a group.

Procedure 60 NetIM Search Example—Top N

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetIM.

2. From the Search by field, choose Top N.

3. From the Select Type field, choose Device.

4. From the Top 10 Device by Metric field, choose “CPU Utilization”.

5. Click Search Now.

The search results list the 10 objects with the highest CPU utilization.

End of Procedure 60

SteelCentral Portal 186

 Data Source Searches

NetIM (<2.3.0) Searches

NetIM (<2.3.0) provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Attribute“
 AppNetwork Path (See “AppNetwork Path Analysis“)
 “IP Address“
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top/BottomN“
 “Synthetic Tests“

For drilldowns on various NetIM (<2.3.0) objects, see “Related Drilldowns for NetIM (<2.3.0)“.

Attribute
Use the “Attribute” search to perform a keyword search on groups, devices, or interfaces. You can also filter
devices by vendor.
The following procedure describes how to perform a search on all objects with names containing “CS”.

Procedure 61 NetIM (<2.3.0) Search Example—Attribute

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetIM (<2.3.0).

2. From the Search by field, choose Attribute.

3. Optionally, select the Case Sensitive checkbox if you want to use case-sensitive text to further filter the
search results.

4. From the Attribute Value field, select Contains and then, to narrow the search, enter a search string in
the adjoining text box. In this case, the search string is specified to match objects whose names contain
“CS”.

Note: If you choose Contains and leave the adjoining text box blank, the search results would include
every group, device, and interface in the network (similar to the results achieved by using the wildcard
value “*” in other search selections). The other search-string qualifiers from the Attribute Value field,
with the exception of Equals, will also return all applicable network objects if you leave the adjoining
text box blank. If you select Equals without specifying a text string, you will not receive any search
results.

5. From Filter Devices by Vendor field, choose All Vendors.

6. Click Search Now.

The search results list all objects with name containing “CS”.

End of Procedure 61

SteelCentral Portal 187

 Data Source Searches

IP Address
Use the “IP Address” search when you want to return devices or interfaces with matching IP address
information. This search type is useful when you are troubleshooting a particular device or interface and
already know at least part of the applicable IP address, as shown in the following search example.

Procedure 62 NetIM (<2.3.0) Search Example—IP Address

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetIM (<2.3.0).

2. From the Search by field, choose IP Address.

3. From the IP Address field, choose Contains, and then enter an IP address search string. In this
example, we use the IP search string “172.16.18” to match objects whose IP address contains
“172.16.18”.

Note: If you choose Contains and leave the adjoining text box blank, the search results would include
every group, device, and interface in the network (similar to the results achieved by using the wildcard
value “*” in other search selections). The other search-string qualifiers from the Attribute Value field,
with the exception of Equals, will also return all applicable network objects if you leave the adjoining
text box blank. If you select Equals without specifying a text string, you will not receive any search
results.

4. Click Search Now.

The search results list all objects with matching IP addresses.

End of Procedure 62

Navigating Object Tree

Search by “Navigating Object Tree” when you are familiar with the objects for which you want to create
dashboards.
The following procedure describes how to search for all CPUs in the network.

Procedure 63 NetIM (<2.3.0) Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetIM (<2.3.0).

2. From the Search by field, choose Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Groups field, choose Select all.

4. A search at this point yields all groups in the network. However, you can narrow the search to identify
specific CPUs.

5. From the Devices field, choose “*” (all devices).

SteelCentral Portal 188

 Data Source Searches

6. From the Component Type field, choose CPU.

To narrow the search results further, you could enter a text string in the Object Name Filter field.

7. Click Search Now.

The search results list all of matching objects.

End of Procedure 63

SteelCentral Portal 189

 Data Source Searches

Top/BottomN
Use the “Top/BottomN” search when you want to rank the results of the object search by a particular
metric.
The following procedure describes how to search the top 10 interfaces by (average) incoming
interface-utilization for a particular device within a group.

Procedure 64 NetIM (<2.3.0) Search Example—Top/BottomN

1. From the Data Source field, choose NetIM (2.3.0).

2. From the Search by field, choose Top/Bottom N.

3. From the N Value field, select Top and then select the value (or select Edit to enter a number in the
accompanying field). In this case, “10” is the TopN value. To search on a BottomN value, select
“Bottom” before selecting a value.

4. From the Search For field, choose Interface.

5. From the by Metric field, choose [Interface Utilization and Throughput] Interface
Incoming Throughput. Then select Avg.

At this point, the search is for the top 10 interfaces by average incoming interface utilization. However,
you can narrow the search within a specific group, such as “Bethesda”.

6. From the Within Group field, choose Bethesda.

You can narrow the search further still by a specific device, which is what is done in the following step.

7. From the Within Device field, choose BETH-CS-COR01.

8. Click Search Now.

End of Procedure 64

SteelCentral Portal 190

 Data Source Searches

Synthetic Tests
Use the synthetic test search option to visualize synthetic testing status and performance for a selected
application, test source, or the entire synthetic infrastructure.

Procedure 65 NetIM (<2.3.0) Search Example—Synthetic Tests

1. Specify the Synthetic Tests search:

1.1. From the Search by field, choose Synthetic Tests.

2. Specify the search criteria:

• Search Within

• Source

• Target URL

• Target Device

• Target Application

• Type

• Profile name

3. Click Search Now.

4. To create the panel, select the objects from the “Select Objects” panel, select the metrics and rollup
selection from the “Select Metrics” panel, and then click Create Panel.

End of Procedure 65

SteelCentral Portal 191

 Data Source Searches

Related Drilldowns for NetIM (<2.3.0)

For device objects in NetIM (<2.3.0), as well as three lower-level objects under devices—CPU, memory, and
interfaces—there are right-click menu drilldowns. These drilldowns provide immediate information for
analysis and troubleshooting. For example, you might be encountering an interface configuration problem.
To investigate, you can select the “Packet Error Rate” drilldown to immediately view that data.
The following figure shows the drilldowns related to a NetIM (<2.3.0) device.

For information about drilldowns, see “Create Custom Dashboards“.

Related Topics
 “Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics“
 “Object Selection Wizard“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“

SteelCentral Portal 192

 Data Source Searches

NetProfiler Searches
NetProfiler provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N“

Note: Only users with the following NetProfiler roles can be used with Dashboards: Administrator,
Operator, and Monitor. If a NetProfiler data source is added to Dashboards by a user without one of the
Profiler-specified roles, then the dashboard will show the NetProfiler account as connected, but never
display any data or Top N search results.

Navigating Object Tree

Use the “Navigation Object Tree” search option when you want to monitor a specific set of objects and you
are familiar with the objects and metrics for which you want to create dashboards. (If you are not familiar
with the objects and metrics, then it is best to search by “Top N“.)
Consider the following example of searching for all applications using the TCP protocol.

Procedure 66 NetProfiler Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. Specify the Navigating Object Tree search:

a) From the Search by field, choose Navigating Object Tree.

2. Specify the object type(s) and search filter(s):

For this example, do the following:

2.1. From the Select Type field, choose Application.

(By default, the wildcard character (*) appears in the filter field for searching all applications.)

2.2. From the Search within Application ‘*’ field, choose the Protocol and then choose the tcp filter.

3. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the specified search criteria (left) and the search results (right).

SteelCentral Portal 193

 Data Source Searches

4. To create the panel, select the objects, metric, and rollup selection and click Create Panel.

End of Procedure 66

Top N
Search for “Top N” when you want to organize the results of an object search by a metric value, such as
number of active connections, client delay, results, or throughput.
Consider the following example of searching for the top 10 applications with ports for the Austin host
group. To define the search criteria, you must specify filtered searches within searches:

Host Group Type (By Location) > Host Group (AUSTIN) > Application with Port

Procedure 67 NetProfiler Search Example—Top N

1. Specify the Top N search:

1.1. From the Search by field, choose Top N.

2. Specify a number for N:

2.1. From the Top N field, select a number (or select Edit to enter a number in the accompanying field).
For this example, choose 10 for the value of N.

SteelCentral Portal 194

 Data Source Searches

3. Specify the object type(s) and search filter(s):

For this example, do the following:

3.1. From the Select Type field, choose Host Group Type and then choose the ByLocation filter.

3.2. From the Search within HostGroup Type ‘ByLocation’ field, choose the Host Group and then
choose the Austin filter.

3.3. From the Search within Host Group ‘Austin’, choose Application with Port and then choose the
All filter.

4. Specify the metric:

4.1. From the Top 10 Application with Ports by Metric field, choose Throughput and then choose
the Average metric rollup type.

5. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the specified search criteria (left) and the search results (right).

6. To create the panel, select the objects, metric, and rollup selection and click Create Panel.

End of Procedure 67

SteelCentral Portal 195

 Data Source Searches

UCExpert Searches
UCExpert 6.1.0 and later provide the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N and Bottom N“

Navigating Object Tree

Use the “Navigating Object Tree” search as the general search function when you want to view and select
from all applicable object type pull-down menus, but are not interested in filtering the search results (as in
“Top N and Bottom N“).
The following procedure describes how to use the Navigating Object Tree search fields for creating a panel
that shows the Call Completion Rate for Cisco data.

Procedure 68 UCExpert Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. Select UCExpert as the data source type.

If there are multiple UCExpert data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources
from the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. From the Search by field, select Navigating Object Tree.

3. From the Select Type field, select Company.

Then in the adjacent field, select *.

4. In the Search within Company ‘*’ field, select Vendor.

Then in the adjacent field, select Cisco.

SteelCentral Portal 196

 Data Source Searches

5. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Navigating Object Tree” search
example.

End of Procedure 68

SteelCentral Portal 197

 Data Source Searches

Top N and Bottom N

Use “Top N” or “Bottom N” to search for objects of a particular metric, and then filter the results to only the
top or bottom n values.
The “Top N” and “Bottom N” searches are similar to the “Navigating Object Tree“ search. The only
difference is that “Top N” and “Bottom N” enable you to base your search on a particular metric and then
filter the results to only n values.

Note: The search example in this section is based on a “Bottom N” search. The steps for a “Top N” search
are the same, the only difference being that the filtered search results would be for top “n” values.

The following procedure describes how to use the “Top N” search for finding the top Device Groups by
total call count (“Call - Total”).

Procedure 69 UCExpert Search Example—Top N

1. Select UCExpert as the data source type.

If there are multiple UCExpert data sources, you can select specific data sources or all data sources
from the adjacent pull-down menu.

2. In the Search by field, select Top N.

3. Select the Top N value of 5 (or click Edit… in the pull-down menu and enter a number).

4. Select the object type of Company and choose a specific company (e.g., Riverbed).

5. In the Search within Company ‘Riverbed’ field, select Device Group.

Then in the adjacent field, select ‘*’.

6. Select the metric of Call - Total.

SteelCentral Portal 198

 Data Source Searches

7. Click Search Now.

The following figure shows the search fields associated with the “Top N” search example.

End of Procedure 69

SteelCentral Portal 199

 Data Source Searches

Web Analyzer Searches

Web Analyzer (BrowserMetrix) provides the following searches in the Object Selection Wizard:
 “Navigating Object Tree“
 “Top N and Bottom N“

Additional topic:
 “Examples of a Geographic Status Map and a Geographic Heat Map“

Navigating Object Tree

Search by “Navigating Object Tree” when you are familiar with the objects for which you want to create
dashboards.
The following procedure describes how to investigate the average response time for users in the
United States who are accessing the TradeFast application with the Firefox browser.

Procedure 70 Web Analzyer Search Example—Navigating Object Tree

1. Select Web Analyzer as the data source.

2. Select Navigating Object Tree.

3. Select the application TradeFast.

4. Select Browser and then select Firefox as the browser type.

5. Select Geography and then select United States.

6. Click Search Now.

The search yields the object instance “TradeFast >Firefox >United States”.
You can then select the applicable metrics that you want to monitor for users in the United States using
the Firefox browser to access the TradeFast application.

SteelCentral Portal 200

 Data Source Searches

The following figure shows search fields associated with the “Navigating Object Tree” search example.

End of Procedure 70

SteelCentral Portal 201

 Data Source Searches

Top N and Bottom N

The “Top N” and “Bottom N” searches are similar to the ““Navigating Object Tree“” search. The only
difference is that this search type sorts the values of the selected metric from either highest to lowest (Top N)
or from lowest to highest (Bottom N).

Note: The search example in this section is based on a “Top N” search. The steps for a “Bottom N” search
are the same, the only difference being that the filtered search results would be for bottom N values.

The following procedure describes how to use the “Top N” search for finding the top five browsers by
page views for the TradeFast application.

Procedure 71 Web Analyzer Search Example—Top N

Procedure 72 From the Data Source field, choose Web Analyzer.

1. From the Search by field, choose Top N.

2. From the Top N field, choose 5.

3. From the Application field, choose Tradefast.

4. From the Select Type field, choose Browser.

From the adjoining field, choose All (for all browsers).

5. From the Top 5 Browser by Metric field, choose Page Views.

6. Click Search Now.

End of Procedure 72

SteelCentral Portal 202

 Data Source Searches

Examples of a Geographic Status Map and a Geographic Heat Map

When creating a panel using a Web Analyzer data source, you can display a Geographic Status Map or a
Geographic heat Map.
From the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, select either Geographic Heat Map or
Geographic Status Map. Depending on how you specified the search criteria, the map can represent the
world or a specific country, region, or state.

Click Edit Panel Settings to specify various Geographic Heat Map settings, such as options to show the
color scale and/or zoom scale.

SteelCentral Portal 203

 Data Source Searches

Note: Zoom, pan, drilldown, and tooltip functionality are available for both Geographic Heat and Status
maps.

Example World Geographic Status Map

Example Country Geographic Heat (Value) Map

Related Topics
 “Understanding Data Sources, Objects, and Metrics“
 “Object Selection Wizard“
 “Group Elements“
 “Configure Panels“

SteelCentral Portal 204

CHAPTER 14 Group Elements

Use the group feature to create a single element that represents a common metric of multiple elements in a
panel. When multiple elements are combined into a single element, it is easier to monitor the metric for the
elements. For example, suppose you have a panel with 25 elements, and each element represents the
throughput of a server in a data center. You could use the group feature to combine the 25 elements into a
single element that represents all of the other elements. After the 25 elements are combined into a single
element, you can more easily monitor the throughput of the servers.

Grouping elements makes monitoring easier

Group

1 Element
25 Elements (representing 25 elements)

After elements are grouped into a single element, you can easily view all elements represented by the single
element by double-clicking on the grouped element. The grouped element monitors the status of multiple
objects and metrics, and reports on their accumulated data. In other words, a grouped element enables you
to view the high-level state of monitored elements and then to drill down to members for deeper analysis
and troubleshooting.
When you drill down into a grouped element, you may see other grouped element members at lower levels
in the hierarchy. When you reach a single metric, if you double-click on it, a graph opens to show the
metric’s values over time.
The following are examples of grouped elements:
 An LED showing the health of many hosts
 A Gauge showing the average “Max. Response Time” for all the servlets running in an application
Important—If your account does not included the required permissions, you may not be able to perform
certain tasks described in this chapter. Contact your administrator for more information.

SteelCentral Portal 205

 Group Elements

For more information, see the following sections:

 “Grouping Elements“
 “Grouping Elements with Object Properties“
 “Customized Grouping of AppResponse (9.x) Data“

Related Topics
 “View Members of a Group“

SteelCentral Portal 206

 Group Elements

Grouping Elements
To group elements in a panel, use one of the following procedures, depending on the circumstance:
 Procedure 73 “Group Elements (Simple)“
Allows you to define multiple levels of groups, one level at a time. Use this procedure if you only want
to define one, maybe two, group levels. For ease-of-use, the elements automatically display a preview
as you define the group and visualization for the level. If you don’t like what you see in the preview,
click Cancel.
 Procedure 74 “Group Elements (Advanced)“
Allows you to define and edit multiple levels of groups and format groups in grids.

Procedure 73 Group Elements (Simple)

1. Set the dashboard in edit mode:

1.1. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

2. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Group…

3. From the Group By pull-down menu, select the object property to use for grouping the elements. The
grouped element will display the aggregated metric for the selected object property.

4. Click Next.

5. Define the visualization information:

• Visualization Style:
Specifies the element to use for displaying object/metric data in the panel for the current level. For
more information, see “Guidelines for Choosing Elements“.

• Order By:
Specifies the sort order for the elements: Displayed Value, Displayed Value (Ascending), Name,
Name (Descending)

6. Optionally, for advanced users, define the Roll-up Rules for metric data that is grouped.

• values using:
Specifies the method for aggregating the metric data to display a value:

• Automatic (default): SteelCentral Portal determines the best method to use.

• Average: The average of all the members of a group.

• Child Status Count: The number of children over their thresholds.

• Child Status Percentage: The percentage of children over their thresholds.

• Maximum: The highest value of all the members of a group.

• Minimum: The lowest value of all the members of a group.

• Sum: The sum of all the members of the group.

SteelCentral Portal 207

 Group Elements

• status (reg/green/…):
Specifies the method for aggregating the data to display a status.

• Worst Case (default): The worst state is shown.

For example, an LED group would be red if one member is red.

• Child Count: The count of group members that are either yellow or red.
For example, an LED monitors the CPU utilization of 10 members. If the group LED uses Child
Count, then it would have a warning threshold of 6, meaning that if six or more members enter
a warning state, the LED will turn yellow.

• Child Percentage: The percentage of group members that are yellow or red.
For example, an LED monitors the CPU utilization of 10 members. If the group LED uses Child
Percentage of 50 for a warning threshold, then the LED turns yellow if five or more members
enter the warning state.

7. Click OK.

8. Optionally, perform any of the following:

• To create another group level above the group that you just defined, repeat this procedure, starting
with step 2.

• To edit/refine the grouping for the panel, see Procedure 74 “Group Elements (Advanced)“.

• To delete the group level that you just defined, on the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( )
icon and choose Ungroup.

End of Procedure 73

Procedure 74 Group Elements (Advanced)

1. Set the dashboard in edit mode:

1.1. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

2. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit > Panel Configuration.

SteelCentral Portal 208

 Group Elements

• If no group information has been defined for the panel, the “Panel Configuration” dialog appears.
Click Advanced Grouping to display the “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box.

Note that in the “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box, the Number of levels of grouping
field is set to “0” and there is only a single section: “Lowest Level”.

• If group information has already been defined for the panel, the “Advanced Panel Configuration”
dialog box appears after choosing Edit > Panel Configuration.

Note that in the “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box, the “Number of levels of grouping”
field is set to “1” or higher and, in addition to the “Lowest Level” section, there is a section for each
defined level of grouping.

Enter the number of group levels in the Number of levels of grouping field.
Alternatively, use the up/down arrows next to the input field to add/remove group levels.

A section for each level appears in the dialog box.

SteelCentral Portal 209

 Group Elements

3. Define each level and the lowest level by clicking on the arrow next to the level header and entering
the requested information.

