How to Use FlexViews

FlexViews are a powerful network management tool. You can use FlexViews to set writable MIB objects, add instances (rows) to certain MIB tables on devices, and view a wide variety of information about the devices on your network as a table, bar graph, line graph, or pie graph. You access FlexViews from tabs in the right panel of the NetSight Console.

Instructions on:

Opening a FlexView

When NetSight Console is initially installed, there is a default FlexView called Interface Summary, accessible from the Interface Summary tab in the right panel. A comprehensive set of FlexViews is available with NetSight Console. You can use the FlexView Properties window to customize these pre-defined views or create your own FlexViews to provide the exact kind of information you need to manage your network.

One or more FlexViews can be "Floated" into a separate window by clicking in a blank area of the FlexView toolbar and dragging the FlexView out of the Console main window. This allows viewing information from different FlexViews at the same time.

To open a FlexView:

  1. Select one or more devices or device groups in the left panel. FlexViews always present information based on your selection in the left panel.
  2. Click a FlexView tab in the right panel. If there are no FlexViews in the right panel, pull down the Tools menu and select FlexView > Add FlexView Tab to add a new FlexView tab. The new tab appears with the default title, Interface Summary.
  3. Click your new FlexView tab.
  4. Click the FlexView menu  button on the FlexView toolbar and select Open from the menu. A file browser window opens at the default FlexView path, where you can select one of the standard FlexViews.
  5. Select a FlexView and click OK. The selected FlexView appears in the view and the name appears on the FlexView tab. When you open a FlexView, it is also added to the FlexView drop-down list.
  6. Click the Retrieve  (Retrieve button) to retrieve MIB values from the devices in the selected device group. The Retrieve button changes to a Stop  (Stop button) and the progress of the polling is reported on the Console Status bar. When the polling is complete the button returns to a Retrieve button and the table is populated with the information retrieved from the devices.

A right-mouse click on a column heading or anywhere in the table body (or a left-mouse click on the Table Tools  button when visible in the upper left corner of the table) opens a popup menu that provides access to other device-related views and a set of Table Tools that can be used to manage information in the table.

Use Console's table options and tools to filter, find, sort, print, and export information in the table, and to customize table settings. You can access these Table Tools through a right mouse click on a column heading or anywhere in the table body. For more information, see the Table Tools Help topic.

Printing a FlexView Table

You can print all of the information or only selected rows from a FlexView table.

To print an entire FlexView table:

  1. Select one or more devices/device groups in the left panel.
  2. Open the FlexView that presents the information that you want to print and click Retrieve.
  3. Click the FlexView menu  button on the FlexView toolbar and select Print FlexView from the menu. (You can also right-click on a header or anywhere in the table and select Table Tools > Print from the popup menu.)
  4. Select a printer in the Print window and click OK.

To print selected rows from FlexView table:

  1. Select one or more devices/device groups in the left panel.
  2. Open the FlexView that presents the information that you want to print and click Retrieve.
  3. Select the rows that you want to print.
  4. Right-click on a header or on one of the selected rows in the table and select Table Tools > Print Selection from the popup menu.
  5. Select a printer in the Print window and click OK.

Exporting FlexView Data

You can export all of the information or only selected rows from a FlexView table.

To export an entire FlexView table:

  1. Select one or more devices/device groups in the left panel.
  2. Open a FlexView that presents the information that you want to export and click Retrieve.
  3. Click the FlexView menu  button on the FlexView toolbar and select Export FlexView from the menu. (You can also right-click on a header or anywhere in the table and select Table Tools > Export from the popup menu.)
  4. In the Save window, enter a filename, select a destination folder and file type (HTML or delimited text CSV spreadsheet-compatible format) and click OK.

To export selected rows from FlexView table:

  1. Select one or more devices/device groups in the left panel.
  2. Open the FlexView that presents the information that you want to export and click Retrieve.
  3. Select the rows that you want to export.
  4. Right-click on a header or on one of the rows selected in the table and select Table Tools > Export Selection from the popup menu.
  5. In the Save window, enter a filename, select a destination folder and file type (HTML or delimited text CSV spreadsheet-compatible format) and click OK.

Working with FlexView Graphs

FlexViews are capable of presenting information as a Pie Graph, Bar Graph, or Line Graph and printing or exporting information to a file or printer. The exported data is saved in CSV or HTML formats and graphs can be exported as BMP, JPG, PNG or TIFF formatted files.

