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Performance charting - Newly added Regex feature

(View Disclaimer)

When using Operations Center with different management tools, sometimes naming conventions do not line up. One example of that is setting up a performance chart to chart specific metrics such as CPU and Memory. While one management system may have the metric stored under one name and differently in another, you can leverage a new feature made available in the Operations Center 5.0 Patch Bundle 1 (AKA: PB1) to use expression based matching rules. For some tools the prefix on the metic name is associated to a Job collecting the metric and not specific to the actual metric name, using the regex feature will allow you to wildcard the begining of the metric name to ignore the Job ID.

When setting up a chart for the first time, you must still add a starting element to get the main configuration set up. In many cases you may have the performance chart update based on the element selected (clicked on) in the Navigator portlet. When you set up the chart, you must enter a Profile (Typically "ElementProfile" for adapters that have performance data natively in it like Patrol or AppManager, or named differently if you set up profiles in Operations Center to store series metric data). Next, based on the profile and the selected element, you can click on Expression and pick the specific (one or more metrics) to chart. These specific metrics will be charted for this element or an element clicked on in the Navigation portlet. You can also use the Charting Options dialog when looking at metrics to change the date/time range as well as the metrics being charted.

The picture below shows an example of AppManager metrics that could be charted from my demo system.

expressionselector.jpg

If you have several metrics you would like to chart and would like to leverage the new feature of specifing the metrics to chart via regex, use the new checkbox. This will make it easier to select multiples and/or provide different options (IE: chart metrics A & B or chart C & D).

The example below shows that I entered .*Cpu.* as the regex and when I click on the "Expression" link, it shows me the metrics that would match based on the element we are using.

expressionselector2.jpg

For the next example, I entered .*Cpu.*|.*Mem.* in order to get any metric that has Cpu or Mem in the name. When I click on the Expression link this time, it shows the metrics that would match for this regex.

expressionselector3.jpg

With the regex feature, you will have several options for setting up charts. Hopefully simple regular expressions will work for you, but if you need to use complex expressions, have fun :)

- Tobin
Have fun and play nice


Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).

It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.




User Comments

Keranchuk's picture

Nice feature, thanks!

Submitted by Keranchuk on 12 December 2011 - 6:26am.

Nice feature, thanks!

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