For Levels 1 and Higher:

• Visualization Style:
Specifies the element to use for displaying object/metric data in the panel for the current level. For
more information, see “Guidelines for Choosing Elements“.

• Group into rows and columns:

Specifies whether to group and display elements in a grid, which requires you to assign an object
property to columns and rows.
- If you select Yes, the Column and Row fields appear.
- If you select No, the Group by field appears.

Note: The organization of the content in a grid depends on the selected properties from the
Column and Row pull-down menus.

• Group By / Column, Row:

Specifies the object property (properties) to use for grouping and displaying grouped elements.

• Order By:
Specifies the sort order for displaying grouped elements.

• Roll-up Rules (Advanced)

• values using:
Specifies the method for aggregating the metric data to display a value.

- Automatic (default): SteelCentral Portal determines the best method to use.

- Average: The average of all the members of a group.
- Child Status Count: The number of children over their thresholds.
- Child Status Percentage: The percentage of children over their thresholds.
- Maximum: The highest value of all the members of a group.
- Minimum: The lowest value of all the members of a group
- Sum: The sum of all members of the group.
- Multiple Traces (for multiple-trace graphs only). See “Grouping Data into Multiple-Trace
Graphs“.

• status (red/green…):
Specifies the method for aggregating the data to display a status.

- Worst Case (default): The worst state is shown.

- Child Count: The count of group members that are either yellow or red.
For example, an LED monitors the CPU utilization of 10 members. If the group LED uses
Child Count, then it would have a warning threshold of 6, meaning that if six or more members
enter a warning state, the LED will turn yellow.
- Child Percentage: The percentage of group members that are yellow or red.
For example, and LED monitors the CPU utilization of 10 members. If the group LED uses
Child Percentage of 50 for a warning threshold, then the LED turns yellow if five or more
members enter the warning state.

For the Lowest Level:

• Visualization Style
Specifies the element to use for displaying object/metric data in the panel for the current level. For
more information, see “Guidelines for Choosing Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 210

 Group Elements

• Group elements from same content template

Select this checkbox if you want to create a grouped element based on the grouping configuration
of the content template(s) that you chose in the Object Selection Wizard. You can then group these
grouped elements further by adding additional levels.

Clear this check box to expand (ungroup) the contents of the previously selected template(s). The
object-metric pairs specified in the content template(s) are now available to be grouped by adding
additional levels.

• Order By:
Specifies the sort order for displaying grouped elements. The sort can be specified using one or
more object properties.

4. Click OK to apply the defined grouping to the panel.

End of Procedure 74

SteelCentral Portal 211

 Group Elements

Configuring the Rows and Columns of Grids

The following procedures describes how to manually order and rename the columns and rows in a panel
configured as a grid.

Procedure 75 Re-ordering and Renaming Columns and Rows in a Grid

1. Set the dashboard in edit mode:

1.1. On the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

2. On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit >
Advanced Grid Configuration.

3. Click the Column or Row tab to change the settings.

4. Use the Group into pull-down menu option to specify a different grouping property.

5. Use the Order by pull-down menu to select a sorting option.

If you choose Manual, use the Up and Down buttons to reorder the columns/rows.

6. To rename header text, under Display Name, click on the text and enter a new name.

7. Click OK.

End of Procedure 75

SteelCentral Portal 212

 Group Elements

Grouping Data into Multiple-Trace Graphs

The capability to view data as multiple traces becomes available when you select the “Multiple Traces” data
grouping rule. There are several ways to view data as multiple traces:
 Area Graph displaying stacked metric values
 Bar Chart displaying stacked metric values
 Bar Chart displaying side-by-side metric values
 Line Graph displaying overlaid metric values

You select Multiple Traces from the Value Using pull-down menu in the “Advanced Panel Configuration”
dialog box, shown below.

The following figure shows the four ways of viewing multiple-trace data. In this example, we are
monitoring the percentages of five HTTP response codes for a particular web application.
Note: To display a tooltip value for a particular metric, place the mouse pointer on the appropriate time
point, and in the color-coded area corresponding to the metric of interest.

SteelCentral Portal 213

 Group Elements

Figure 8 Viewing Multiple-Trace Data

Area Graph with Stacked Metric Values
The “stacked” Area Graph makes it easy to
view and understand the relationship of
stacked metric values.

Bar Chart with Stacked Metric Values

The same stacked data as shown in the
“stacked” Area Graph, but visualized as a
bar chart.

Bar Chart with Side-By-Side Metric Values

This bar chart visualizes multiple traces as
separate bars for each time (data) point.

Line Graph with Overlaid Metric Values

SteelCentral Portal 214

 Group Elements

Creating Multiple-Trace Graphs

This section shows you how to create multiple-trace graphs.
The following procedure describes how to create an Area Graph for displaying stacked metric values.

Procedure 76 Create a “Stacked” Area Graph

Note: This procedure starts from the step in the “Object Selection Wizard” where you are ready to add
content to a panel. For information on using the wizard fully, see “Define Panels and Elements“.

1. From the “Select Metric” panel of the “Object Selection Wizard,” click the Create Panel button.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

2. From the Visualization Style pull-down menu, select Area Graph.

3. Click the Advanced Grouping button.

The “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

4. In the Number of levels of grouping field, enter 1.

5. From the Value Using pull-down menu, select Multiple Traces.

SteelCentral Portal 215

 Group Elements

6. Optionally, you can display the Area Graph with Steplines (connect data point using horizontal and
vertical lines):

6.1. Click the Edit Panel Settings button.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears.

6.2. In the “Graph Settings” section, under the “Graph Style” pull-down menu, select Stepline”. Then
click OK to close the “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box and return to the “Advanced Panel
Configuration” dialog box.

7. Click OK to create the “stacked” Area Graph, an example of which is shown in the following figure
(without steplines).

End of Procedure 76

SteelCentral Portal 216

 Group Elements

The following procedure describes how to create a Bar Chart for displaying metric values in either a
“Stacked” or “Side-by-Side” format.

Procedure 77 Create a “Stacked” or “Side-by-Side” Bar Chart

Note: This procedure starts from the step in the “Object Selection Wizard” where you are ready to add
content to a panel. For information on using the wizard fully, see “Define Panels and Elements“.

1. From the “Select Metric” panel of the “Object Selection Wizard,” click the Create Panel button.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

2. From the Visualization Style pull-down menu, select Bar Chart.

3. Click the Advanced Grouping button.

The “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

4. In the Number of levels of grouping field, enter 1.

5. From the Value using pull-down menu, select Multiple Traces.

SteelCentral Portal 217

 Group Elements

6. Click the Edit Panel Settings button.

The “Dashboard Panel Settings” dialog box appears.

7. In the “Graph Settings” section, click the Multiple Trace Bars” pull-down menu and select either
Stacked or Side By Side.

8. Click OK to create the appropriate Bar Chart. An example of a stacked Bar Chart is shown in the
following figure.

End of Procedure 77

SteelCentral Portal 218

 Group Elements

The following procedure describes how to create a Line Graph displaying overlaid metric values.

Procedure 78 Create a Line Graph Displaying Overlaid Metric Values

Note: This procedure starts from the step in the “Object Selection Wizard” where you are ready to add
content to a panel. For information on using the wizard fully, see “Define Panels and Elements“.

1. From the “Select Metric” panel of the “Object Selection Wizard,” click the Create Panel button.

The “Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

2. From the Visualization Style pull-down menu, select Line Graph.

3. Click the Advanced Grouping button.

The “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box appears.

4. In the Number of levels of grouping field, enter 1.

5. From the Value using pull-down menu, select Multiple Traces.

SteelCentral Portal 219

 Group Elements

6. Click OK to create the Line Graph displaying overlaid metric values, an example of which is shown in
the following figure.

End of Procedure 78

SteelCentral Portal 220

 Group Elements

Using Content Templates to Create a Group

A simple way to create a group is to use an existing content template. Although you can create your own
content templates, SteelCentral Portal includes many predefined content templates. Content templates
define groups by specifying all of the object types and metrics found within the levels of the group
hierarchy. Content templates also specify the visualization styles elements in the group hierarchy. For more
information, see “Using Content Templates to Display Content“.

SteelCentral Portal 221

 Group Elements

Grouping Elements with Object Properties

Object properties describe characteristics of objects. You can use object properties to apply thresholds and to
group elements. The ability to use object properties to group elements enables you to better organize
dashboard content for improved data monitoring.
For example, suppose you want to group hosts by their operating systems. One approach is to create an
object property called “Host OS” and then set an individual object property value for each host object, such
as the value “Windows Host” or “Linux Host.” You could then use the object property “Host OS” to group
elements into host categories—either Windows or Linux.
The following table lists additional possibilities for grouping by an individual object property. (For
example, the object property named “Country” can be used to group hosts by the object property values
“United States”, “England”, and “Singapore”.

Object Property Name to Group Hosts Object Property Values to Assign to Individual Hosts

Country United States, England, Singapore

State Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina

City Bethesda, Richmond, Raleigh

Building Main HQ, Building B, Building C

Floor 1, 2, 3

Rack A, B, C

Shelf 6, 7, 8

Serial Number 1h4165G, 1h4166G, 1h4167G

For more information, see:

 “General Overview of Object Property Types“
 “Introduction to User-Defined Object Properties“
 “Creating User-Defined Object Properties“
 “Examples of User-Defined Object Properties“
 “Globally Managing User-Defined Object Properties“

SteelCentral Portal 222

 Group Elements

General Overview of Object Property Types

There are three types of object properties:
 System
 Data Source
 User-Defined
All three types can be used for grouping. However, user-defined object properties provide the most
flexibility for grouping because you can specify any object property that you deem important. (For details,
see “Examples of User-Defined Object Properties“.) Unlike user-defined object properties, you cannot
create or edit system object properties or data source object properties.
For more information about creating user-defined object properties, see “Creating User-Defined Object
Properties“.

SteelCentral Portal 223

 Group Elements

Introduction to User-Defined Object Properties

User-defined object properties give you the capability to categorize objects at a granular level.
Consequently, you gain added precision for organizing dashboard content and monitoring specific metric
values.
User-defined object properties can be exported and imported to, for example, move them from one instance
of Portal to another.

Note: There can be potential problems if you specify a user-defined object property with the same name as
a system or data source object property. For example, conflicts occur when you apply a user-defined object
property to an object that already has an identically named system or data source object property applied
to it. If there is a conflict between a data source object property and a user-defined object property, the data
source object property overrides the user-defined object property. Similarly, if there is a conflict between a
system object property and a user-defined object property, the system object property overrides the
user-defined object property.

There are two types of user-defined object properties:

 Individual object properties: An individual object property applies to a specific object.

For more information, see “Creating User-Defined Object Properties“.

 Pattern-based properties: A pattern-based property applies to a set of objects based on the object type
and/or object name patterns (that is, a similar naming pattern). Pattern-based properties are useful
when you want to group objects based on some common object name structure.

For more information, see “Globally Managing User-Defined Object Properties“.

SteelCentral Portal 224

 Group Elements

Creating User-Defined Object Properties

This section describes how you can create or edit object properties and pattern-based properties. However,
if you want a global view to prioritize pattern-based properties, or to delete object properties and
pattern-based properties, see “Globally Managing User-Defined Object Properties“.

Procedure 79 Accessing the Edit Object Properties dialog box

1. Perform one of the following:

• On the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit > Object Properties.

• Right-click on an element and choose Edit > Object Properties.

2. Click the Edit Object Properties button.

Next, you can “Create an object property:“ or “Create a pattern-based property:“.

3. Create an object property:

3.1. Click the Create Object Property button.

3.2. Click New to create an object property.

3.3. From the Property Name pull-down menu, select the object property name.

3.4. In the Property Values field, enter the property value.

Note: Click Add Value to define more than one value for a multiple-value property.
For example: a Cisco router located in New York.

3.5. Click Create.

The new object property appears on the “Edit Object Property” dialog box.

4. Create a pattern-based property:

4.1. Click the Create Pattern-based Property button.

4.2. In the Description field, enter a description to easily identify the pattern-based property.

4.3. Specify one or both Dashboard Element Specifiers:

• Object Type
Use this option to match objects based on object type. For example, if you specify the object type
“AppResponse > Application”, then the pattern-based property will apply only to
AppResponse Applications objects. Leave this option unchecked to match all object types.

• Object Name Pattern

Use this option to match objects based on the object name. For example, specifying “tf*” will
match “tfportal01” and “tfconnect01”, but not “w2ptr2”. Clear this option to match all object
names.
4.4. Click New (next to the Property Name field) to create an object property name.

4.5. From the Property Name field pull-down menu, select the object property name.

SteelCentral Portal 225

 Group Elements

4.6. In the Property Values field, enter the property value.

Note: Click Add Value to define more than one value for a multiple-value property.
For example: a Cisco router located in New York.

4.7. Click Create.

The new pattern-based object property appears on the “Edit Object Property” dialog box.

End of Procedure 79

After you create an object property, you can use it to group elements. For more information, see “Group
Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 226

 Group Elements

Examples of User-Defined Object Properties

This section provides the following examples:
 “Example of an Object Property“
 “Example of a Pattern-Based Property“

Example of an Object Property

Suppose you want to monitor metrics on a set of objects (that are displayed as elements in a panel). Not all
the objects are of equal importance, however. Consequently, you might categorize these objects by level of
importance. In doing so, you could create an object property named “Importance”.
Next, you would set individual object property values for each object (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.).
You could then group your objects by “Importance”. Consequently, the objects would be grouped into their
respective tiers of importance (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.) in the panel.
The following procedure describes this example.

Procedure 80 Grouping By Object Property (Example)

1. Identify the objects to group by object property.

For example,
- “ORACLE REMOTE DB” will have an object property value of “Tier 1”
- “STOCK TRADER-Keynote” will have an object property value of “Tier 2”

2. Create and apply object property values to the individual objects.

(See “Creating User-Defined Object Properties“.)

3. Group objects by the new object property by order of importance.

End of Procedure 80

SteelCentral Portal 227

 Group Elements

Example of a Pattern-Based Property

The process for creating pattern-based properties is similar to the process for creating object properties.
Suppose your panel elements display metrics for routers that have names which reference the states of
New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington (as in NY_router_1, NY_router_2, NY_router_3, PA_router_1,
etc.).
To organize these “state” objects, you could use an object name pattern. Next, you would create a
pattern-based property named “State” with a value matching each group: New York, Pennsylvania, and
Washington.
Consequently, you would have three pattern-based properties:
 Pattern-Based Property 1:
– Object Name Pattern: *NY*
– Property Name: State
– Property Value: New York
 Pattern-Based Property 2:
– Object Name Pattern: *PA*
– Property Name: State
– Property Value: Pennsylvania
 Property-Based Property 3:
– Object Name Pattern: *WA*
– Property Name: State
– Property Value: Washington
You could then group the applicable routers based on the values “New York”, “Pennsylvania”, and
“Washington” by doing the following (for each of the three groups):

1) Prioritizing the corresponding pattern-based property by moving it to the top of the pattern-based
property table, as shown in “Globally Managing User-Defined Object Properties“.

2) Selecting “State” from the “Group By” pull-down menu of the “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog
box.
For more information on grouping, see “Group Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 228

 Group Elements

Globally Managing User-Defined Object Properties

To access all user-defined object properties in the “Object Property Management” screen, choose
Administration > Dashboards: Object Properties.
The functionality of the “Object Property Management” screen is similar to that of the “Edit Object
Properties” dialog box (which is accessible from the panel or element level). Additional tasks that you can
perform from the “Object Properties Management” screen include prioritizing pattern-based properties,
deleting object properties and pattern-based properties, and importing/exporting object property and
pattern-based property definitions.

Note: When two or more pattern-based properties with the same name apply to the same object, the
pattern-based property with the highest priority in the table overrides the other pattern-based property.

SteelCentral Portal 229

 Group Elements

Customized Grouping of AppResponse (9.x) Data

When you want to use object properties to group AppResponse (9.x) data, you can define the object
properties in (description fields on) AppResponse (9.x).

Customized Grouping: Defining Object Properties in AppResponse

(9.x)
There may be times when you want a quick and easy way of defining object properties for a custom
grouping of AppResponse (9.x) data. In such cases, you can define the object properties directly from the
AppResponse (9.x) Console. After you define these object properties, they can be used for grouping just like
any other object property. For more information about object properties, see “Grouping Elements with
Object Properties“.
Note the following details about defining object properties in AppResponse (9.x):
 Object properties are defined in the description field (255 characters or less) for Defined Applications
and Business Groups in the “Defined Application Manager” and “Business Group Manager” of the
AppResponse (9.x) Console. For more information, see the AppResponse (9.x) documentation.
 The format is [A:B], where “A” is the property name and “B” is a property value(s).
 There are available predefined property names that can launch applicable dashboard templates by
right-click drilldowns. For more information, see “Predefined Object Property Names and Associated
Dashboard Drilldowns“.
 For the object properties to become available in SteelCentral Portal, you must restart SteelCentral
Portal. For more information, see “Data Source-Side Object Changes“.
 Like any other object property, you can view an AppResponse (9.x)-defined object property in the
“Object Properties” section of the “Configure Dashboard Elements” dialog box.
 When grouping data, you can select these object properties from the “Group By” pull-down menu in
the “Advanced Panel Configuration” dialog box. For more information, see “Grouping Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 230

 Group Elements

Defining Object Properties in AppResponse (9.x): A Simple Use Case

Suppose you want to create an object property to identify the department that uses an application. The
following figure shows an example of how an object property called “Department” identifies the group
within the organization that uses the application. Additionally, the example describes how to define the
new object property in AppResponse (9.x) and then view it in SteelCentral Portal.

Figure 9 Example of Defining an Object Property in AppResponse (9.x)

Define the object property in AppResponse (9.x):

“Defined Application Manager”

and “Business Group Manager” of
the AppResponse (9.x) Console

Object Property
- Name: Department
- Value: Human Resources

View the object property in SteelCentral Portal:

You can view the newly-defined object properties in the “Object Properties” sections of the “Configure
Dashboard Elements” dialog box (accessed by clicking a panel’s “Edit Settings” (gear icon) and selecting
“Edit Object Properties,” or by clicking an element and selecting Edit > Object Properties from the right-click
menu).

SteelCentral Portal 231

 Group Elements

Predefined Object Property Names and Associated Dashboard Drilldowns

Although you can assign any name to an object property that you define in an AppResponse (9.x) data
source, we recommend that you take advantage of the following predefined object property names that can
launch applicable dashboard templates using right-click drilldowns:
 “Key Locations”
 “Key Interface”
These predefined object property names are associated with specific dashboard templates. For example,
“Key Locations” is associated with the “Single Application, Multiple Locations” and “Single Web
Application, Multiple Locations” dashboard templates. On the other hand, “Key Interface” launches any of
the single-interface dashboard templates

SteelCentral Portal 232

CHAPTER 15 Configure Panels

You can configure panels to display content with the following features:
 “Visualization Styles“ control how elements are displayed
 “Content Templates“ define content based on preconfigured settings, including visualization styles.