Viewing Pie Graphs and Bar Graphs

You can view the information presented in the FlexViews tables as a Pie Graph or Bar Graph. Pie Graphs and Bar Graphs let you view various combinations of information, graphically. Using the (drop-down graph menu), you can export a graph as an image or print the graph. These features let you select one or more columns to assess network operation. Pie Graphs and Bar Graphs can be printed or exported as a BMP, JPG, PNG or TIFF formatted files.

The Bar Graph and Pie Graph are added above the Table and all of the Table features remain active while they are displayed.

To present information for the selected device group in a Pie Graph or Bar Graph:

  1. Access a FlexView that presents the information that you want to show, either as a Pie Graph or Bar Graph.
  2. Click the   (Pie Graph) or   (Bar Graph).
  3. Click the Columns tab and select one or more columns from the list near the right side of the panel.
  4. Click the General Controls tab and select the particular values that you want to capture in the Bar Graph or Pie Graph. The General Controls apply both when graphing values for a single column and when graphing multiple columns.
     NOTE:If you set n= to a number greater than the number of rows in the table, the graph will only show the rows available from the table; if you also check Show Pie/Bar for other, then a slice/bar for other will be shown as zero in the graph and the legend. For example, if you are graphing values for the highest five rows (or four rows with Show Bar/Pie for other checked), but have only four rows selected in the table, only four rows will be graphed and the slice/bar for other will be zero.
    • With one column selected the values presented in a graph are a set quantity of the Highest or Lowest values. You can set the quantity to a value from 1 to 128. When Show Bar/Pie for Other is selected along with Highest or Lowest, the sum of the values for remaining rows are also shown as a separate element in the graph. For example, when Highest and Show Bar/Pie for Other are selected along with 10 in the quantity field, then the 10 highest values are represented by 10 bars or slices in the pie and another bar/slice is added to represent the sum of all other values for the selected column.
       NOTE:When viewing a Bar Graph, if no bars appear after setting the quantity to a large sample, resize the width of the Console window to accommodate the number of sample.
    • When multiple columns are selected, the selections change to Min, Max, and Average. Min shows the lowest value for each of the selected columns, Max shows the highest value for each of the selected columns and average shows the arithmetic mean value for each of the selected columns.

Viewing Line Graphs

You can use Line Graphs to view the trends (over time) for various combinations of information. Using the (drop-down graph menu), you can print and export a line graph as an image of the graph or export the raw data that was used to create the graph. Clicking Line Graph button adds a Line graph above the table and adds a Graph Data tab to the table. All of the table features remain active while the Line Graph is running.

To present information for the selected device group in a Line Graph:

  1. Set the Poll Frequency to any value ( in seconds) other than 0. Once you click Retrieve, Console will automatically start retrieving information from your left panel selection at the specified interval.
  2. Click Line Graph  (Line Graph). A blank Line graph is added above the table and a Graph Data tab is added to the table in the right panel. Also, the Line Graph Controls tab is now active in the tabbed panel at the right side of the window. The center panel is a legend showing the current columns selected.
  3. Adjust the pane sizes to allow viewing the entire graph and access to tabbed panel settings.
  4. Click the Columns tab and select one or more columns from the list.
  5. Click the General Controls tab and select the particular values that you want to capture in the Line Graph. The General Controls apply both when graphing values for a single column and when graphing multiple columns.
     NOTE:If you set n= to a number greater than the number of rows in the table, the graph will only show the rows available from the table; if you also check Show line for other, then a line for other will be shown as zero in the graph and the legend. For example, if you are graphing values for the highest five rows (or four rows with Show Bar/Pie for other checked), but have only four rows selected in the table, only four rows will be graphed and the line for other will be zero.

    Also, when using a FlexView to create a line graph of zero-instanced rows, if n= is set to a number greater than or equal to the number of table rows and you also check Show Line for other, other appears in the legend and is graphed as zero in the graph, but other does not appear as a row in the Graph Data tab.

