getting started work spaces

Getting Started with Workspaces in nGenius Performance Manager

This document provides a basic introduction and overview of workspace functionality in nGenius® Performance Manager, and answers the following questions:

• What is a workspace and why is it important?

• What are the kinds of workspaces and how do they differ?

• What kinds of views can I display in a workspace?

• How do I launch workspaces?

• How do I get started?

To learn more about workspaces in nGenius Performance Manager, as well as about other product features, you can refer to the following sources:

• nGenius Performance Manager online Help

• NetScout support website: https://my.netscout.com/pages/mcplanding.aspx

• nGenius Performance Manager tutorial series, available for download from the application Home page; select Learning 360.

The Performance Manager Console is organized into workspaces that serve as the foundation for all view-related functions within nGenius Performance Manager. Using workspaces allows you to track network statistics relating to multiple issues without confusion or clutter, and according to a logic that meets your needs. For example, you can create and populate separate workspaces with views that focus on a specific location, monitored element, or troubleshooting issue.

Workspaces also provide you with a way to share data either on demand or according to a schedule you define. You can create reports based on workspace content that you can then email to associates or include in NewsPapers.

Overview

What is a workspace and why is it important?

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The first time you access the application, the Performance Manager Console contains four workspaces by default; tabs for these workspaces are named Workspace1 - Workspace4. You can use these workspaces in two ways:

Scratch pad workspace — A scratch pad workspace is a workspace that has not been saved. By default, Workspaces1 - 4 display as scratch pads containing no views. When you exit a scratch pad workspace, no views are saved.

Saved workspace — If you want to keep a set of views to display later, you can save the workspace. For example, you may want to configure a workspace with views relating to a specific location or troubleshooting issue. When you exit a saved workspace, by default you are prompted to save any changes. There is no limitation on the number of workspaces you can save.

When you save a workspace, you can designate it as either private (viewable by you, the creator, only) or shared (viewable by all users).

A shared workspace can be:

• Loaded by any user on the system

Note: Restricted Users may not have access to certain shared workspaces. Refer to the online Help for details.

• Modified or deleted only by the creator of the workspace

• Converted to a private workspace by a System or Network Administrator, after which it reverts to being viewable by only the creator

Workspaces and workspace preferences are saved per-user (based on username and password). In a distributed server environment, workspaces are not replicated among servers.

By default, launching the Performance Manager Console displays all workspaces (both saved and scratch pad) that were loaded when you last exited the Console, whether or not the view content was saved. For example, if the Console contains two workspaces, and you add two more before you exit, tabs are displayed for all four workspaces the next time you launch the Console. However, no workspace content is displayed unless you saved a workspace before exiting.

If you prefer not to display the saved workspaces that were loaded when you exited the previous session, you can configure the Console to display only scratch pad workspaces on startup by changing a preference (File > Preferences > Navigation tab). You can then load saved workspaces as needed, or save one or more scratch pad workspaces as you work.

Although the Performance Manager Console can display multiple workspaces (up to four by default), only one workspace is active at a given time. When you launch a view, it is added to the active workspace. Real-time views that are open in non-active workspaces continue to receive updates from the nGenius Server; real-time views in workspaces you have closed are not updated.

What are the kinds of workspaces and how do they differ?

2 Getting Started with Workspaces in nGenius Performance Manager

To analyze and troubleshoot your network, you can display several types of views, including, for example:

Link Usage and Application Usage — These sets of views allow you to identify which protocols, applications, and conversations are responsible for the traffic moving across the link. The statistics available in these views help you to answer questions such as: How busy is the link? What protocols and applications are being used? By whom? At what times? Where are problems occurring?

QuickSelect — Available with an nGenius InfiniStream® v4.6 (or later) device added to your nGenius Server, QuickSelect enables you to launch one view that has two display panels. The Link Usage Over Time view is shown in the top panel and displays link layer traffic statistics. Data on a selected sample of the link layer traffic in the top panel is displayed in the lower panel. Tab selections in the lower panel enable you to select various views providing data for the selected sample based on applications, hosts, or conversations.

Link Analysis — For a single physical or virtual probe interface, the Link Analysis view is an umbrella view that includes the Link Usage Over Time, Top N Applications Snapshot, and Top N AL Conversations Snapshot views. With the Link Analysis view displayed, you can select a single data point in the Link Usage Over Time view to have all three views updated to reflect the data for the selected point of time.

Burst — Burst views display historical data with 1-second peak values. For each 1-second peak, the three metrics shown in Burst views are utilization, byte rate, and bit rate. (An nGenius data source with CDM 3.2 or higher is required for Burst views.)

Capacity Planning — To provide data encompassing a duration of time without diluting the short-term value of data samples, the Capacity Planning view not only displays the peak utilization percentage seen for each link, but also includes data sample counts in a low-to-high utilization breakout.

Response Time — These views help you understand the complex interrelationships among applications, servers, clients, and flows. Response Time views can help you determine whether the network or the application is responsible for slow response times.