Note: If your user account does not have the necessary permissions, you may not be able to perform certain
tasks described in this chapter.

For more information, see:

 “Using Content Templates to Display Content“
 “Adding Drilldowns to Elements“

SteelCentral Portal 233

 Configure Panels

Using Content Templates to Display Content

Use content templates when you want to quickly create a panel or element to monitor a specific set of
metrics associated with objects of a given type. You can choose from among a set of predefined content
templates, or you can create your own. Each content template is designed for a specific purpose, and named
accordingly.
For example, you might have a content template, defined for objects of type Monitored Application, called
“App Metrics,” which specifies “Activity Score” and “ Server Time (ms).” The visualization style, already
defined in the content template, determines the way that data displays when drilling into an element
created for that template, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 10 Panel Created by “App Metrics” Content Template

Each grouped element (LED) represents an

object whose member elements are the metrics
“Activity Score” and “Server Time (ms)”

BranchPortal and Salesforce

are objects of the Monitored
Applications type

Double-clicking
Salesforce opens a panel
which shows the metrics
defined for the Content
Template

For more information, see:

 “Selecting a Content Template“
 “Content Templates that Specify Groups“

Related Topics:
 “Content Templates“

SteelCentral Portal 234

 Configure Panels

Selecting a Content Template

When you create elements with the Object Selection Wizard, you must first specify the metrics for the
objects that you want to monitor. In the Object Selection Wizard, you can either specify the metrics directly
or you can choose a content template that already specifies these metrics. The content template that you
select can be predefined or one that you created.
In the Object Selection Wizard, available content templates are listed on the “Contents Templates” tab of the
“Select Metrics” panel. For any given object type, there may be one or more content templates (or there may
be none).
For example, suppose you want to monitor metrics on objects of type CPU. In the Object Selection Wizard,
you would select CPU objects. Templates defined for the CPU object type would then appear in the
“Content Templates” tab (on the “Select Metrics” panel). You could then select a template. The following
figure shows a content template called “CPU Metrics” and its associated metrics.

Figure 11 Object Selection Wizard: Selecting a Content Template

For more information, see “Object Selection Wizard“.

SteelCentral Portal 235

 Configure Panels

Content Templates that Specify Groups

You can use content templates to create element hierarchies. In addition to specifying the metrics that you
want to monitor, content templates can also group the metrics into hierarchies based on nested content
templates and object types. These hierarchies are then represented as grouped elements in the panel, as
shown in the following example.

Figure 12 Content Templates Specifying Groups

Double click the group element to

browse through its hierarchy.

Templates specify what metrics to

group, how to display the metrics in the
hierarchy, and the visualization styles
for the hierarchical levels.

Content Template grouping settings include:

 What visualization styles to display at each hierarchical level
 How to collect metric data and summarize the results (such as “Average” or “Worst Case”)
 How to organize members of the group hierarchy
For more information on groups, see “Group Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 236

 Configure Panels

Adding Drilldowns to Elements

You can define drilldowns (right-click menu options) to elements so that the user can:
 Open specific custom dashboards
When defined, the Open Dashboard option appears on the right-click menu of an element.
 Launch external web pages, such as a company web site or a third-party tool
When defined, the Launch External Web Page option appears on the right-click menu of an element.

The following figure shows an element’s right-click menu options for defined dashboards and web pages.
The Launch External Web Page option is selected and displays the option to launch the Riverbed web site.

Drilldown options can be defined at different levels, depending on your requirements. Options are
inherited by lower levels. The levels, starting from the top, are:
 User Level: Drilldown options will appear on all elements in all dashboards for the user.
 Dashboard Level: Drilldown options will appear on all elements in a dashboard for the user.
 Panel Level: Drilldown options will appear on all elements in a panel for the user.
 Element Level: Drilldown options will appear on the element for the user.

Take advantage of the hierarchy feature by defining drilldowns at the appropriate level, saving you from
having to re-define the same drilldown multiple times. For example, if you want a drilldown to your
company website for all elements, it is more efficient to define the drilldown at the top level than to define
the same drilldown for each element.

SteelCentral Portal 237

 Configure Panels

The following procedure describe how to define drilldowns for elements.

Procedure 81 Defining Drilldowns (Right-Click Menu Options) for Elements

1. If necessary, set the specific dashboard to edit mode:

1.1. From the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Edit Dashboard ( ) icon.

Note: Skip this step if defining drilldowns at the “User Level” (all elements for all dashboards for the
user).

2. Access drilldown settings for the desired level:

• User Level: All elements on all dashboards for the user

From the Administrator menu, choose User Dashboard Settings.

• Dashboard Level: All elements on the dashboard for the user

From the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Dashboard Settings ( ) icon.

• Panel Level: All elements in the panel for the user

From the “Panel Toolbar“, click the Edit Settings ( ) icon and choose Edit > Panel Configuration.
Then in the “Panel Configuration” dialog box, click the Edit Panel Settings button.

• Element Level: The element for the user

Right-click on an element and choose Edit > Settings.

3. In the settings dialog box, scroll down to the “Dashboard Element Settings” section, and for the
“Drilldown Settings” option, click the Edit… button.

Note that in the above figure, a URL for the Riverbed web site has been defined at a higher level, as
indicated by “Inherited Setting” under Menu Source, the last column on the right. Options defined at
the current level are indicated by “Local Setting” under Menu Source.

4. To add a new drilldown option:

4.1. Click the Add button.

A new row is added to the bottom of the list.

4.2. Specify the necessary information in the columns:

• Entry Type: Specifies the type of option that you want to define.
From the pull-down menu, choose one of the following options:
- URL
- Dashboard
- URL (Same Browser Window)

• Name: Specifies the text that will appear on the right-click menu.
Click on the cell and enter the name.

• URL: If defining a URL option, specifies the target URL.

Click on the cell and enter the URL.

Note: You can specify variables in URLs. For more information, see “Variables for URL
Drilldowns“.

SteelCentral Portal 238

 Configure Panels

• Dashboard: If defining a dashboard option, specifies the target custom dashboard.

From the pull-down menu, choose a custom dashboard.

5. To edit an existing drilldown option, click on the cell that you want to change and edit/change the
setting.

6. To delete an option, click on the row that you want to delete and click Remove.

Note: Only options defined at the current level can be deleted. To delete an option that is defined at a
higher level, you must access the “Drilldown Settings” dialog box at the same level. See step 2.

7. Define what appears when the element is double-clicked:

• Default: Specifies what to display when double-clicking on an element.

From the pull-down menu, select one of the following:
- Inherit Setting (Perform action defined at the next higher level.)
- URL or Dashboard (Display a specified URL or custom dashboard)
- Show Graph

• Default (Aggregation): Specifies what to display when double-clicking on a grouped element.

From the pull-down menu, select one of the following:
- Inherit Setting (Perform action defined at the next higher level.)
- URL or Dashboard (Display a specified URL or custom dashboard)
- Show Graph

8. Click OK to save the defined options and close the dialog box.

9. If necessary, set the specific dashboard to monitor:

9.1. From the “Dashboard Toolbar“, click the Done Editing ( ) icon.

End of Procedure 81

SteelCentral Portal 239

 Configure Panels

Variables for URL Drilldowns

When defining a URL drilldown option, you can specify a variable that will be replaced by the element’s
corresponding value. Variables are specified using the following syntax:
$$variable_name$$

You can use any object property name as a variable. For example, to use the “IP Address” object property
as a variable, you would specify $$IP Address$$.
In addition to object properties, you can specify the special variables listed in the following table.

Table 17 Special URL Drilldown Variables

Variable Description

Data Source

$$data_source_instance$$ The data source ID of the data source.

Object/Metric

$$object$$ The object ID of the object associated with the element.

$$object_pretty$$ The displayed (pretty) name of the object (as opposed to the ID).

$$metric$$ The metric ID of the metric associated with the element.

$$metric_pretty$$ The displayed (pretty) name of the element’s metric (as opposed to the ID).
For example, “% Slow Pages (Servers)”.

$$factored_name$$ The factored object name.

Time

$$start_time$$ The current start time of the displayed time range of the element, in seconds
since January 1, 1970.

$$start_time_minutes$$ The current end time of the displayed time range of the element, in minutes
since January 1, 1970.

$$end_time$$ The current end time of the displayed time range of the element, in seconds
since January 1, 1970.

$$end_time_minutes$$ The current end time of the displayed time range of the element, in minutes
since January 1, 1970.

$$duration_time_minutes$$ The duration of the current time range for the element, in minutes.

$$duration_time_seconds$$ The duration of the current time range for the element, in seconds.

$$current_time$$ The current time.

User

$$user$$ The username of the currently logged in user.

SteelCentral Portal 240

 Configure Panels

Related Topics
 “Data Source Searches“
 “Resource Management“

SteelCentral Portal 241

CHAPTER 16 Resource Management

A resource is a collection of items that you own or that have been shared with you. Specifically,
SteelCentral Portal includes the following types of resources:
 Custom Dashboards
A custom dashboard is a dashboard, made up of one or more panels, that was created by a user, as
opposed to a dashboard that was automatically created based on a defined application or connected
data resources. (For more information, see “Create Custom Dashboards“.)
 Applications
An application consists of an application model (map) that diagrams the relationship between the
hosts used for a business application. Additionally, an application model includes end users,
identifying the entry point in an application model where users access a host. The application model is
used to monitor the performance and status of an application with automatically-created dynamic
dashboards. For more information, see “Application Models“.
 “Content Templates“
A content template is a named collection consisting of one or more metrics and a visualization style
that is used to define a panel in a dashboard. Content templates allow you to quickly re-create a
consistent look and operation for panels.
 “Visualization Styles“
A visualization style is named collection consisting of an element and configuration settings. In
addition to the visualization styles that are included with SteelCentral Portal, you can create custom
visualization styles to create a consistent look and operation for panels.
Resources are managed from the “Resource Management” screen. To access the “Resources Management”
screen, from the Administration menu, choose Resources.

SteelCentral Portal 242

 Resource Management

Resource Management for Non-Administrators

If you have the read-only Resource Configuration permission, you can manage your own
SteelCentral Portal resources—applications, dashboards, content templates, and visualization styles.

Figure 13 Resource Management Screen

Note: Unlike the “Resource Management” screen for administrators, the above screen does not have the
treeview side panel for selecting All Resources, Users, or Roles. There is also no functionality for
changing ownership of resources or sharing resources.

For more information, see “General Workflow for Resource Management“.

SteelCentral Portal 243

 Resource Management

General Workflow for Resource Management

The following procedure describes the operations that can be performed when managing resources from
the Resource Management screen:
 Create a resource
 Copy a resource
 Change ownership of a resource
 Edit a resource
 Rename a resource
 Update the icon associated with a resource
 Change the description
 Specify the dashboard to display when the card is selected on the Home screen
 Require login to view a resource
 Preview information for a resource
 Identify user and time that a resource was last accessed
 Share/unshare the resource with other users/roles
 Delete an owned resource

Procedure 82 Managing Resources

1. From the Administration menu, choose Resources.

The “Resource Management” screen appears.

2. Select the user or group for which you want to manage resources.

• If you have read-write Resource Configuration permission, from the treeview (on the left), select either
All Resources or a particular user or role.

• If you do not have read-write Resource Configuration permission, the treeview does not display.
Instead, it is assumed that you are managing resource that are either owned by you or shared with
you.

3. Choose the tab for the resource type that you want to manage:
Applications, Custom Dashboards, Content Templates, Visualization Styles.

4. If in step 2. you selected a particular user or if the treeview did not display, choose the dropdown
option in the upper right corner for the resource you want to manage: Owned, Shared, or My Roles.

SteelCentral Portal 244

 Resource Management

5. Perform the management operation:

• Create a Resource:
Perform this operation to create a new resource.

Click the New… button.

Notes:

• For Applications, after entering the application name, the user interface for defining an
application model appears. For more information, and an alternate method for creating
application models, see “Application Models“.

• Custom Dashboards are not created from the Manage Resources page. For more information,
see “Create Custom Dashboards“.

• For Content Templates, see “Content Templates“.

• For Visualization Styles, see “Visualization Styles“.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Copy a Resource:
Perform this operation to create a resource similar to an existing resource. After copying the
resource, you can then edit the duplicate.

Select the resource(s) to copy and click the Make a Copy… button.

Notes:

• You do not have to own a resource to copy it.

• If more than one resource is selected, SteelCentral Portal individually prompts for the new
names, one after another.

• If you have read-write Resource Configuration permission, the copy operation prompts for an
owner. Otherwise, it is assumed that the user performing the operation is the owner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Change Ownership of a Resource

Perform this operation to change the ownership to another user. The ownership of a resource is
important because only the owner and users with whom the resource is shared can access the
resource and perform management operations on the resource.

Select the resource(s) to change the ownership and click the Change Ownership… button.

Note:

• If more than one resource is selected, the ownership of all selected resources is changed to the
selected user.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SteelCentral Portal 245

 Resource Management

• Edit a Resource
Perform this operation to edit a resource.

Select the resource to edit and click the Edit button.

Notes:

• For Applications, the application model appears in the application model editor. For more
information, see “Application Models“.

• Custom Dashboards are not edited from the Manage Resources page. To edit a custom
dashboard, see “Create Custom Dashboards“.

• For “Content Templates“, edits are immediately applied to dashboards where the content
template is in use.

• For “Visualization Styles“, edits are immediately applied to dashboards where the
visualization style is in use.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Rename a Resource
Perform this operation to change the name assigned to a resource.
(Applies to Custom Dashboards, Content Templates, and Visualization Styles.)

Simply double-click on the resource name and enter the new name.

Note:

• For Applications, use the Make a Copy… option to make a copy of the resource (giving it a new
name during the copy operation) and then use the Delete option to delete the original resource.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Update the Icon Associated with a Resource

Perform this operation to update the icon associated with the resource.
(This operation only applies to Applications and Custom Dashboards).

Simply double-click in the resource’s Icon column, click Choose File to select a graphic, and then
click Upload…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Change the Description

Perform this operation to change the description of a resource.
(This operation only applies to Applications and Custom Dashboards).

Simply double-click in the resource’s Description column, and then edit the description text.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SteelCentral Portal 246

 Resource Management

• Specify the Dashboard to Display when the Card is selected on the Home screen
Perform this operation to specify the dashboard to display when the application is selected on the
Home screen or from the Applications menu.
(This operation only applies to Applications).

From the pull-down menu in the Initial Dashboard column, select the dashboard to display when
the application is selected on the Home screen or from the Applications menu. This setting applies
to all users.

The default is “High-Level Summary”.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Require Login to View a Custom Dashboard

Perform this operation to determine whether users accessing the dashboard via a URL must login
first. For more information, see “Provide Access to Dashboards by URLs and Embedded HTML“.
(This operation only applies to Custom Dashboards.)

Select/unselect the Requires Login column for the custom dashboard(s) that you own (or have
permission to manage).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Preview Information for a Resource

Perform this operation to view detailed information for a resource.
(This operation does not apply to Applications)

Select the resource for which you want to view detailed information and click the Details button.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Identify User and Time that a Resource was Last Accessed

Perform this operation to identify the user and time that the resource was last accessed.
(This operation only applies to Custom Dashboards.)

Place the mouse pointer over the Custom Dashboard for which you want information.
The “Last Access Time” and “Last Access By” fields are shown at the bottom of the screen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

• Share/Unshare the Resource with Other Users/Roles

Perform this operation to control the accessibility of resources to other specified users/roles.

To share, select the resource(s) to share and click the Share button. Then select the users and/or roles
that you want to share the resource with.
To unshare, select the user or role with whom the resource is shared, select "Shared" from the Filter
by: dropdown, select the resource(s) to unshare, and then click the Unshare button..

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SteelCentral Portal 247

 Resource Management

• Delete an Owned Resource

Perform this operation to delete a resource.

Select the resource(s) to delete and click the Delete button.

Note:

• For “Content Templates“ and “Visualization Styles“, if you attempt to delete a resource that is
in use by a dashboard or shared with another user/group, an error dialog box appears and lists
instances where the resource is used. You must unshare the resource before it can be deleted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Import Resources
Perform this operation to import resources (requires Resource Configuration read-write permission).

Notes:

• All imported resources will be :owned by the importing user.

• Imported custom visualization styles will be owned by the importing user.

• Any data sources associated with imported dashboards will not be added, but if they already
exist or are added in the future, the data source references in the imported dashboard will be
maintained.

• Imported dashboards require users to login by default, even if they had the No-Login
designation when they were exported.

• Dashboards that include content templates cannot be imported.

End of Procedure 82

SteelCentral Portal 248

 Resource Management

Content Templates
A content template is a collection of settings for displaying dashboard content. Choose from among
predefined content templates or create your own. Each content template is specific to a given object type
(for example: CPU, Business Group, Application, or Host). Additionally, content templates can include
other content templates and metrics that are not part of the status-specific group hierarchy.
For more information, see
“Creating a Content Template“
 “Editing a Content Template“

Related Topics
 “Using Content Templates to Display Content“

SteelCentral Portal 249

 Resource Management

Creating a Content Template

Procedure 83 Creating a Content Template

1. From the Administration menu, choose Resources.

The “Resource Management” screen appears.

2. Click the Content Templates tab.

3. Click the New… button.

4. If you are an Administrator, then the “Select Owner” dialog box appears for you to select the owner of
the new content template and click OK.

5. Specify the following information:

• Content Template Name

A unique name to identify the content template.
For example: “CPU Metrics”.

• Object Type
The object type that applies to the content template.
For example: From the hierarchy tree, choose AppInternals 9.x Data Source > Host > Windows >
CPU.

• Visualization Style
The style used for displaying the grouped elements created from this template. Choose from a list
of defined styles or click Create New… to define a new visualization style.
For example: “Area Graph”.

For more information about visualization styles, see “Visualization Styles“.

• Grouping Settings and Metric Searches (optional)

For more information, see “Creating a Content Template—Optional Settings“.

6. Click OK.

End of Procedure 83

SteelCentral Portal 250

 Resource Management

Creating a Content Template—Optional Settings

The “Create Content Template” dialog box provides the following configuration options to help you better
organize and display dashboard content:
 “Grouping Settings“
 “Metrics“
 “Searches“

Grouping Settings
If you are displaying multiple objects and their corresponding metric values, click Configure to open the
“Configure Grouping Settings” dialog box, as shown in the following figure.