    • With one column selected the values presented in a graph are a specific quantity of the Highest or Lowest values. You can specify the quantity as a value from 1 to 128. When Show Line for Other is selected along with Highest or Lowest, the sum of the values for remaining rows are shown as a separate line in the graph. For example, when Highest and Show Line for Other are selected along with 10 in the quantity field, then the 10 highest values are represented by 10 line in the graph and another line is added to represent the sum of all other values for the selected column. The selection of the highest or lowest rows to be plotted is determined by the values returned from the first query.
      On this panel, you can enter an X-Axis Label, Y-Axis Label, and Graph Label. These fields allow entering text titles for the X and Y axes and the title that appears above the graph. These labels can only be defined when there is a single column selected. However, once the labels are entered, you can select additional columns and retain the same labels.
    • When multiple columns are selected, the selections change to Min, Max, and Average. Min shows the lowest value for each of the selected columns, Max shows the highest value for each of the selected columns, and Average shows the arithmetic mean value for each of the selected columns.
  6. Click the Line Graph Controls tab and set:
    • Graph Type
      • Absolute Data - plots the selected columns, as the accumulated value obtained during the selected poll interval, on a linear y-axes scale.
      • Log Scale Absolute - plots the selected columns, as the accumulated value obtained during the selected poll interval, on a logarithmic y-axes scale.
      • Delta - plots the selected columns, as the accumulated value that is amount of the change from the preceding value, per selected poll interval, on a linear y-axes scale.
      • Rate - plots the selected columns as a value per second, on a linear y-axes scale.
    • Graph n Samples to set the number of points to plot on the X-axis.
    • If you want to plot a moving average of values, check Moving Avg - Samples and set the number of samples that will be calculated to derive the moving average.
    • Check Alarm Threshold and enter a threshold value, if you will use the values being plotted to generate an alarm when the value computed for any selected column equals or exceeds the value specified in the field to the right of the checkbox. The computed value can be the Raw Data from the table or a Moving Average (using the number Samples specified for the Moving Average above). The alarm threshold can be triggered by Raw Data or a Moving Avg using Absolute, Delta, or Rate values for the data in the selected column(s). This feature will only generate alarms while the Line Graph is running.
  7. If desired, check Custom Y Axis and enter values for the Max Y Axis Value and Min Y Axis fields to set the limits of the Y axis.
  8. If desired, select an Auto Export option from the Auto Export the line graph data. This drop-down list lets you automatically export the graph data as either an HTML or .CSV file with each poll cycle.
  9. Click Retrieve. The Retrieve button changes to Polling and the FlexView begins polling at the specified Poll Frequency and plotting the graph according to your selections.

A (blank) gap in a line indicates that there was no response from the device for that poll and no point was plotted. Dashed lines begin plotting the Moving Averages with the third poll cycle. The polling will continue until the Retrieve is clicked to stop polling.

Exporting Graphs

All three graph types can be exported as an image file. The data used to produce line graphs (from the Graph Data tab) can also be exported as a data file. The graph image can be as a bitmap (.bmp), jpg (.jpg, .jpeg), PNG (.png), or tagged image format (.tiff) formatted file. Data files are either HTML (.htm, .html) or delimited text (.csv, .txt).

To export a graph image:

  1. Click (drop-down Graph Menu) and select Export Graph.
  2. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the graph, enter a filename and select a file extension for the desired image format (.bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .tiff).
  3. Click Save.

To export graph data:

  1. Click (drop-down Graph Menu) and select Export Data.
  2. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the graph data, enter a filename and select a file extension for the desired data format (.html or .txt, .csv).
  3. Click Save.

Printing Graphs

To print a graph:

  1. Click (drop-down Graph Menu) and select Print Graph.
  2. Select a printer and set the print properties in the print dialog window.
  3. Click OK.

Editing Writable Values

You can change the value in FlexView table columns that contain a writable MIB object. You can edit the values directly in the FlexView table row using the Table Editor or you can use the Guided Editor to assist you with your changes. Only one table editing tool can be used at a time.

Using the Guided Editor

The Guided Editor window functions like the Table Editor feature, but the window is divided into two sections: one containing instructions for editing the values and the other section contains the writeable columns in the current FlexView where you can make changes.

To change values in a FlexView table using the Guided Editor:

  1. Select one or more rows in a FlexView that contains columns with writable MIB objects, and click Guided Editor to open the Guided Editor window.
  2. Read the instructions in the top half of the view. (These are instructions that were added in the FlexView Properties window when the FlexView was created or edited.)
  3. Check the writeable objects that you are changing and enter the appropriate values as needed.
  4. Click Apply to Selected Rows to enter your changes into the selected rows.
  5. Click Close to dismiss the Guided Editor window.
  6. To set the values that you've just changed in the affected devices, click Apply  (Apply button). The values that you've changed in the table ( marked with a Apply Needed) are set in the selected devices. If the set is not successful, a red X appears in the rows where the set has failed.