SteelCentral Portal 251

 Resource Management

Configure the following settings, if necessary:

 For this group, determine rolled-up:
Select the data grouping rules to determine how the grouped element (created for this template)
accumulates metric data from its constituent members and displays the result as a single value.
– Value Using:
From the pull-down menu, select the method for calculating how to combine data from lower-level
member elements:
Automatic (default)—Based on the inherent properties of the lower-level members, the most
appropriate grouping rule is chosen for you. For example, if each of the lower-level member
elements displays the Maximum Rollup value, the grouped element will be the maximum of these
lower-level maximum values.
Maximum—The highest value of all the group members
Average—The average of all group member values
Minimum—The lowest value of all the group members
Sum—A sum of all group member values
– Status (red/green/…):
From the pull-down menu, select the method for determining the status for displaying data of the
grouped element:
Worst Case—The worst state; for example, an LED group would be red if one member is red.
Child Count—The count of group members exceeding a threshold.
For example, an LED could monitor the CPU utilization of 10 subnet members. If the aggregation
LED uses Child Count, then it could have a warning threshold of 6—if six or more child nodes
enter a warning state, the LED will turn yellow.
Child Percentage—The percentage of group members exceeding a threshold.
Similar to Child Count, except the values are measured as a percentage of child nodes. For
example, if an LED groups 10 child nodes, then a Child Percentage of 50 is equal to five child
nodes.
 Number of levels of grouping:
Enter the number of levels that you want to group and then click OK.
Alternatively, click the up and down arrows to specify the number of grouping levels, which then
opens the settings for the added levels.
 Visualization Style:
Select an appropriate style from the pull-down menu.
 Order By:
Enables you to configure the way that elements are ordered at the lowest level. For each additional
ordering method that you want, click the + Add Order Method pull-down menu and make your
selection.

SteelCentral Portal 252

 Resource Management

As shown in the following example, you could order elements by “Displayed Status” (green, yellow, or
red) with ties broken by metric (which you specify by choosing “Metric/Template” from the
pull-down menu).

Consequently, the elements would be ordered first by status, and then alphabetically by each of the
metrics represented in the panel. If only one metric was used, the “Metric/Template” ordering
criterion would not called upon to be the “tie breaker.”
Once you specify the grouping settings for the “Lowest Level,” you can, if necessary configure higher
levels (“Level 1,” “Level 2,” and so on). For example, you might want to use “Level 1” to group by
“Object Type,” and then use “Level 2” to group by “Metric.”
For example, the next level, “Level 1” is shown in the following figure. Additional, lower levels under
“Level 1” (“Level 2,” “Level 3,” etc.) will have an identical interface.

 “Visualization Style”: Select an appropriate style from the pull-down menu. Optionally, you can click
“Create New” to create a new visualization style. For more on visualization styles, see “Visualization
Styles“.
 “Group into rows and columns?”: To display dashboard content in a column and row format, select the
“Yes” radio button to open the settings, as shown by the following figure.

SteelCentral Portal 253

 Resource Management

How the content is organized in the grid depends on the selected object properties from the column
and row pull-down menus. For more information, see “Grouping Elements with Object Properties“.
 “Group By”: Specify the grouping at each level by selecting an applicable object property from the
pull-down menu.
 “Order By”: Order each grouping level by selecting “Name,” “Displayed Status,” or “Displayed
Value” from the pull-down menu.
 The availability of “Name,” “Displayed Status,” and “Displayed Value” are based on the selected
visualization style.
 “At this level, determine”: Same functionality as described previously in “For this group determine”
(the topmost section in the “Lowest Level”).
For more information on groups, see “Group Elements“.

Metrics
Open the “Metrics” tab to select the metrics to include in your content template. The following figure shows
the selected metrics of “DPC Time(%)” and “Usage(%)” for the “CPU Metrics” content template.

Searches
Open the “Searches” tab to specify searches for related objects and the template to apply to the results of
those searches. By adding searches, you can insert metrics on other related objects into the group hierarchy.
The following figure shows an example of adding a search to a content template called “Windows Health,”
and then selecting a content template called “CPU Metrics” to apply to the results of that search.

SteelCentral Portal 254

 Resource Management

Figure 14 Searches Tab: Defining Members

Note: The Windows object type acts as a “container” of other object types and does not contain any metrics
of its own.

By clicking “Add” from the “Create Content Template” dialog box, you will see the following settings in
the “Define Search” dialog box:
 Relationship Type: The direction (up or down) in the object-type hierarchy, as determined by selecting
either “Child” or “Parent” from the pull-down menu.
In this example, “Windows” is the “Parent” under which you want to nest a “Child” object type
“CPU” (and to which the content template “CPU Metrics” is associated).
 Result Type: The selection made for “Relationship Type” determines the available object types that are
available in the “Result Type” pull-down menu.
In this example, “Child” is the “Relationship Type.” Consequently, the following object types are
available.

SteelCentral Portal 255

 Resource Management

If you were to have chosen “Parent”’ as the “Relationship Type,” the only available “Result Type”
would have been “Host,” as this object type is the only object type higher up in the hierarchy than
“Windows.”
Content Template to Apply to Results: This template will be applied to the results of the search and
controls what objects and metrics are displayed in the dashboard hierarchy.
Click in the field to open the “Select Content Template…” dialog box. In this example, the
“CPU Metrics” content template is selected.

 Filter: You can specify a filter to refine the results of the search. The available filters are defined by the
data source.

SteelCentral Portal 256

 Resource Management

For example, the following figure shows the “Define Search” dialog box for AppInternals. If you do
not select “Include Aggregates,” the aggregated object “CPU(_Total)” will not be included in the search
results. However, because “Include Individuals” is selected, the objects “CPU (0)” and “CPU (1)” are
included in the search results.

SteelCentral Portal 257

 Resource Management

Editing a Content Template

You can edit any content template that you own (or have permission to manage).

Procedure 84 Edit a Content Template

1. From the Administration menu, choose Resources.

The “Resource Management” screen appears.

2. Click the Content Templates tab.

3. Select the content template to edit and click the Edit button.

For content templates, you can change the following settings:

• Template Name

• Visualization Style (edit or create a new one)

• Grouping Settings

• Metrics and Searches

Note: The “Edit Content Templates” dialog box is identical to the “Create Content Template” dialog
box. For information about any of the settings, see “Creating a Content Template“ and “Creating a
Content Template—Optional Settings“.

4. After making the necessary edits, click OK to save changes and close the dialog box.

End of Procedure 84

For more information, see:

 “General Workflow for Resource Management“

SteelCentral Portal 258

 Resource Management

Visualization Styles
A visualization style is a configuration of settings used to determine how objects should be displayed. In
addition to the visualization styles that are included with SteelCentral Portal, you can create custom
visualization styles to create a consistent look and operation for panels.
A visualization style consists of an element and configuration settings.

Visualization Style

An Element Configuration Settings

Select One:
- Compact Row
- Full Gauge
- Geographic Map
- Graph +
- Half Gauge
- LED
- LED Series
- Sectional Chart
- Slider
- Stoplight
- Table
- Text (Settings differ depending
on selected element)

When defining a panel, you select the visualization setting that you want to use. More specifically, you
select a visualization style after running the “Object Selection Wizard“ and when editing the visualization
style for an existing panel using the panel’s Edit Settings option.

Specify the Visualization Style Edit the Visualization Style for an existing panel
after running the Object Selection Wizard through the panel’s “Edit Settings” option

SteelCentral Portal 259

 Resource Management

SteelCentral Portal includes numerous default visualization settings, (shown in the figure above).
Additionally, you can create your own visualization styles and share them with other users and groups that
create content. When created and shared, you and other dashboards content creators can select the new
visualization style from the pull-down lists (shown in the figure above).

Hint: Consider specifying a different visualization style for each of the hierarchical levels of a grouped
element. For example, at the group level, you could use a single LED that quickly identifies the status of
all the group members. For lower hierarchical levels, you could use more detailed visualization styles,
such as an LED Series or a Graph. For more information about groups, see “Group Elements“.

SteelCentral Portal 260

 Resource Management

Procedure 85 Creating a Visualization Style

1. From the Administration menu, choose Resources.

The “Resource Management” screen appears.

2. Click the Visualization Styles tab.

3. Click the New… button.

4. If you have the administrative privilege, then the “Select Owner” dialog box appears for you to select
the owner of the new visualization style and click OK.

5. From the “Create Visualization Style” dialog box:

5.1. Specify a name:

In the Name field, enter a unique name for the visualization style.

5.2. Select an element:

From the Display As field, choose the element from the pull-down list: Compact Row, Full Gauge,
Geographic Map, Graph, Half Gauge, LED, LED Series, Sectional Chart, Slider, Table, Text.

5.3. Configure the visualization style:

Click the Configure Settings button to specify the style settings in the “Visualization Style
Settings” dialog box.

Note:
- The available style options depends on the element selected in the Display As field.
- For the description of a setting, place the mouse pointer over the field label to display a tooltip.

When complete, click OK to save the configuration settings and to close the
“Visualization Style Settings” dialog box.

6. Click OK to save the visualization style and close the “Create Visualization Style” dialog box.

The new visualization style will now appear in the list of visualization style when you create or edit
a panel. Be sure to share the new visualization style with other users and groups if you want others
to use the new visualization style.

End of Procedure 85

SteelCentral Portal 261

 Resource Management

Procedure 86 Modifying a Visualization Style

1. From the Administration menu, choose Resources.

The “Resource Management” screen appears.

2. Click the Visualization Styles tab.

3. Select the visualization style to edit and click the Edit button.

The “Edit Visualization Style” dialog box appears.

Note: The “Edit Visualization Style” dialog box is identical to the “Create Visualization Style” dialog
box. For information about any of the settings, see “Creating a Visualization Style“.

4. After making the necessary edits, click OK to save changes and close the dialog box.

End of Procedure 86

For more information, see:

 “General Workflow for Resource Management“

SteelCentral Portal 262

CHAPTER 17 Custom Dashboard Templates

Some users find the dashboards generated by the templates that ship with Portal too restrictive (or are not
exactly what they want) and they want an easy way to many similar custom dashboards.
Custom dashboard templates make it easy to create sets of similar custom dashboards.
Here is a common high-level workflow: create a dashboard, then create a template from your dashboard,
then use your template to either stamp out new custom dashboards or to generate dashboards on the fly.
For example, create a custom dashboard by modifying a copy of the Application Details (Aternity)
dashboard (for a particular Monitored Application), then create a template from the custom dashboard,
then use the template to quickly create custom dashboards for the rest of your monitored applications.

Custom Dashboard Template Guidelines

Custom dashboard templates are created from custom dashboards. For more on creating custom
dashboards, see “Create a Custom Dashboard in 60 Seconds“ and “Create Custom Dashboards“.
Only dashboards that fall into one of the following basic categories can be used to create a template:
 Details: object—dashboards that display different metrics for a single instance of an object, or a topped
list of objects within that instance. Examples include: a particular IP, Host Group, or the top IP
conversations within an Application.
 Details: object + other object—dashboards that display data for two different objects. The user will be
prompted to select two different focus objects in the template.
 Top N/Summary (no-prompt)—dashboards that show Top N data without any further refining criteria
beyond an object type and metric.
 SLA-style—dashboards where the user selects one or more instances of two different object types.
Only data from AppInternals, AppResponse, Aternity, and UCExpert works with custom dashboard
templates. Data from one of the other data sources (AppInternals 9.x, AppResponse 9.x,
NetCollector/NetSensor, NetIM, NetProfiler, or Web Analyzer) can not be included in custom dashboard
templates.
Application Model dashboards cannot be used to create custom dashboard templates.

SteelCentral Portal 263

 Custom Dashboard Templates

Creating Custom Dashboard Templates

Use the Custom Dashboard Template Wizard to create custom dashboard templates. There are two ways to
invoke the wizard:
 Open a custom dashboard and click the Create a template from this dashboard toolbar button ( ).
Note—If the dashboard is currently being edited, the toolbar button will not be available.
 On the Resource Management page, select one or more custom dashboards and click the Create
Template button.
The Custom Dashboard Template Wizard has three pages: Template Properties, Template Visibility, and
Content Options. The Content Options page is only available if this template is based on more than one
dashboard.

Template Properties
Use the following to set properties for a custom dashboard template:
 Name—the name to use for the template
 Dynamic Panel Sizing—in general, it is better to leave this selected. Unselect it to use static panel
sizing.
 Thumbnail—the thumbnail to use for the template
 Description—the description(s) will appear as a bulleted list in the Create “Dashboard Wizard“.
 Filter Categories—the categories to use for this template in the Create “Dashboard Wizard“.

Template Visibility
Use the following to control where the template should appear in Portal:
 Appears in Create Dashboard Wizard—select to have this template appear in the Create “Dashboard
Wizard“.
 Appears in Right-Click Menus—determines if the template appears in right-click menus of applicable
objects or not
– Submenu Text—short string to use for the submenu name. If this matches an existing submenu
name (for example “Drilldowns”), the menu item for this template will be added to that submenu
– Menu Text—the short string name that the template should use in right-click menus
 Appears in Search Results—determines if the template appears in the list of available templates
presented after searching for an object and selecting a search result in the “Search Bar“
 Appears as Default Dashboard—appear as a default dashboard on SteelCentral Portal’s home screen.

SteelCentral Portal 264

 Custom Dashboard Templates

Content Options
The Content Options page is available if the template is based on more than one dashboard. Specify the
name to use for each option and the order that the options appear in the selection menu.

Modifying Custom Dashboard Templates

To access custom dashboard templates, choose Administration > Dashboards: Custom Templates.
Use Edit to change any of the selected template’s properties, visibility settings, or content options.

Note: Panel sizing can only be specified before a template is generated.

If you have made changes to one or more source custom dashboards, use Regenerate to update a template
created from the dashboard (or dashboards) without needing to revisit the template’s properties, visibility
settings, and content options.

SteelCentral Portal 265

Central Manager
Portal supports the ability to centrally manage AppResponse appliances starting with AppResponse 11.7.0.

Note: Older versions of Portal supported centrally managing AppResponse appliances using a different
mechanism. For more information, see the SteelCentral Portal User Guide for the older version of Portal.

You can specify which connected AppResponse appliances to centrally manage, push and remove
configuration elements to and from the specified appliances, and tag configuration elements (to make
selecting large sets much easier). Currently the following configuration elements are supported:
 Host group definitions
 General application definitions
 URL application definitions
 Web application definitions
Managing these configuration elements requires Central Manager permission in Portal. For more
information about these configuration elements, see the corresponding section of the AppResponse 11 User’s
Guide.
To specify the AppResponse appliances to be centrally managed, use Portal's Data Source Manager (for
more information, see “Data Source Management“). Additional data about connected appliances is
available in the AppResponse tab of the Data Source Manager.

Managing Distribution Lists

Several types of configuration entities (user accounts, user roles, host group definitions, application
definitions, and tag definitions) are made available to individual AppResponse systems via distribution
lists. For a selected set of configuration elements (for example, user accounts), the distribution list is the set
of AppResponse systems that will receive those account definitions and have them available for use.

Procedure 87 Distribute Configuration Elements to AppResponse Appliances

1. Select one or more configuration elements (e.g., user accounts) to be assigned to one or more
AppResponse appliances.

2. Click Manage Distribution

SteelCentral Portal 266

 The Manage Distribution List dialog comprises two panes: Available Appliances and Selected
Appliances. Available Appliances is the set of AppResponse systems that do not have the selected
objects assigned to them, currently. Selected Appliances is the set of AppResponse Systems to which
you want to assign the selected objects. Use the arrow buttons between the two panes to move
AppResponse systems from one list to the other. Each pane has a text panel above it that enables you
to filter the list of visible systems by matching typed text to system names.

3. Click OK to execute the distribution list

If you select a single row in a configuration table, the Manage Distribution dialog will show the
configuration element’s current distribution. Appliances on the right side have the configuration
element already, and hosts on the left side do not have it.

If you select multiple rows in a config table, there are two possibilities:

• All the selected configuration elements have the exact same distribution. In this case, hosts that
have the selected configuration elements are listed on the right side.

• The selected configuration elements don’t have the exact same distribution. In this case, all
AppResponse systems are listed on the left side, rather than attempting to show the
intersections of which hosts have which configuration elements.

In either case, if you click OK, a warning dialog will appear, reminding you that you are changing the
distribution of multiple configuration elements.

End of Procedure 87

Cloning Configuration Elements

The Clone Appliance Configuration button is on the AppResponse tab of the Data Source Management
page (for more information, see “Data Source Management“).
Select an AppResponse system in the list and click the Clone Config button. This displays the Select Data
Source dialog, listing other AppResponse systems. Select one or more AppResponse systems you want to
receive the configuration of the first AppResponse system, and click OK to execute the configuration
copying process.

Procedure 88 Cloning an AppResponse Appliance Configuration

1. On the AppResponse tab of the Data Source Management page, select an AppResponse system in the
list and click the Clone Config button.

The Select Data Source dialog appears.

2. Select one or more AppResponse systems you want to receive the configuration of the first
AppResponse system

SteelCentral Portal 267

 3. Click OK to execute the configuration copying process.

End of Procedure 88

Central Manager Sync Status

Click Central Manager > Administration: CM Sync Status to display the CM Sync Status page (requires
System Configuration permission in Portal). This page lists configuration actions that were executed for
managed AppResponse systems, and indicates whether the managed systems are properly in sync with the
configuration specified by Portal, or not.
The possible Sync Status values are:
 Synced—Everything is working normally: zero or more managed AppResponse systems have this
configuration element distributed, and the configuration element definition on the AppResponse
system matches what is on Portal.
 Out of Sync—This indicates that one or more AppResponse systems have the configuration element,
but its definition does not match the definition on Portal.
 Not Pushed—This means either that there is a task in the processing queue, and the configuration
element definition has not been pushed, or there may not be a task in the queue and the configuration
element doesn’t exist on some AppResponse system. This could happen if a user distributes a
configuration element but then deletes it from the AppResponse system. (The Force Push command
can fix this.)
 Error—There is some error pushing the configuration element definition to an AppResponse system.
In this case, the user can click the ‘details’ button and see the error, or go to the CM Sync Status page to
try Retry Failed Tasks or Force Push. It could also show an error if the user is making changes on Portal
but the AppResponse system is disconnected/rebooting/etc. Once the AppResponse system comes
back online, Portal should detect the reconnection, and the processing queue should start flushing
normally.
In addition, the CM Sync Status Page provides two buttons for addressing unexecuted configuration tasks:
 Force Push
 Retry Failed Tasks
Clicking Force Push opens the Force Push dialog that enables you to explicitly push configuration element
definitions to selected AppResponse systems. By default, all configuration element types are checked. Force
Push examines the current distribution list for an AppResponse system and queues a corresponding set of
force push tasks. These tasks create a configuration element on the AppResponse system if it doesn’t exist,
or overwrite an existing configuration element definition. The force push dialog also has the option to wipe
data, and that means that all apps and host groups will be deleted first prior to force push. That essentially
wipes out any data associated with the existing apps or host groups. Force Push attempts to sync the
connected AppResponse system’s configuration element definitions to what Portal has. Force Push can be
useful when:
 An AppResponse system was disconnected for a long time, the user made a bunch of configuration
changes while it was offline, and the user doesn’t care about the existing configuration of the
AppResponse system. They want to simply force push the current definitions.

SteelCentral Portal 268

 There are multiple admins. A Portal admin configured the AppResponse system how they like it, but
then an AppResponse system admin went and modified a managed configuration element. A Portal
admin can force push the corresponding configuration element type to overwrite the changes on the
AppResponse system.
 Maybe the AppResponse system was restored to a prior backup state and the configuration elements
are out of sync with Portal. We don’t support backup/restore with the distribution lists, so the only
option would be to force push in order to make the AppResponse system get to the latest state.
The Retry Failed Tasks button becomes accessible if the CM Sync Status page shows errors in the table.
Clicking it requeues failed tasks for processing, and, subsequently, an attempt is made to re-execute those
failed tasks. Retry Failed Tasks is executed automatically when an AppResponse system reconnects to
Portal. However, you may want to execute this action explicitly in a case in which configuration tasks failed,
and communication between Portal and an AppResponse system was disrupted in such a way that the
processing queue on Portal remains unaware that the AppResponse system now is reconnected and
available.
In addition, this section covers:
 “Managed Appliances“
 “AppResponse User Administration“

SteelCentral Portal 269

CHAPTER 18 Managed Appliances

Use Administration > Central Manager: Appliances to:

 specify the AppResponse appliances to manage
 view the software version number, hardware model and disk health of connected AppResponse
appliances.
Selecting Administration > Central Manager: Appliances opens the AppResponse tab of Data Source
Manager page (if there are no AppResponse data sources, the page will open to the All Data Sources tab).
For more information about the Data Source Manager, see “Data Source Management“.
When adding or editing AppResponse data sources select the Centrally Managed checkbox to allow
configuration to be pushed to the AppResponse appliance.

AppResponse Appliance System Health

The AppResponse tab of the Data Source Manager page shows the following health metrics for
AppResponse appliances running AppResponse version 11.6.0 or newer:
 Disk Health
 Chassis Health
 Monitoring Interface Drops
 Time Sync
 Power Supply
If the status of an LED is not normal (green), the tooltip will list the reason for the warning (yellow) or error
(red) status. Clicking on an LED takes you to the corresponding status page or Insight on the AppResponse
appliance.
For appliances running earlier versions of AppResponse, only disk health will be shown.
Empty system health columns are not displayed. For example, if all of the connected AppResponse
appliances are virtual machines, the Power Supply column will not be displayed.

SteelCentral Portal 270

 Managed Appliances

Appliance Software Update

Clicking Central Manager: Administration > Remote System Update displays the Remote System Update
page, enabling you to update software on supported AppResponse data sources. This requires System
Configuration permission in Portal and is supported by AppResponse systems running AppResponse
version 11.5.0 and later. For more information, see the Software Update section of the AppResponse 11 User’s
Guide.
 Update Jobs—Define and schedule software update processes.
 Data Sources—This shows the set of AppResponse systems that are available and updatable.
 Images—Upload AppResponse software images (ISO files) to make them available for the software
update processes.

Procedure 89 Update Appliance Software

1. Go to Central Manager: Administration > Remote System Update and click the Images tab. Click
Upload to specify an AppResponse ISO file to make it available for update operations.

You can upload multiple ISO files and the update process will use the appropriate set of ISO files to
update the appliances to the target version. For example, the update process can use the 11.6.0 and
11.7.0 ISO files to update AppResponse systems from 11.5.0a to 11.7.0.

2. Click the Data Sources tab to see the AppResponse systems that Portal is managing.

3. Click the Update Jobs tab, and click Add to define a new update job. In the Add Update Job wizard,
select the target version and then select the AppResponse systems that you want to update. The list in
the wizard shows a list of compatible AppResponse systems.

4. Click Next in the wizard to commence the initialization process. The ISOs are transferred to the
selected AppResponse systems, and their system updates are initialized.

5. After all the specified AppResponse systems are initialized, you have the choice to Cancel or
Continue. Clicking Cancel will revert the software update process.

6. The web UI tracks the progress of the update job until completion, displaying the state of the job as it
changes.

End of Procedure 89

Valid Update Job States

You may see one or more of the following states during or after executing a software update process:
 Queued—Just created and waiting to be processed.
 Uploading ISOs—ISOs are being transferred to the AppResponse systems.
 Initializing updates—The AppResponse systems had their system update API changed to the
INITIALIZED state.

SteelCentral Portal 271

 Managed Appliances

 Waiting for user confirmation—The update job will not proceed until the user confirms or cancels the
update. If the user cancels, then the job will transition to the "Success" state with the message,
“Successfully canceled.”
 Confirmed—The user has clicked the Confirm button to consent to the update job. This state will
transition to "Updates running" within a few seconds.
 Updates running—Updates are running on remote AppResponse systems.
 Preparing the update job—The data sources and target version have been validated.
 Success—All updates on the AppResponse systems have finished.
 Error—At least one error happened at some point during the process. This is an abort state. All update
activity stops, and the update job is finished.

SteelCentral Portal 272

CHAPTER 19 AppResponse User Administration

Clicking Central Manager > Administration: AppResponse User Administration in the menu bar displays
the AppResponse User Accounts and Roles Administration page (requires User Management permission in
Portal). This page enables you to define user accounts for use on individual AppResponse systems. For
more information, see the description of Roles and Permissions in the SteelCentral AppResponse 11 User’s
Guide.

Note: In the AppResponse web UI, if the set of user account definitions or user roles has been selected in
the Portal Integration page to be managed solely from SteelCentral Portal, the User Administration and
Account Policy page in AppResponse will display a message stating that those objects are being managed
from Portal, and cannot be edited using AppResponse.

The AppResponse User Accounts and Roles Administration page provides two tabs:
 AppResponse Users - Define user accounts for use on AppResponse systems.
 AppResponse Roles and Permissions - Define the user roles and corresponding sets of permissions that
are assigned to individual AppResponse user accounts.
For each tab, there is an Add button to create a new user account or role/permission combination, as well
as a Manage Distribution button, which enables you to specify exactly which AppResponse systems
should have the selected users or roles.

Procedure 90 Create a new AppResponse user account:

1. Click Add in the AppResponse Users tab to display the New User dialog.

2. Type the user account name, a meaningful description, and the account's password. Select one or more
user roles to assign to the account, if roles have been defined.

3. Click Save to complete the user account definition. The user account can be made available to an
AppResponse system via a distribution list (for more information, see “Distribute user accounts or
user roles to individual AppResponse systems“).

End of Procedure 90

SteelCentral Portal 273

 AppResponse User Administration

Procedure 91 Create a new AppResponse user role:

1. Click Add in the AppResponse Users tab to display the New Role dialog.

2. Type the user role name and a meaningful description.

3. Select the particular combination of user permissions to assign to the role.

4. Click Save to complete the user role definition. The user role can be made available to an AppResponse
system via a distribution list (for more information, see “Distribute user accounts or user roles to
individual AppResponse systems“).

End of Procedure 91

Procedure 92 Distribute user accounts or user roles to individual AppResponse systems

1. In either tab, select one or more user accounts or user roles that you want to make available to
AppResponse systems.

2. Click Manage Distribution to display the Manage Distribution List dialog.

The Manage Distribution List dialog comprises two panes: Available Appliances and Selected
Appliances. Available Appliances is the set of AppResponse systems that do not have the selected
objects assigned to them, currently. Selected Appliances is the set of AppResponse Systems to which
you want to assign the selected objects. Use the arrow buttons between the two panes to move
AppResponse systems from one list to the other. Each pane has a text panel above it that enables you
to filter the list of visible systems by matching typed text to system names.

3. Click OK to execute the distribution list.

End of Procedure 92

SteelCentral Portal 274

Administrator
This section describes the role of the Administrator, who is responsible for installation and configuration,
data source management, and user management.

Dashboards
 “Global Dashboard Settings“
 “Data Source Management“
System Settings
 General
– “Hostname/DNS“
– “Time“
– “Email“
– “Management Interfaces“
– “Web Server Settings“
 “Proxy Settings“
 System Operations
– “Backup and Restore“
– “Reboot/Shutdown“
– “Software Update“
– “System Dumps“
– “Audit Logging“
 “Recipients“
Account Management
 “Authentication“
 “User Administration“
Other
 “Licensing“

Related Topics
 “Getting Started“
 “Dashboards Content Viewer“
 “Dashboards Content Creator“

SteelCentral Portal 275

SteelCentral Portal 276
CHAPTER 20 Global Dashboard Settings

Global dashboard settings apply to all users of the system. Only administrators can modify Global
Dashboard Settings. They can be overridden by user, and other lower level, settings, see “Inheriting Setting
Changes“.

Procedure 93 Setting Global Dashboard Settings

1. Open the “Global Dashboard Settings” dialog box:

1.1. From the Administration menu, choose Global Dashboard Settings.

The “Global Dashboards Settings” dialog box appears.

2. Set the global dashboard settings:

• Show No-Login Dashboards in Operations View: If enabled, No-Login dashboards will be shown
in Operations View (i.e., with a compact header and no menu bar).

• Panel Title Size: Specifies the size of the font used for Panel titles. Choose Small, Medium, or Large.

• Drilldown Settings: Specifies the default Drilldown Settings for all users, see “Adding Drilldowns
to Elements“.

• Compact Row > LED Image Type: Specifies the type of LED to use for Compact Rows. Choose
Checkmarks, Circles, or Emoticons.

• LED Settings > Image Type: Specifies the default type of LED. Choose Checkmarks, Circles, or
Emoticons.

3. Click OK.

End of Procedure 93

SteelCentral Portal 277

CHAPTER 21 Data Source Management

A data source is a product, solution, or other type of entity which provides performance and metric data to
SteelCentral Portal. Specifically, SteelCentral Portal collects data from the following data sources:
 AppInternals
 AppInternals (9.x)
 AppResponse
 AppResponse (9.x)
 Aternity
 NetCollector/NetSensor
 NetIM
 NetProfiler
 UCExpert
 Web Analyzer (BrowserMetrix)

Note: For the supported data sources, see KB S27459. (You must be logged in to the Riverbed Support Website to
access the knowledge base article.)

This section covers:

 “Managing Data Sources“
 “Adding a Data Source“
 “Viewing the Details of a Data Source“
 “Overriding the Base Data Source URL“
 “Data Source-Side Object Changes“
 “Viewing Dashboard System Load and Setting Alerts“

SteelCentral Portal 278

 Data Source Management

Managing Data Sources

Data sources are managed with the “Data Source Management” page.

Note: To manage data sources, you must have the Data Source Configuration permission.

Procedure 94 Accessing the “Data Source Management” Page

1. From the Administration menu, choose Data Sources.

The “Data Source Management” page appears.

Note the following:

- Use the Data Source Type tabs to display specific data source types.
- The Status column can provide useful information when troubleshooting a data source issue.

2. Perform the necessary management option(s):

• “Adding a Data Source“

• Removing a Data Source

• Reconnecting a Data Source

• Disconnecting a Data Source

• Editing a Data Source

• “Cloning Configuration Elements“ (AppResponse only)

• “Viewing the Details of a Data Source“

• “Viewing Dashboard System Load and Setting Alerts“

End of Procedure 94

SteelCentral Portal 279

 Data Source Management

Adding a Data Source

The following procedure describes how to add a data source.

Note: For the supported versions of data sources and instructions when adding multiple data sources of the
same type, see KB S27459. (You must be logged in to the Riverbed Support Website to access the knowledge base
article.)

Procedure 95 Adding a Data Source

1. Open the “Data Source Management” page:

1.1. From the Administration menu, choose Data Sources.

The “Data Source Management” page appears.

Note: For more information about the “Data Source Management” page, see “Managing Data
Sources“.

2. Click Add…

The “Add Data Source” dialog box appears.

3. From the Select data source type… pull-down menu, select the data source type that you want to add:

• AppInternals

• AppInternals (9.x)

• AppResponse

• AppResponse (9.x)

• Aternity

• NetCollector/NetSensor

• NetIM

• NetProfiler

• UCExpert

• Web Analyzer

SteelCentral Portal 280

 Data Source Management

4. Specify the data source access information:

• Host Name

Important: When specifying the literal address of an AppResponse appliance using IPv6, the
address must be enclosed in square brackets.

Important: If the data source is a NetProfiler Enterprise Cluster, specify the Host Name or IP
address of the UI host.

• Port

• Nickname (Optional)

Nicknames are friendly names that are used in Portal whenever data sources are shown. If you
do not set a Nickname, Portal will use the datasource’s hostname. You can change Nicknames
without affecting existing dashboards.

• Description (Optional)

Note: Including a meaningful description will make it easier to select the correct data source when
creating custom dashboards and building application models.

5. Specify the credentials with administrative privileges for accessing the data source:

• Username

• Password

6. Click Connect.

End of Procedure 95

Note: Data sources can disconnect for many reasons (e.g., network errors, data-source restarts). If a data
source becomes disconnected unexpectedly, SteelCentral Portal will attempt to reconnect automatically,
either immediately or every 60 seconds. The length of time for reconnecting depends on both the cause of
the disconnection and the data source type. If you manually disconnect a data source (by clicking the
“Disconnect” button in the “Configure Data Sources” dialog box), SteelCentral Portal will not attempt to
reconnect automatically. In this case, you must click Reconnect to reestablish the connection. SteelCentral
Portal will attempt to connect to all configured data sources every time it starts up.

SteelCentral Portal 281

 Data Source Management

Viewing the Details of a Data Source

The following procedure describes how to view the details of a data source, including a hyperlink to the
data source.

Procedure 96 Viewing the Details of a Data Source

1. Open the “Data Source Management” page:

1.1. From the Administration menu, choose Data Sources.

The “Data Source Management” page appears.

Note: For more information about the “Data Source Management” page, see “Managing Data
Sources“.

2. In the “Data Source Management” page, select the data source for which you want to see details.

3. Click Details.

The details dialog box appears.

End of Procedure 96

SteelCentral Portal 282

 Data Source Management

Overriding the Base Data Source URL

Portal uses the Base Data Source URL to create right-click “launch” links to data sources. Override the Base
Data Source URL when direct access to the data source is not possible (for example, when the data source
is behind a load balancer).

Note: You can override the Base Data Source URL for AppInternals, AppResponse, AppResponse 9.x,
Aternity, NetProfiler, and UCExpert data sources, but not for AppInternals 9.x, NetCollector/NetSensor,
and Web Analyzer data sources. For NetIM (version 1.4 and higher) data sources you can change the Base
Data Source URL in NetIM.

Procedure 97 Configuring the Base Data Source URL

1. Open the “Data Source Management” page:

1.1. From the Administration menu, choose Data Sources.

The “Data Source Management” page appears.

2. In the “Data Source Management” page, select the data source that you want to change.

3. Click Details.

The details dialog box appears.

4. Click the gear icon next to the currently configured Base Data Source URL.

5. Set the new Base Data Source URL. Start it with either “http://” or “https://”.

6. Click OK.

End of Procedure 97

SteelCentral Portal 283

 Data Source Management

Data Source-Side Object Changes

When objects are changed on a data source, Portal usually learns about it automatically, but it can take up
to two hours for these changes to be reflected. Until then, it will not be possible to find the objects in the
“Object Selection Wizard“.
Generally, when new objects are added to a data source (for instance, when a new Host Group is added to
AppResponse, or a new Transaction Type is defined in AppInternals), you can refresh the definitions
manually in Portal (using the procedure described below) to bring those changes in immediately. If you
have the “Object Selection Wizard“ open when you perform this procedure, it may be necessary to click the
Reset button on the “Search for Objects” or “Select Metrics” wizard panels.
Starting with Portal 3.4.0, object properties, including object names, are also updated automatically without
requiring a restart. This is true for all data source types except AppResponse 9.x, NetCollector, NetSensor,
NetIM*, and NetProfiler*. For most objects types, this refresh happens as part of the refresh definitions
routine, either when it is manually executed or when the periodic update happens (as mentioned above).
For the other object types, the refresh is triggered automatically when data for the object is requested, or it
can happen opportunistically if the new object definition is learned as a result of another data source call,
for instance a search request.
*NetIM and NetProfiler support will follow in a subsequent release.
Perform the following procedure to refresh definitions.

Procedure 98 Refreshing Data Source Definitions

1. Open the “Data Source Management” page:

1.1. From the Administration menu, choose Data Sources.

The “Data Source Management” page appears.

Note: For more information about the “Data Source Management” page, see “Managing Data
Sources“.

2. In the “Data Source Management” page, select the data source that you want to refresh.

3. Click Details.

The details dialog box appears.

4. Click Refresh Definitions.

The “Refresh Definitions” confirmation dialog box appears.

5. Click OK to close the confirmation dialog box.

End of Procedure 98

SteelCentral Portal 284

 Data Source Management

Viewing Dashboard System Load and Setting Alerts

You can view data source usage (system load), including:
 # Active STREAMING Requests: Number of active requests for metric data being sent to the data
source to render elements in active dashboards. Use this value to quickly measure the load being
placed on the data source, based on the requested metric data.
 # Active Elements: Number of measurements (pieces of data) from the data source that are required to
render elements in active dashboards. A single element can require multiple measurements. Use this
value to quickly identify the load being placed on SteelCentral Portal, based on the dashboards that are
actively streaming data.
 Live Data Points: The approximate number of data points (time/value pairs) required to render the
elements in active dashboards.

In addition to viewing the load, you can set warning thresholds for each data source type to alert users
when they exceed the number of streaming requests that may cause performance degradation.
From the “Data Source Management” page (Administration > Dashboards: Data Sources), click the
Show Usage button to view the system load.

In the “Data Source Usage” dialog box (shown above), each row shows the name of the data source, the total
number of streaming requests for that data source, and the number of elements viewing that data.

SteelCentral Portal 285

 Data Source Management

Click the Edit Request Warning Threshold button to configure the threshold for each data source type.

In the example shown in the previous figure, users will be warned (with the “Active Data Requests
Exceeded Warning Threshold” dialog box) when they request more than 100 streaming requests from any
AppInternals (9.x) data source or more than 50 streaming requests from any AppResponse (9.x) data source.
Related Topics
 “About Default Dashboards“

SteelCentral Portal 286

CHAPTER 22 Hostname/DNS

Use the controls on this page only if you require modifications, additional configuration, or want to verify
the DNS configuration:
Hostname—Modify the hostname only if your deployment requires it.
DNS Settings—Riverbed recommends you use DNS resolution.
Static Name Resolution—If you do not use DNS resolution, or if the host does not have a DNS entry, you
can create a host-IP address resolution map.
This section covers:
 “Hostname and DNS Servers“
 “Static Name Resolution“
 “Editing a Static Hostname“
 “Deleting a Static Hostname“
 “Exporting and Importing Static Hostnames“

Hostname and DNS Servers

The default hostname, localhost, can be changed. DNS servers and domains can be added and revised on
this tab. Note that if DHCP is in use, DNS settings configured by DHCP will be shown in the read-only
System DNS Settings field. Only the first three DNS servers that are set are displayed.