Using the Table Editor

The Table Editor appears as a single row at the bottom of a FlexView table. The writable fields in the table appear as an editable table cell or drop down list as appropriate for the object type (integer, boolean, text, etc.). Changing the value in the Table Editor row alters the value for that entry in the row(s) selected in the table. Clicking Apply sets the current writable table values on the device(s).

To change values in a FlexView table using the Table Editor:

  1. Access a FlexView that contains columns with writable MIB objects.
  2. Click the Show/Hide Table Editor  (Show/Hide Table Editor button) to show the Table Editor row at the bottom of the table.
  3. Select one or more rows in the table. You can select multiple non-consecutive rows by holding the Control key while clicking or you can select consecutive rows by dragging the mouse pointer over the rows or by holding the Shift key and clicking the beginning and ending row in the range.
  4. In the Table Editor row, change the value for your selected column(s). If you are selecting a value from a drop down list, the selection is immediately entered into the selected table cells. If you are typing a text string or integer value, typing Enter sets the value in the selected table cell(s). A green exclamation mark (Apply Needed) appears in the cells where the value has been changed (but not Applied) and the Apply button becomes active.
  5. To cancel your changes and restore the original values, click the Show/Hide Table Editor  (Show/Hide Table Editor button) to hide the Table Editor before enforcing the table values.
  6. To set the values that you've just changed in the affected devices, click Apply  (Apply button). The values that you've changed in the table ( marked with a Apply Needed) are set in the selected devices. If the set is not successful, a red X appears in the rows where the set has failed.
  CAUTION: Enforcing certain MIB objects can disable devices and cause interruptions to network operation. Do Not apply MIB values unless you are sure of the outcome.

Adding Instances in MIB Tables

Use the Table Editor (the bottom row of the Results table) to add instances to certain tables in MIBs that support this feature. Tables that support this feature typically contain an object that shows the status of table rows.

For example, in the RMON MIB - etherStatsTable, the object etherStatsStatus indicates when the value in a particular row is valid, invalid, etc., which provides the means for adding a row in the etherStatsTable. Select valid to add a row, invalid to remove a row.

  NOTE: Not all devices support valid directly. Some require a create set before a valid set.

You can add an instance to a table on a single device or to multiple devices, depending on your selection in the left panel. The particular FlexView where you are adding an instance must be configured:

  • For a MIB table that supports adding instances
  • Must not be set to Hide Instance
  • Must not be set to Read Only

The instance added is always the lowest available (next) instance in the MIB table. So, if there are four instances in the table (1, 2, 5, 6), adding an instance will add instance 3. This is also true when adding instances to multiple devices; the next lowest available instance will be added to each device. In the following steps we'll use the 802.1Q Static VLAN FlexView to demonstrate adding and removing and instance.

To add an instance:

  1. Open the 802.1Q Static VLAN FlexView (or another FlexView that supports the add instance feature).
    1. Open the FlexView Properties window and remove the check marks from Hide Instance and Read Only.
    2. Save the FlexView and Close the FlexView Properties window.
  2. Select a device in the left panel and click Retrieve  (Retrieve button).
  3. Click   to enable the Table Editor.
  4. Click an instance of the object. If the selected object is writable, the instance in the table editor row at the bottom of the table is active and you can enter an instance value or select Next from the drop-down list.

    Using our example, we can select Next in the Instance column, edit the VLAN Name column to name this VLAN instance, then set the VLAN Status to active.

    The new instance appears in the table with a green exclamation mark.

  5. Click   (Apply button).
  6. Click Retrieve  (Retrieve button) to check the status of the new instance.

To remove an instance:

  1. Click   to enable the Table Editor.
  2. Click the instance being removed.
  3. Locate the column containing the status object that allows adding or removing instances, and select the appropriate syntax from the drop-down list. In our example, the column is VLAN Status and the destroy syntax will remove the instance when the value is applied.
  4. Click   (Apply).
  5. Click Retrieve  (Retrieve button) to check the status of the new instance.
  CAUTION: Setting certain MIB objects can disable devices and cause interruptions to network operation. Do not set MIB values unless you are sure of the outcome.

Related Information

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