Procedure 99 Set the Hostname and DNS Servers

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: General and click the Hostname/DNS tab.

2. Hostname is an alphanumeric name or IPv4 address.

3. DNS Servers are added in priority order (primary, secondary, tertiary). Up to three IPv4 addresses can
be specified. If there are DNS servers set by DHCP, the user-supplied servers are prepended to the list.
Only the first three DNS servers that are set are displayed.

SteelCentral Portal 287

 Hostname/DNS

4. DNS Domain List entries are added in priority order, high-to-low, one DNS domain per line. Type a
DNS domain and press Enter to advance to a new line. If you specify domains, the system
automatically finds the appropriate domain for each of the hosts that you specify in the system.

5. When finished, click Apply to save your entries or Revert to discard them.

End of Procedure 99

Static Name Resolution

To specify a static hostname and IP address, follow the instructions below.

Procedure 100 Set Static Hostnames

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: General and click the Hostname/DNS tab.

2. Select the Static Name Resolution tab and click Add to display the New Host dialog.

3. Hostname is an alphanumeric name or IPv4 address to replace the default hostname.

4. Enter the IPv4 or IPv6 address to be used for the Hostname.

5. When finished click Save.

End of Procedure 100

Editing a Static Hostname

A static name can be edited using the instructions below.

Procedure 101 Editing Static Hostnames

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: General and click the Hostname/DNS tab.

2. Select the Static Name Resolution tab.

3. With the mouse, hover over the static hostname to be edited and click the pencil icon on the right-end
of the row.

4. Revise the Hostname and IP Address as needed.

SteelCentral Portal 288

 Hostname/DNS

5. When finished, click Save to save your changes or Revert to discard them.

End of Procedure 101

Deleting a Static Hostname

Statics names can be deleted using the instructions below.

Procedure 102 Deleting a Static Hostname

1. With the mouse, hover over the hostname to be deleted.

2. Click the x that appears at the end of the row.

End of Procedure 102

To delete a group of static names all at once, do the following:

Procedure 103 Deleting Multiple Static Hostnames

1. With the mouse, hover over a hostname to be deleted and click the check box that appears to the left
of the name.

2. Repeat Step 1 for all hostnames to be deleted.

3. Click Delete in the toolbar at the top of the table to remove the hostnames.

End of Procedure 103

Exporting and Importing Static Hostnames

Static hostnames can be exported and imported via CSV (comma-separated value) file. Click Export to
create the file, “staticNames.csv”, or click Import to read in a CSV file listing static hostnames. The import
function replaces all existing hosts with those defined in the imported CSV file.
The CSV file displays lists each static host by hostname and IP address columns. Here is an example of the
file format:
#Version:,AR11

SteelCentral Portal 289

 Hostname/DNS

#Data Type:,Hosts
#Timestamp:,Thu Jul 13 2017 12:23:51 GMT-0700 (EDT)
Hostname,IP
www.google.com,1.1.1.1
www.google.com,1.1.1.2
www.google.com,1.1.1.3
www.google.com,1.1.1.4
www.google.com,2.1.1.5
www.apple.com,3.2.2.2

SteelCentral Portal 290

CHAPTER 23 Time

The system date and time are configured in the command line interface (CLI) when Portal is installed. You
can change the system date and time on the Time tab of the Administration > System Settings: General page.
Changes to these settings can only be made by a user with System Configuration permission.
The system date and time changes can be entered manually or synced with an NTP server. By default, Portal
uses the Riverbed-provided NTP server and these public NTP servers:
 0.riverbed.pool.ntp.org
 1.riverbed.pool.ntp.org
 2.riverbed.pool.ntp.org
 3.riverbed.pool.ntp.org
This section covers:
 “Time zone“
 “Configuring NTP“
 “Manually Setting Date and Time“

Time zone
Select the time zone to use for the Portal appliance from the drop-down list. This setting applies to platform
and OS-level functionality (e.g., log entries). The default is America/Los Angeles. You also can select GMT
or UTC for the time zone.

Note: To see a list of available time zones, select the current time zone and start typing the a few letters from
the new time zone.

Each user can select time zone to use for dashboards via Administration > Dashboards: User Dashboard
Settings (see “Customize Dashboard Look and Behavior“)

SteelCentral Portal 291

 Time

Configuring NTP
On the General tab, if you switch from NTP to Use Local Clock or vice versa, you are automatically logged
out and must log in with read/write System Configuration permissions to make changes.

Configuring NTP Servers

Four Riverbed public NTP servers are defined by default. These servers can be edited or deleted. Configure
new NTP servers as follows.

Procedure 104 Configure NTP Servers

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: General and click on the Time tab.

2. Select the NTP Servers tab.

3. Click Add in the toolbar at the top of the table.

4. In the New NTP Server window enter the following:

• Hostname or IP Address supports IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

• Prefer can be enabled for this NTP server by checking or unchecking the box.

• Version is the NTP protocol version used. Select the version from the drop-down list.

• Encryption the type used is selected from the drop-down list. Select N/A if no encryption used
(default).

• Key is an 8-character ASCII string used in server authentication.

• Enter the key ID is a value from 0 to 65534, used in server authentication.

5. Click Save to add the NTP server.

End of Procedure 104

Editing NTP Servers

To revise an existing NTP server do the following.

Procedure 105 Edit NTP Servers

1. With the mouse, hover over the NTP server to be edited.

2. Click the pencil icon at the end of the row.

SteelCentral Portal 292

 Time

3. In the Edit NTP Server window, make the changes required.

4. Click Save to make the changes to the NTP server.

End of Procedure 105

Deleting an NTP Server

Procedure 106 Delete an NTP Server

1. With the mouse, hover over the NTP server to be deleted.

2. Click the x at the end of the row.

3. Alternatively, you can use the Delete icon in the toolbar to delete an NTP server as follows.

4. Hover over a route to be deleted.

5. Select the check box on the left for the route to be deleted.

6. Click Delete to remove the route.

End of Procedure 106

NTP Server Status

The NTP Status tab lists the following information about the current available NTP servers:
 Active: Only one NTP server can be active and it has a value of true.
 Server: NTP server name or IP address.
 Auth Status: True if authentication is used and the server is authenticated.
 Key ID: Specified when the NTP server is configured.
 Ref ID: System peer ID used to identify the time source.
 Configured: True if you configured this server, False if it was discovered on the network.
 Offset [ms]: The time difference between the reference clock and the system clock.

SteelCentral Portal 293

 Time

Manually Setting Date and Time

Procedure 107 Manually Set the Date and Time

1. On the General tab, select Use Local Clock.

2. Click the pencil icon to the left of the displayed date and time.

3. In the Local System Time window, Change Time, click to revise the date and time. The format is MMM
DD, YYYY HH:MM:SS AM or PM.

4. To change the displayed time zone, select a new time zone from the drop-down list in the Time Zone
field at the top of the page.

5. Click Save to make the changes, Revert to dismiss them.

6. Click Apply to submit the changes or Revert to dismiss them.

7. You are automatically logged out and must log back in.

End of Procedure 107

SteelCentral Portal 294

CHAPTER 24 Email

Portal can be configured to send audit log data via email. To send email, Portal requires the address of an
external email server.

Procedure 108 Specifying an Email Server

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: General and click on the Email tab.

2. In the SMTP Server field, enter the IP address of the email server to be used for relaying email. This
cannot be the Portal appliance itself.

If a DNS server has been specified on the Administration > System Settings: General page,
Hostname/DNS tab and is functioning, you can enter a hostname instead of the IP address.
Alternatively, you can enter a fully qualified domain name.

3. Enter the port that Portal should connect to. The default port is 25, but port numbers 1 through 65535
are valid. Note that this field will be populated automatically if you choose a Security option: port 587
for SSL/TLS, or port 587 for STARTTLS.

4. Enter the SMTP Timeout value as seconds. This is the length of time Portal waits after attempting to
connect to the email server before assuming that the connection attempt failed. The default value is 30
seconds.

5. Choose an option for providing security between the client and server at the transport layer (SMTPS):
None (the default, using a plaintext socket), SSL (uses SSL handshake), or STARTTLS (begins with
plaintext socket, but encrypts data after connecting). The server certificate is not validated
automatically, so connections to SMTP servers using SSL or STARTTLS will be accepted even if the
server certificate is invalid.

6. Optionally, type a username and password to use to authenticate with the SMTP server before sending
mail. If either the username or the password is set, and not empty, then both values must be provided.

7. Enter the From Address. This can be any email address in a valid format. This address appears in the
"From" field when Portal sends an email. (The SMTP server may also forward a copy of the notification
to the "From" address.)

8. If you are ready to send email notifications, select the Enabled check box. If you are not ready for the
appliance to start sending email, deselect the check box.

SteelCentral Portal 295

 Email

9. Choose Apply. Alternatively, choose Revert to delete any changes you have made and revert to the
previous settings.

End of Procedure 108

SteelCentral Portal 296

CHAPTER 25 Management Interfaces

Initial configuration of the management interfaces, primary and aux, is done through the CLI when Portal
is installed. Additional configuration and updates can be done on this page.
Primary Interface—The primary interface is the appliance management interface. You connect to the
primary interface to use the Web UI or the CLI.
Auxiliary Interface —The auxiliary interface is an optional port you can use to connect to a non-Riverbed
network management device.

Note: The IP address for the auxiliary interface must be on a subnet different from the primary interface
subnet.

Main Routing Table—Displays a summary of the main routing table. If necessary, you can add static routes
that might be required for out-of-path deployments or particular device management subnets.If there are
multiple subnets on the Aux interface network, or if you need to use a gateway router other than the default
gateway, it may be necessary to define static routes.
When configuring the management interfaces:
 IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported on both management interfaces.
 Interface changes require a system reboot.
 Available routes include system-defined routes, DHCP-supplied routes, and user-defined routes. The
listed routes may change when a configuration change occurs.
This section covers:
 “Default Gateway“
 “Configuring Management Interfaces“
 “Managing Routes“

SteelCentral Portal 297

 Management Interfaces

Default Gateway
The default gateway provides network access beyond the local area network to the management interfaces.
This can be important when a static IP address is specified for a management interface. When DHCP is
used, the default gateway may be ignored and a gateway defined by the DHCP server may be used instead.
The System Gateways are displayed in read-only fields just to the right of the Default Gateway input panel.

Configuring Management Interfaces

Procedure 109 Configure Management Interfaces

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: General and click on the Management Interfaces tab.

2. Select the management interface to configure, primary or aux, from the drop-down list.

3. Enable the interface by selecting the check box.

4. Select the interface settings or choose to auto-negotiate them:

• Speed (drop-down list)

• Duplex (drop-down list)

• MTU can range from 68 - 16110 bytes; default is 1500 bytes

• Information shows the current status of the interface.

5. Select the interface IP addresses:

• DHCP can only be used for the primary or the aux interface, not both. In addition, DHCP can be
used for either the IPv4 or the IPv6 address on the interface, but not both. If available, Dynamic DNS
can be enabled.

• Static IP address and prefix. See “Default Gateway“ for related information.

• Disabled is checked when an IPv4 or IPv6 address is not used.

6. Click Apply or Revert to make or reset the changes made. Interface changes require a system reboot.

End of Procedure 109

Managing Routes
IPv4 and IPv6 routes are listed at the bottom of the web UI page. The routes listed can come from three
sources:

SteelCentral Portal 298

 Management Interfaces

 Automatically generated by the system. These routes cannot be edited or deleted.

 Added automatically by a DHCP server. These routes cannot be edited or deleted.
 Defined by a user. These are also referred to as static routes. These routes can be edited or deleted.

Note: Routes from the first two sources can change or disappear when management interface settings are
changed.

The following examples illustrate typical route definitions:

 Route to a specific destination:
 Destination IP Address: 192.0.2.7
– Subnet Mask: 32
– Gateway: 10.33.158.1
 Route to a range of IP addresses:
– Destination IP Address: 198.51.100.0
– Subnet Mask: 24
– Gateway: 10.33.158.1 or 0.0.0.0

Adding Routes
A toolbar in the top-left corner of a route table contains Add and Delete icons.

Procedure 110 Add a Route

1. Click Add.

2. Specify the route information requested.

• Destination IP address.

• Subnet Mask (prefix).

• Gateway IP address.

• Select the Interface to use this route.

3. Click Save to save the route.

End of Procedure 110

SteelCentral Portal 299

 Management Interfaces

Editing a Route
Routes added by a user can be edited by roles with read/write System Configuration access. System routes
or DHCP supplied routes cannot be edited.

Procedure 111 Edit a Route

1. With the mouse, hover over the route to be edited.

2. Click the pencil icon at the end of the row.

3. In the Edit Route window, make the changes required.

4. Click Apply to save the revised route.

End of Procedure 111

Deleting a Route
Routes added by a user can be edited by roles with read/write System Configuration access. System routes
or DHCP supplied routes cannot be edited.
To delete a route: hover over the route to be deleted and then either click the x at the end of the row or select
the check box on the left for the route and click Delete to remove the route.
The delete button is disabled if the selected route cannot be removed.

SteelCentral Portal 300

CHAPTER 26 Web Server Settings

An SSL Certificate, ciphers, and protocols can be configured to protect access to the Portal web UI. A
self-signed certificate is generated automatically when a system boots if no certificate is installed. You also
can provide a certificate of your own, signed by a Certificate Authority of your choice. You must have the
System Configuration permission to make changes to this page.
Important—Intermediate or chained certificates are not supported.
You manage SSL certificates on the Web Server Settings tab of the Administration > General: System
Settings page. Here you can:
 view, retrieve, or replace the installed certificate.
 change the port used for HTTPS.
 choose the ciphers and protocols used.
You also manage the use of HTTP to access the web UI:
 enable or disable (default) HTTP access
 if enabled, configure HTTP access.
This section covers:
 “Secure Vault For Encrypted Security Files“
 “Configuring HTTPS Settings“
 “Configuring HTTP Access“
 “SSL Certificates“

Secure Vault For Encrypted Security Files

Portal keeps sensitive security objects such as certificates and decryption keys in an encrypted filesystem,
or “secure vault,” that allows Portal to access them while preventing tampering or access by any other
means. The secure vault is not user-accessible, and cannot be used for protecting other files. In the event
that Portal is unable to unlock the secure vault and access its contents, the web UI will prevent access to the
system via the web UI.
Two CLI commands are available for administering the secure vault:

SteelCentral Portal 301

 Web Server Settings

 show secure_vault status — This admin CLI command will return one of three possible
statuses:
– locked — Portal cannot access the secure vault and its contents. The web UI cannot be used in this
state.
– active — Portal is able to access the secure vault and its contents.
– resetting — The secure vault is in the process of returning to its original, default state. This state
will persist until the system has rebooted successfully.
 secure_vault reset — This command is available only in configure terminal mode. Executing it
will prompt for confirmation before returning the secure vault to its default state, with all HTTPS
settings (including ports), certificates, and decryption keys removed or returned to their default states.
A reboot is required to complete a reset of the secure vault.

Configuring HTTPS Settings

Procedure 112 Configure the HTTPS port

1. Go to the Administration > System Settings: General page and select the Web Server Settings tab.

2. Under Settings, specify the HTTPS TCP port to be used. The following ports are accepted:

• 443

• 8443

• 24000 - 24999

Valid entries have a green shadow; invalid entries have a red shadow with hover text showing valid
entries.

3. Specify OpenSSL ciphers. All entries are passed to OpenSSL for validation.

• The default ciphers enable:

- Ciphers with key lengths larger than 128 bits.

- Ciphers offering no authentication

- KRB5

- MD5

- 3DES

4. Select Security Protocols to use by checking the box before any listed protocols.

5. Click Apply to save your changes, Revert to discard your changes.

End of Procedure 112

SteelCentral Portal 302

 Web Server Settings

Configuring HTTP Access

Procedure 113 Configure HTTP access to the web UI

1. Go to the Administration > System Settings: General page and select the Web Server Settings tab.

2. Under Settings, select the desired HTTP access mode from the drop-down list of choices:

• Disabled—No HTTP access to the web UI.

• Enabled—Provides HTTP access using the specified TCP port. Valid ports are: 80 or 24000 - 24999.

• Redirect to HTTPS—Sends traffic on the specified TCP port to the specified HTTPS port.

3. Click Apply to save your changes, Revert to discard your changes.

End of Procedure 113

SSL Certificates

Viewing the SSL Certificate

Procedure 114 View the SSL certificate

1. Go to the Administration > System Settings: General page and select the Web Server Settings tab.

2. Under the Certificate heading the certificate details are displayed for the current certificate:

• Issued to

• Issued by

• Validity

• Fingerprint

• Key

• PEM—Click Show/Hide PEM to display or hide (default) the PEM.

End of Procedure 114

SteelCentral Portal 303

 Web Server Settings

Replacing the SSL Certificate

You can replace the current certificate with an existing certificate or generate a new, self-signed certificate.

Procedure 115 Replace the SSL Certificate

1. Go to the Administration > System Settings: General page and select the Web Server Settings tab.

2. Under the Certificate heading, click Replace.

3. The Specify Certificate window opens. Select to add an existing certificate or to generate a new one.

4. To import an existing certificate, supply the following information:

• In the Certificate text box—paste the PEM-formatted certificate and private key.

• In the Passphrase text box—enter the passphrase used to create an encrypted private key.

Note: the passphrase is only used to decrypt the key, it is not stored.

5. To generate a new, self-signed certificate supply the following information:

• Common name

• Organization name

• Organization unit name

• Locality

• State

• Country code

• Email

6. Click Save to generate a new certificate that replaces the existing certificate or Revert to discard the
information just entered.

End of Procedure 115

Important—It is important to make sure that the hostname and domain name are properly configured
before generating the new certificate, as the new certificate contains hostname.domainname as the
Common Name record. The hostname and domain name are specified on the Hostname/DNS tab of the
Administration > System Settings: General page. See “Hostname/DNS“ for more information. The
certificate details for each certificate show the Common Name record and other records encoded into the
certificate.

SteelCentral Portal 304

CHAPTER 27 Proxy Settings

Use Proxy Settings to configure a proxy between SteelCentral Portal and data sources. Choose
Administration > System Settings: Proxy Settings to access the Proxy Settings page.
The System Configuration permission controls access to this page—read-only to view and read-write to edit.
Optionally configure the host and port for HTTP and/or HTTPS traffic.
Optionally set Non Proxy Hosts to specify paths that should not be routed through the proxy. Set Non Proxy
Hosts to a list of patterns separated by “|”. The patterns may start or end with “*” for wildcards. Any host
matching one of these patterns will be reached directly instead of through the configured proxy.
You can specify a username and password to be passed to the proxy using the command-line.

Procedure 116 Specify Proxy Username and Password

1. Log into the Portal command-line interface and execute the following:

1.1.enable

1.2.configure terminal

1.3.portal-broker controller

This will open the controller_config.xml file

1.4. Use CTRL-W to search for “proxyUsername”

1.5. Insert the username, e.g., <entry key="proxyUsername">exampleUserName</entry>

1.6. Insert the password, e.g., <entry key="proxyPassword">examplePassword</entry>

1.7. Save the file with CTRL-O and then exit with CTRL-X

2. Reboot Portal. For more information, see “Rebooting Portal“.

End of Procedure 116

SteelCentral Portal 305

CHAPTER 28 Backup and Restore

From the Backup and Restore tab of the Administration > System Settings: System Operations page you can
save an appliance's configuration information for safekeeping. This capability is not intended for use as a
means of cloning a configuration rapidly to deploy new equipment.
The backup process saves configuration information including: custom dashboards, custom dashboard
templates, thresholds, custom facets, AppResponse configuration elements (host groups, applications, etc.)
and other modified settings. Most configuration information is backed up, although some is omitted, for
example for security reasons.
The backup is written to a .tgz (G-zipped TAR) file.
Sensitive configuration such as SSL certificates/keys will not be backed up, and will be reset to defaults
upon a restore operation. This includes the default SSL certificate used when logging into the WebUI; your
browser will complain about a self-signed certificate after a restore operation. Licenses will be left
untouched, neither backed up nor deleted. Licenses are not transferable between devices. User accounts,
including one-way-hashed passwords, will be backed up and restored.
When you Restore, the Portal system is reset to its factory default state prior to the restoration of the backed
up configuration information.
Licenses are not affected by the system reset-factory command.
The reset and restore process can take a long time. The system does not provide a progress indicator, so,
when you execute the Restore command, be prepared to allow the process a period of time to run to
completion, and monitor it occasionally to see if it has finished.

SteelCentral Portal 306

CHAPTER 29 Reboot/Shutdown

Important—Portal should always be gracefully shut down. Shutting down the virtual appliance using the
virtual power switch may result in data loss.
Use this page to gracefully reboot or shutdown Portal. You must have the read/write System Configuration
permission to reboot or shutdown Portal.
This section covers:
 “Rebooting Portal“
 “Shutting Down Portal“

Rebooting Portal
A reboot restarts the virtual machine. Users are signed out and must sign in after Portal restarts. The reboot
process can take several minutes to complete.

Procedure 117 Reboot Portal

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: System Operations and click on the Reboot/Shutdown tab.

2. Click Reboot to begin the reboot process.

3. In the Reboot window, Click OK to continue or Cancel to stop the reboot process.

4. A Rebooting message appears when the reboot begins.

5. Once a reboot completes you are directed to the sign in page.

End of Procedure 117

SteelCentral Portal 307

 Reboot/Shutdown

Shutting Down Portal

A shutdown gracefully halts Portal and powers off the virtual machine. To restart Portal, you must turn on
the virtual machine via the VM host.

Procedure 118 Shutdown Portal

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: System Operations and click on the Reboot/Shutdown tab.

2. Click Shutdown to begin the shutdown process.

3. In the Shutdown window, Click OK to continue or Cancel to stop the shutdown process.

4. A Shutting downing message appears when the shutdown begins.

5. Click x in the upper-right corner of the message to close it.

End of Procedure 118

SteelCentral Portal 308

CHAPTER 30 Software Update

Software updates to Portal can be installed using the Update page in the web UI. A single update image can
be used to update Portal from one or more earlier versions. Check the release notes and the Riverbed
Support site for more information on update paths for earlier versions.

Note: An update to an earlier software version cannot be installed. Databases are modified during the
update process, preventing a reversion to a previous release.

The update process requires:

 System Configuration permission.
 an update image uploaded from your local file system or fetched from a remote source.
 a successful system check that the uploaded or fetched update image is valid and that adequate system
resources, for example, storage, are available.
Other signed-in users of Portal are automatically signed out when an update starts. Users can sign in again
once the update is completed and Portal has booted.
This section covers:
 “Updating Portal Software“
 “Update Information“
 “Update Source“

Updating Portal Software

Update images are available as an ISO file. The term “Update ISO File” means an update image in ISO
format.

Procedure 119 Update Portal

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: System Operations and click on the Software Update tab.

2. Select an update source, either:

SteelCentral Portal 309

 Software Update

• Upload new Update ISO File—Select this radio button and click Browse to select an update ISO file
in the local file system. The selected update image is loaded by Portal.

• Remote File URL—Select this radio button and enter the path to an update image on a web server,
then click Fetch to load the update image for installation on Portal.

3. Monitor the update image loading status, displayed in State under Update Information. When the
status is Initialized, review the State Description, Current Version and Target Version.

4. Click Install to load the new software or click Revert to uninitialize the update.

5. Check the status displayed in State under Update Information to determine the success of the update.

End of Procedure 119

Update Information
The following information is made available:
 State—Indicates whether an update image is loaded and ready for installation. The state can be any of
the following: Fetching, Initializing, Initialized, Failed Graceful, or Failed Critical.
– If the state is Failed Graceful, click Revert to uninitialize the update.
– If the state is Failed Critical, contact Riverbed customer support for assistance.
 State Description—Information is provided here only when an update is being installed.
 Current Version—The software version of Portal currently installed.
 Target Version—The software version of the update image about to be installed.

Update Source
You can select an update image on your local file system or fetch an update image from a remote web server.
 Upload new Update ISO File—Select this radio button to specify an update ISO file residing on the
local file system.
– Browse...: Click to explore the local file system and select an update image residing there. The
selected file is automatically loaded by Portal.
 Remote File URL—Select this radio button and enter the URL identifying an update image residing on
a web server. Click Fetch to load the update image for installation.

SteelCentral Portal 310

CHAPTER 31 System Dumps

Three types of system dumps can be created and stored as a compressed file (.tgz) by a Portal system:
 Logs—includes log files, stack traces, and some additional diagnostics as well as version information
and the msot recent core dump.
 Cores—includes all core dumps, versions, and all stack traces.
 Both—includes the logs and the core dumps.
Sysdump employs a storage quota that limits the amount of disk space that can be consumed by a sysdump
as it is being created; this prevents a rapidly growing sysdump from consuming an excessive amount of
storage before the exhaustion of storage is recognized. Essentially, the amount of space that is available for
sysdumps that is not used already is divided in half; if a newly created sysdump reaches the size of half the
remaining sysdump space, the sysdump is stopped at that point as marked as “partial.”
This section covers:
 “Creating a System Dump“
 “Managing System Dumps“
 “Downloading a System Dump“

Creating a System Dump

Procedure 120 Create a System Dump

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: System Operations and click on the System Dumps tab.

2. Select the Log Type from the drop-down list:

• Logs

• Cores

• Both

3. Optionally, type a customer case ID if you have received one from Riverbed support. The case ID will
be prepended to the sysdump filename, and will be inserted also in the file metadata so that it will be
easy to recognize which customer case the sysdump is associated with.

SteelCentral Portal 311

 System Dumps

4. The Include System Metrics option is selected by default, but you can deselect it if you wish.

5. Click Generate. The compressed log file is generated in the background and is listed as pending under
Available System Dumps until it is completed.

End of Procedure 120

Managing System Dumps

System dumps that have been started are listed under Available SysDumps. The following information is
provided for each dump:
 Created—the date and time the system dump was created.
 Status—The present state of the system dump.
– Pending indicates that the system dump is in progress in the background.
– Done indicates that the file is complete and ready for downloading.
 Size—The compressed file size, in bytes.

Downloading a System Dump

Procedure 121 Download a System Dump

1. Go to Administration > System Settings: System Operations and click on the System Dumps tab.

2. With the mouse, hover over the system dump to be downloaded and select the check box to the left of
the Created column.

3. Click Download Selected SysDump. The compressed folder is downloaded to your local system.

End of Procedure 121

SteelCentral Portal 312

CHAPTER 32 Audit Logging

Audit logging is enabled for the Portal system by default. The audit log records configuration changes made
to the Portal system using the CLI and web UI. The associated details of the modified data/settings are the
same for the two user interfaces, and include appropriate source/user/session information.
The Audit Log Configuration tab lists a set of configuration object changes that can be logged; by default,
all configuration objects are selected (enabled) for logging. Deselect one or more configuration objects if you
don't feel it's necessary to record changes made to it.
Note that controls are provided that enable you to specify the retention time and number of the log entries,
as well as a control for specifying one or more recipients of the audit log.
Audit log data is sent out for each event.
Here is an example of an authentication Audit Log email:
From: [myhost]
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 14:21
To: [recipient-list]
Subject: Audit Event Notification from 10.1.121.36 - operation authentication.login at Wed Apr 1
11:20:00 2020

The following auditable event occurred at Wed Apr 1 11:20:00 2020 on 10.1.121.36

* Action: operation
* Event Type: authentication.login
* User ID: 0
* Username: admin
* IP Address: 127.0.0.1
* User Agent: Apache-HttpClient/4.5 (Java/1.8.0_242)
* Process ID: 0
* Session ID:
* System Module:
* Successful (1 = Yes, 0 = No)? 1
* REST Link: request
* REST namespace: mgmt.aaa
* REST version: 2
* REST resource: access_tokens
* Occurred 1 times
* Additional details: [{"field": "auth_method", "value": "LOCAL"}, {"field": "username", "value":
"admin"}]

You are receiving this email because this address is listed as a Recipient for NPM Audit Events"

Here is an example of a configuration change Audit Log email:

From: [myhost]
Date: Friday, April 3, 2020 at 13:45

SteelCentral Portal 313

 Audit Logging

To: [recipient-list]
Subject: Audit Event Notification from 10.1.121.36 - update configuration_change.networking at Fri
Apr 3 10:44:30 2020

The following auditable event occurred at Fri Apr 3 10:44:30 2020 on 10.1.121.36

* Action: update
* Event Type: configuration_change.networking
* User ID: 0
* Username: admin
* IP Address: 10.18.24.7
* User Agent: webui
* Process ID: 0
* Session ID:
* System Module:
* Successful (1 = Yes, 0 = No)? 1
* REST Link: set
* REST namespace: mgmt.networking
* REST version: 1.1
* REST resource: host_settings
* Occurred 1 times
* Additional details: [{"field": "hostname", "old": "localhost", "new": "localhost2"}]

You are receiving this email because this address is listed as a Recipient for NPM Audit Events"

Related Topics
 “Email“
 “Recipients“

SteelCentral Portal 314

CHAPTER 33 Recipients

Recipients can be sent audit log data via Email or Syslog notification. Recipients must be defined on the
Administration > System Settings: Recipients page before they are available for inclusion on the
Administration > System Settings: System Operations, Audit Log Configuration page.
A recipient is a named list consisting of one or more Email addresses or a single SNMP receiver.

Procedure 122 Specifying a Recipient

1. Go to the Administration > System Settings: Recipients page.

2. Choose Add to create a new recipient entry.

3. Type the name of the recipient as you want it to appear in the recipients list.

4. Select the type of the recipient: Email or Syslog, with each recipient being a single type. Selecting an
option makes relevant fields for it accessible. Specify the details that will enable a notification to reach
that recipient.

5. Choose Save.

End of Procedure 122

Recipients and their details are listed on the Recipients page. You can click Test to send a notification to the
recipient to confirm that it’s been configured as you expect.

Procedure 123 Editing Recipient Entries

1. Hover your mouse over an entry to display the edit icon (pencil).

2. Choose the edit icon and make your edits on the Edit Recipient page.

SteelCentral Portal 315

 Recipients

3. Choose Save to keep your edits or Revert to return to the previous specification.

End of Procedure 123

Procedure 124 Deleting Recipient Entries

1. Hover your mouse over an entry to display the check box at the beginning of the entry and the Delete
icon at the end of the row.

2. Either

• choose the Delete icon to delete a single entry, or

• select the checkbox at the beginning of the row and then choose Delete near the top of the page.

End of Procedure 124

SteelCentral Portal 316

CHAPTER 34 Authentication

Portal can use LDAP, RADIUS, or TACACS+ authentication servers in addition to local password user
authentication (the default), or can use SAML 2.0 authentication instead of the other types. Once
authenticated, a remote user can be assigned a role (authorized) either by the authentication server or
identity provider, or by a default role configured in Portal. If authentication and authorization succeed, the
appliance logs the user in. If either authentication or authorization fail, the appliance displays an error
message and records an unsuccessful login attempt in the audit logs.
When using remote authorization:
 You can configure a maximum of two RADIUS and two TACACS+ remote servers.
 You can specify a sequence of authentication types with prioritized servers in each type. For example,
you could specify LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS+, and Local as the sequence to be used when
authenticating users. Place each authentication server in the order you want requests to be processed.
However, if you enable SAML 2.0 authentication, LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS+, and local authentication
all will be disabled, and only the SAML identity provider will authenticate users.
 Command accounting is not supported.

Note: For RADIUS and TACACS+, traffic is encrypted using a shared secret when a request is sent to an
authentication server. If you use LDAPS://, then all traffic is encrypted between Portal and the LDAP
server. If you use LDAP://, then all traffic will not be encrypted between Portal and the LDAP server. The
credentials used to connect to authentication servers is not stored in an encrypted format by Portal.

This section covers:

 “Remote Authentication“
 “LDAP Authentication“
 “RADIUS Authentication“
 “TACACS+ Authentication“
 “Setting Up RADIUS and TACACS+ Remote Authentication“
 “SAML 2.0 Authentication“

SteelCentral Portal 317

 Authentication

Remote Authentication
By default, Portal installs a local user “admin” with a System Administrator role. This user is stored in a
local file. Portal also supports remote authentication using LDAP, RADIUS, and TACACS+ authentication
servers, as well as SAML identity providers. Remote authentication enables an authenticated user to sign
in on any Portal system in the management network. A remote user does not need a local account to be
authenticated when using LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS+, or SAML.
The authorization (roles) for a remote user can be specified:
 by the remote authentication server using a RADIUS or TACACS+ Vendor Specific Attribute
 by mapping LDAP groups and users with the auth ldap mapped-* commands
 by a default role configured in Portal.
A remote user:
 Does not inherit a role from a local account of the same username.
 Sees the same private files when logged in using remote authentication as if they were authenticated
locally.

Configuring a Sequence of Authentication Types

Note: If you enable SAML 2.0 authentication, LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS+, and local authentication all will
be disabled, and only the SAML identity provider will authenticate users.

When LDAP, RADIUS, and TACACS+ authentication servers are configured in Portal you can add them to
a sequence of authentication types (LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS+, or Local) to be used when a user signs in.
Authentication requests are made from the highest priority authentication type (1) to the lowest. For
RADIUS and TACACS+ authentication types, requests are sequentially made to the configured servers in
the order they appear in on the RADIUS and TACACS+ tabs. Authentication requests are made until a
server accepts or rejects a request or the authentication types are exhausted.
 If a server does not respond, authentication proceeds to the next server.
 If authentication is rejected, there is no provision to try the next server of the same authentication type.
For example, if two RADIUS servers are configured and the first server rejects a user, the second
RADIUS server is not contacted. You can choose to try the next authentication type if a higher-priority
authentication type rejects a request. See “Set the Sequence of Authentication Types“ for details.
Important—If not careful, you can lock yourself out of Portal by doing the following:
– Removing Local authentication from the sequence and the remote servers (LDAP, RADIUS, or
TACACS+) are unreachable.
– Clearing the “Try next method on reject:” check box.
Riverbed recommends checking that authentication using LDAP, RADIUS, and TACACS+ works
successfully before you remove local authentication or clearing the "Try next method on reject." check
box.
If locked out, contact Riverbed Support to recover the Portal virtual appliance.

SteelCentral Portal 318

 Authentication

Procedure 125 Specify Authentication Types

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and click on the General tab.

A table shows the authentication types currently selected (Local by default).

2. Click Add to display a pop-up menu with other available authentication types.

3. Click Add following an authentication type to add it to the table.

4. When finished click the x in the upper-right corner of the pop-up menu.

End of Procedure 125

Procedure 126 Set the Sequence of Authentication Types

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and click on the General tab.

A table shows the authentication types currently selected (Local by default).

2. The priority of each authentication type is shown in column 1, highest (1) to lowest.

3. Use three icons on the right-side of each table row to change a row’s priority:

• Click ^ to raise an authentication type’s priority.

• Click v to lower an authentication type’s priority.

• Click x to remove the authentication type.

4. Selecting the “Try next method on reject:” box (below the table) tries the next authentication type if a
higher priority authentication type rejects a request. By default, this box is checked and a rejected
request tries the next authentication type in the sequence.

End of Procedure 126

LDAP Authentication
Up to two LDAP authentication servers, one primary and one secondary, can be configured via the
command-line interface. By default, Portal will use the primary LDAP server. In case there is a connection
failure, Portal will contact the secondary LDAP server. To ensure a seamless switch-over from primary to
secondary, configure the same bind credentials and LDAP data in Portal for both servers.

SteelCentral Portal 319

 Authentication

When you enable or disable LDAP, it will automatically be added to, or removed from, the authentication
sequence. When LDAP is enabled, you can configure its priority relative to other authentication types via
the web UI. See “Configuring a Sequence of Authentication Types“ for details.

Note: If you are planning to configure LDAP to use secure communication (i.e., LDAPS://), you will need
your X.509 certificate ready to paste into the terminal.

LDAP Command-Line Configuration Wizard

Use the CLI-based wizard to configure LDAP. Here is an example session from login to exit:
~:$ ssh [email protected]
[email protected]'s password:
Last login: Thu Jan 24 12:05:00 2019 from user-machine.riverbed.com
localhost > enable
localhost # configure terminal
localhost (config) # auth ldap add
LDAP server URI (e.g.: ldap://hostname.com): ldap://primary-ldap.riverbed.com
ldap://primary-ldap.riverbed.com added.
localhost (config) # auth ldap add
LDAP server URI (e.g.: ldap://hostname.com): ldap://secondary-ldap.riverbed.com
ldap://secondary-ldap.riverbed.com added.
localhost (config) # auth ldap enable
LDAP enabled.
localhost (config) # auth ldap configure
Bind DN [default]: CN=service-user,OU=Users_NonHuman,DC=acme,DC=com
Bind password:
Secure communication?
a) off
b) on
c) start TLS
Choose option [a]: c
Server priority order:
Id URI
1 ldaps://primary-ldap.riverbed.com
2 ldaps://secondary-ldap.riverbed.com
Reverse priority order (yes/no) [no]:
User group attribute [member]:
User login attribute [uid]: sAMAccountName
Search base [base]: DC=acme,DC=com
Search scope:
a) sub
b) one
c) base
Choose option [a]:
Enter/Paste CA certificate. Press Ctrl+D when done.

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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SteelCentral Portal 320

 Authentication

Mu6cRCnLzWB6cQuQaSkwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQELBQADggEBACZp4CSg3rWo8j94GrQfsdQtXJ/PGJKi
ah3JioETykfxV7X/8++qTsWaoMiXwr1Bk6341vyYEOYOovMwHz9/7Uin6/rMVNT9O86iNeMP9AXz
mKgwrG4owQ3/+lwThn14gDCRFfYCLxC+Z2Fr6DDmkoxA/b6L3f1HR1ZuRuRnl4GTujkvux4VMwzV
oDThz14NByDv3MbjifPv6zovuX4LQYaF80qKQ2A1VQQbbzBR1hGuYP3XsBPS5ug3fazB5ol7xZPt
zOPxfTSwnI91NLgsBwa+DmHlrSvHaYqQFXehwa9G6wKnODNbmdhaDclttBaxzmNUGusYAeYGDgAd
Ds2EIBI=
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
Require TLS certificate?
a) never
b) demand
Choose option [a]: b
LDAP server configured.
localhost (config) # exit
localhost # exit
Connection to portal-1.riverbed.com closed.
~:$

LDAP Configuration Commands

Here is a list of the LDAP configuration commands:
 auth ldap enable—enable LDAP authentication
When you enable LDAP, it will automatically be added to the authentication sequence (see
“Configuring a Sequence of Authentication Types“).
 auth ldap disable—disable LDAP authentication
When you disable LDAP, it will automatically be removed from the authentication sequence.
 auth ldap add—add a primary or secondary LDAP server
Include the LDAP server URL in the following format as a parameter to this command:
ldap[s]://host:port
 auth ldap delete—delete an LDAP server
 auth ldap configure—start the LDAP configuration wizard.
The configuration wizard will prompt for the following data:
– Bind DN—a new distinguished name with which to bind to the directory server
– Bind password—the clear text password with which to bind
– Secure communication—select one of: off (clear communication), on (use SSL), or TLS (use
TLS)
– User group attribute—the LDAP group attribute to associate with the roles defined in Portal
– User login attribute—the attribute to use when constructing the attribute value assertion for
retrieving a directory entry for a user’s login name
– Search base—the default base distinguished name (DN) to use for searches
– Search scope—select one of: sub (search in the sub-tree), one (only search at current level), or
base (only search at the base DN level)
– TLS CA certificate—the X.509 certificate for peer authentication (pasted as a text string). The
wizard will not prompt for this if you selected “a) off” for “Secure communication?”.
– TLS require certificate—specifies if the LDAP connection should be made with a
certificate. Select one of never (false) or demand (true). The wizard will not prompt for this if you
selected “a) off” for “Secure communication?”.

SteelCentral Portal 321

 Authentication

 auth ldap mapped-groups list—list the roles mapped to LDAP groups

 auth ldap mapped-groups add—map a role to an LDAP group
 auth ldap mapped-groups delete—remove the association of a role to an LDAP group
 auth ldap mapped-users list—list the roles mapped to LDAP users
 auth ldap mapped-users add—map a role to an LDAP user
 auth ldap mapped-users delete—remove the association of a role to an LDAP user
 auth ldap status—show LDAP server status and configuration
 show ldap—show LDAP server status and configuration.

RADIUS Authentication
Up to two RADIUS authentication servers can be configured and managed on the RADIUS Configuration
tab. A toolbar in the top-left corner of the configured servers is used to add or delete servers. Hover your
mouse over the right end of a row containing a selected server to edit or delete that server. When the first
authentication server is specified, a priority table appears above the configured servers, along with a
drop-down menu used to specify the encryption protocol used.

Procedure 127 Configure RADIUS Authentication

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and click on the Radius tab.

A table shows the configured RADIUS Servers.

2. Click the Add button in the toolbar. A New RADIUS Server window is displayed.

3. Specify a host, identified using:

• An IPv4 address

• A host name

4. Specify the UDP port used for authentication.

5. Specify the shared secret key used to encrypt traffic to and from the server. Toggle the Enable checkbox
to make this field editable.

6. Specify the timeout period in seconds. Up to 30 seconds can be entered.

7. When finished, click Save. To discard any entries, click x in the upper-right corner of the window.

End of Procedure 127

SteelCentral Portal 322

 Authentication

Setting the RADIUS Encryption Protocol

You can change the encryption protocol used by the RADIUS servers (default PAP). Select from the
following list of protocols:
 CHAP
 MSCHAP1
 MSCHAP2
 PAP

Setting RADIUS Server Priority

When the first authentication server is specified, a Priority table appears above the configured servers.
Set the Sequence of RADIUS Authentication Servers

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and select the Radius tab.

A table shows the authentication servers configured.

2. The priority of each server is shown in column 1, highest (1) to lowest.

3. Use the two icons on the right-side of each table row to change a row’s priority:

• Click ^ to raise an authentication type’s priority.

• Click v to lower an authentication type’s priority.

End of Procedure 127

TACACS+ Authentication
Up to two TACACS+ authentication servers can be configured and managed on the TACACS+
Configuration tab. A toolbar in the top-left corner of the configured servers is used to add or delete servers.
Hover your mouse over the right end of a row containing a selected server to edit or delete that server.
When the first authentication server is specified, a priority table appears above the configured servers,
along with a drop-down menu used to specify the encryption protocol used.
Configure TACACS+ Authentication

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and select the TACACS+ tab.

A table shows the configured TACACS+ Servers.

2. Click the Add button in the toolbar. A New TACACS+ Server window is displayed.

3. Specify a host, identified using:

• An IPv4 address

SteelCentral Portal 323

 Authentication

• A host name

4. Specify the UDP port used for authentication.

5. Specify the shared secret key used to encrypt traffic to and from the server. Toggle the Enable checkbox
to make this field editable.

6. When finished, click Save. To discard any entries, click x in the upper-right corner of the window.

End of Procedure 127

Setting the TACACS+ Timeout

Select the timeout period in seconds (default three seconds) in the Timeout box. A time from 1 to 30 seconds
can be selected.

Setting TACACS+ Server Priority

When the first authentication server is specified, a priority table appears above the configured servers.
Set the Sequence of TACACS+ Authentication Servers

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and select the TACACS+ tab.

A table shows the authentication servers configured.

The priority of each server is shown in column 1, highest (1) to lowest.

2. Use the two icons on the right-side of each table row to change a row’s priority:

• Click ^ to raise an authentication type’s priority.

• Click v to lower an authentication type’s priority.

End of Procedure 127

Setting Up RADIUS and TACACS+ Remote Authentication

A RADIUS or TACACS+ authentication server needs information about Portal before it can successfully
respond to an authentication request. A summary of the required information and an example
configuration for RADIUS and TACACS+ servers is provided below. These instructions assume you have
an existing authentication server to which you are adding a Portal. For information on setting up an
authentication server, please see the documentation that came with the authentication server.

SteelCentral Portal 324

 Authentication

RADIUS Server Information

Modify or create a vendor file

Add and save an Portal attribute to the Riverbed RADIUS vendor file:
The Riverbed RADIUS vendor ID is 17163.
 Add the attribute 'Riverbed-Roles-List' with value 10, type 'string' to the file.
 Here is an example showing this change added to a FreeRADIUS authentication server:
/usr/share/freeradius/dictionary.riverbed

# -*- text -*-

VENDOR Riverbed 17163
BEGIN-VENDOR Riverbed
ATTRIBUTE Riverbed-Local-User 1 string
ATTRIBUTE Riverbed-Roles-List 10 string
END-VENDOR Riverbed

The example above also shows the attribute used by Riverbed SteelHead.

Note: A vendor ID can only be used in a single file. If there is an existing file using the Riverbed vendor ID
add the Portal attribute to the existing file and save the change.

Add available roles (optional)

The authorization (roles) for a remote user can be specified by the RADIUS server using a Vendor Specific
Attribute (VSA). If the VSA is not returned by the remote server, then the default role configured in Portal
is assigned. If the VSA is present, but empty or if no default roles are configured in Portal, no roles are
assigned to the user.
The vendor value is a comma-separated list of role names (case sensitive). Valid values match the roles
created in Portal.

TACACS+ Server Information

Add available roles (optional)

The authorization (roles) for a remote user can be specified by the TACACS+ server using the Vendor
Specific Attribute (VSA) "riverbed-roles-list", added under the "system" service.
An example of a defined role appears below.
user = tacplus {
login = cleartext "tacplus"
service = system {
riverbed-roles-list = "System Administrator"
}
}

SteelCentral Portal 325

 Authentication

SAML 2.0 Authentication

SAML 2.0 authentication is supported to facilitate single sign-on for use with one or more Portal systems or
other SteelCentral products accessed from a single browser session. When SAML 2.0 is enabled, Portal relies
on a specified SAML identity provider (IDP) for authentication, and does not use local authentication,
LDAP, RADIUS, or TACACS+ servers in any combination. (Note that enabling SAML 2.0 authentication in
Portal disables all other forms of authentication used by the web UI.) If the SAML identity provider is
unable to authenticate a user for any reason, that user will not be able to launch a Portal web UI session.
Note that SAML 2.0 authentication can be disabled via the Portal CLI, using the no saml enable
command. For more information, see Chapter 37 “Command-Line Interface“ on page 334.
When SAML 2.0 is enabled, the first time a user initiates access to an Portal system in a browser session,
Portal will redirect the user to the SAML IDP for authentication. Upon successful authentication, the IDP
will redirect the user back to the Portal system, and the UI will open. The IDP will send back the user role
corresponding to the user name being authenticated, and that user will have permissions in Portal as
defined by that role. As long as the user keeps that browser session active, any subsequent Portal session,
even if the user logs out of the system, quits the browser tab, or accesses a new system, will begin
immediately without requiring the user re-authenticate. The user will need to re-authenticate with the IDP
if they quit the browser session in which they had authenticated earlier.

Procedure 128 Configure SAML 2.0 Authentication

Note: It is strongly recommended that you select Enable SAML 2.0 only after running Test successfully.
[See the end of this procedure for more information about running Test.] Enabling SAML 2.0 will
disable all other authentication types: LDAP, RADIUS, TACACS+ and local.

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: Authentication and select the SAML 2.0 tab.

2. (Optional) The NameID field specifies that Portal uses as the authenticated user’s name. If this field is
left blank (the default), Portal will use the SAML NameID field. If this field is populated, Portal will
look for a SAML attribute of the same name, and use it as the username. In either case, if a user name
is not found, the user will not be allowed to log in.

3. In the IDP Metadata field, paste in the XML metadata that identifies the identity provider you wish to
use. This step is manual, and you need to acquire the XML metadata from your IDP separately.

4. Leave the Roles Attribute field set to “memberOf”, unless your IDP has been configured to use a
different attribute.

5. (Optional) If you need to acquire XML metadata that identifies your Portal system (the service
provider), click the Download as XML link to obtain it.

6. (Optional) Select whether you will return signed authentication requests or require signed assertions
when interfacing to the identity provider.

7. (Optional) Specify a fully qualified domain name, if you wish to use one. This is needed only if Portal
is unable to determine this on its own, or if it otherwise obtains a host address that is not the same as
what is required from a web browser.

8. (Optional) Import or generate a certificate that will verify the identity of your Portal system (the service
provider), if you wish.

SteelCentral Portal 326

 Authentication

9. Click Apply to implement your changes, then click Test to see what will happen without committing
to the configuration changes. If the results of the test are satisfactory, click Enable SAML 2.0 and click
Apply again. Click Revert to return to the last saved configuration.

End of Procedure 128

SteelCentral Portal 327

CHAPTER 35 User Administration

This page provides controls for creating and managing user accounts for Portal.
 “Local Users“—Create and manage individual user accounts, including their role-based privileges.
 “Roles and Permissions“—Configure roles and permissions
 “Password Policy“—Configure global login and password policies for all user accounts.

Local Users
The Local Users tab shows details for each existing user account. User accounts can be added, edited, or
deleted.

Procedure 129 Create a New User Account

1. Click Add in the Local Users tab to display the New User dialog.

2. Name—The user account's unique ID. User account names must be from 2 to 32 characters long and
start with a letter. Lowercase alphanumeric characters, dash, and underscore can be used.

3. Description—Type a brief explanation of the user account's purpose, if desired.

4. Password—Type the user account's password.

5. Verify Password—Type the user account's password again to ensure that it is defined explicitly.

6. Password Never Expires—Click this option if there is no need for the user to change the account
password periodically.

7. Roles—Specify one or more of the user roles defined on the appliance. The set of valid roles is
user-defined; only the System Administrator role is built-in.

End of Procedure 129

SteelCentral Portal 328

 User Administration

Procedure 130 Edit a User Account

1. Edit an existing user account by highlighting it and clicking the pencil icon to display the Edit User
dialog.

2. The Edit User dialog provides the same controls as the New User dialog.

End of Procedure 130

Procedure 131 Delete a User Account

Note: It is possible to delete the admin account that is provided by default. The system does not
prompt you for confirmation before executing this action.

1. Highlight the user to be deleted.

2. Click the x at the end of the row.

3. Click Delete to remove or Cancel to keep the user.

End of Procedure 131

Roles and Permissions

Role Based Access Control (RBAC) protects the system by assigning different access privileges to different
user roles. User roles are then assigned to user accounts. A user's privileges on the system are determined
by which roles the system administrator assigns to their account. Each account can be assigned one or more
roles.
Some features of the product are accessible to all users. Others are accessible to only users whose user roles
have the required permissions. If a user account does not have a role with permissions for a feature, then
the menu choice for the feature is not displayed.
The product is preconfigured with a set of default roles, including the System Administrator role. You can
use the Roles and Permissions tab of the Administration > Account Management: User Administration
page to create additional user roles.

Procedure 132 Create a new user role

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: User Administration and select the Roles and
Permissions tab.

2. Choose the Add button to open the New Role page.

SteelCentral Portal 329

 User Administration

3. Enter a name for the role.

4. Enter a description of the role. This is visible on other pages and is optional.

5. Select the access permissions that this role will give the user accounts it is assigned to. You can hover
your mouse over the Permission name for a brief description of the associated user privileges.

6. Choose Save.

End of Procedure 132

The definition of the new role is displayed on the Roles and Permissions tab of the Administration >
Account Management: User Administration page. After being defined, the role becomes available to be
assigned to individual user accounts on the Local Users tab of the Administration > Account Management:
User Administration page.
If more than one role is assigned to a user account, the user receives the highest level of privilege available
from any of the roles.

Procedure 133 Edit a user role

1. Go to Administration > Account Management: User Administration and select the Roles and
Permissions tab.

2. Hover your mouse in the row for the role you want to edit. This displays an edit icon (pencil) and a
Delete icon. Choose the edit icon to display the Edit Role page.

3. Edit the role definition.

4. Choose Apply to make the changes or choose Revert to return to the previous definition.

End of Procedure 133

Password Policy
The Account Policy tab enables you to configure global settings that affect all user accounts.
 Allow Empty Passwords
 Minimum Password Length
 Minimum Number of Lowercase Characters
 Minimum Number of Uppercase Characters
 Minimum Number of Digits
 Minimum Number of Symbols

SteelCentral Portal 330

 User Administration

 Maximum Number of Character Repeats

 Minimum Number of Character Changes
 Check the Password For Common Words
 Number of Days a User Must Wait Between Password Change
 Number of Previous Passwords to Check

SteelCentral Portal 331

CHAPTER 36 Licensing

SteelCentral Portal requires a license to display metric data from data sources. All data sources are disabled
until a license is added.

Note: To relocate a license from one instance of Portal to another (including migrating a license from an
instance of Portal 1.5.x to 2.1.x), follow the instructions in KB S27654. (You must login to view this knowledge
base article.)

Procedure 134 Adding a License

1. Obtain a Token:
The token identifies the product.

1.1. If a token was not sent to you by e-mail, you can view the available tokens assigned to your
account by visiting https://support.riverbed.com/content/support/my_riverbed/tokens.html.

1.2. Copy the token string.

2. Obtain a License Request Key:

The license request key identifies the product installation.

2.1. In SteelCentral Portal, from the Administration menu, choose Licensing.

The “License Management” page appears.

2.2. Paste the token string in the Token field and click Get License Request Key.

The “License Request Key” appears.

2.3. Copy the License Request Key string.

3. Obtain a License:

3.1. Visit https://support.riverbed.com/content/support/licensing.html.

3.2. Paste the License Request Key in the Enter Unique Product Identifier field, click Next, and
follow the instructions.

The License is sent to you by e-mail.

SteelCentral Portal 332

 Licensing

3.3. Copy the License string.

4. Add License to SteelCentral Portal:

4.1. On the SteelCentral Portal License Management page, click Add Licenses.

4.2. In the “Add Licenses” dialog box, paste the License string (CTRL + V) and click Save.

The saved license appears in the list of current licenses and the “Configure Data Sources”
dialog box appears. To add data sources, see “Data Source Management“.

End of Procedure 134

SteelCentral Portal 333

CHAPTER 37 Command-Line Interface

Most system operations can be done using the Administration menu in the Portal menu bar in the web UI.
The web UI is the recommended way of managing Portal when possible.
The Portal command-line interface (CLI) is accessed using SSH to the Portal IP address, using an account
with System Administrator privileges (the default administrator account is admin/admin). You can also
access Portal running on a VMware virtual machine with VM console.
Different CLI commands are available in different CLI modes. Each mode has a unique command-line
prompt. When entering CLI commands, the use of two special characters can provide information, options,
and auto-completion of commands.
 Use the "?" key for an explanation of available CLI commands.
 Use the Tab key to show the next entries on a command line.
 Use the Tab key to auto-complete a CLI entry.
Here is an example CLI session, from login to exit. Text in < > demonstrates how special keys can be used.
login as: admin
localhost's password: admin
Last login: Wed Mar 14 07:08:04 2018 from 10.44.119.5
localhost ><?>
enable Enter enable mode
exit Exit config mode or logout
no Negate or clear certain configuration options
show Display system configuration or statistics
localhost > enable
localhost #<?>
configure Enter configuration mode
disable Leave enable mode
exit Exit config mode or logout
no Negate or clear certain configuration options
show Display system configuration or statistics
localhost # con<Tab> terminal
localhost (config) #<?>
auth Configure authentication settings
data-collection Turn on/off data collection
exit Exit config mode or logout
http HTTP settings
https HTTPS settings
interface Configure network interfaces
ip Configure IP settings
no Negate or clear certain configuration options
portal-broker Configure Portal broker settings
portal-core Configure Portal core settings
reboot Reboot the system immediately

SteelCentral Portal 334

 Command-Line Interface

secure_vault Configure secure vault

show Display system configuration or statistics
shutdown Shut down the system immediately
storage Configure storage settings
sysdump Sysdump operation
system System commands
user Add/Modify a user account
wizard Run the configuration wizard
localhost (config) # exit
localhost # exit
Connection to 680-olaf114.lab.nbttech.com closed.

SteelCentral Portal 335