VoIP Quality — Two sets of VoIP views are available providing real-time and historical VoIP data.

Cell Site views — If you configure LA-RA (Location Area Code-Routing Area Code) virtual interfaces on Gb or IuPS links, numerous views for monitoring Mobile Cell Site-based information are available.

QuickViews — The QuickViews function enables you to make one view selection to automatically launch a collection of views in the active workspace. For example, you can launch QuickViews > Evidence to display the Top N AL Hosts, Top N AL Conversations, Top N Applications over Time, and Link Usage over Time views. This set of views helps you evaluate link layer utilization, and to identify the hosts, conversations, and applications contributing to the usage. A default set of QuickViews are available, and you can create your own QuickViews.

What kinds of views can I display in a workspace?

3

Workspaces are integral to the Performance Manager Console. To access the Console, and use workspaces, select Console Workspaces from the Performance Manager Home page.

You can also access Console Workspaces from Server Management or Device Management of Performance Manager by:

• Selecting Console Workspaces from the Window menu

• Clicking the Console Workspaces icon located in the task bar

How do I launch workspaces?

To display workspaces for the first time, or to display the workspace that was active when you last exited, select Console Workspaces.

After a refresh, all previously saved workspaces display under Console Workspaces. To launch a saved workspace, select the appropriate link from the list.


After you launch the Performance Manager Console, you can use the active workspace to organize your network monitoring and reporting functions. The remainder of this document shows you how to:

• Add views to your workspace

• Rename a workspace

• Save a workspace

• Create a custom QuickView

• Create a workspace report

• Perform workspace management functions, including closing and reloading a saved workspace, and permanently deleting a saved workspace

• Use a drag-and-drop method to move or copy views from one workspace to another

How do I get started?

5

Add Views to Your Workspace

To add views, make a selection at any level of the Navigation tree, including the Enterprise level, then right-click and select a view from the menu provided. Different views are available in the right-click menu depending on your selection in the Navigation tree. For example, the Top N Links view, which displays the top number of links and switch ports having the most traffic, is only available at the Enterprise level.

Right-click a Monitored Element, and select a view from the cascading menu ...

... to begin populating your active workspace. Repeat to add more views.

Tip: For view arrangement shown, select Window > Tile Box.

Tip: Click a tree node to expand or contract the node.


Rename a Workspace

You can rename a workspace. You might want to give the workspace a name that reflects view content, a location you are monitoring, or a specific issue you want to track. If you rename a scratch pad workspace, only the name is saved when you exit.

In the Rename Workspace dialog box, provide a unique name for the workspace.

Tip: Use different names for saved vs. scratch pad workspaces.

To rename your workspace, right-click the workspace tab, and select Rename Workspace.

The new name is displayed in the workspace tab.

Click OK.

7

Save a Workspace

You can save a workspace when you want to preserve a set of views. Saving a workspace enables you to close the workspace, and reopen it with the same views at a later time.

Right-click the workspace tab, and select Save Workspace from the drop-down menu.

Or click the Save Workspace icon.

In the Save Workspace dialog box, select the workspace to save. (If you want this to be a Shared workspace, select Workspace can be viewed by all users.)

Click Save Workspace.


Create a Custom QuickView

QuickViews are problem-specific sets of views that you can easily access from the Navigation tree right-click menu. Several pre-configured QuickViews are provided in Performance Manager, and you can create your own. Because a QuickView saves the metric, you can, for example, create a QuickView that launches Link Usage Snapshot views, each displaying a different metric such as Utilization, Byte Rate, Packet Type, and Packet Rate by size.

From the Workspace menu, select Create QuickView from Workspace.

Now when you select a Monitored Element in the Navigation tree, the right-click menu includes your custom QuickView in the section above the pre-defined QuickViews. You can select your custom QuickView from the menu to easily launch your defined set of views.

Launch the views you want to include in the QuickView in the workspace.

In the Create QuickView dialog box, enter a unique name for your QuickView. (You can optionally select a layout for your QuickView.)

Click OK.

9

Create a Workspace Report

After you populate your workspace with views, you can create a workspace report to share the information. You can generate a PDF version of your report for immediate viewing or save the report for scheduling and distribution using the Report Administrator.

OR

Display the desired views in your active workspace.

From the Workspace menu, select Create Report.

Click the Create Report icon.

In the Workspace Report Editor, configure your report, and click Generate.

You can also save and schedule your report for future delivery via email or in a NewsPaper.

Tip:

After you create your report, it is no longer associated with the source workspace. Changes you make in the workspace, including deleting the workspace, have no effect on the configured report.

For more information about Workspace and other reports, refer to the nGenius Performance Manager online Help.


Manage Your Workspaces

You can use the Workspace menu within the Performance Manager Console to perform several workspace management tasks, including the following:

Close a workspace — Closing a saved workspace removes it from the Performance Manager Console, but does not permanently delete it from your system. You can reload it at a later time; however, real-time views do not update while the workspace is closed. Closing a scratch pad workspace deletes it permanently. You can close the active workspace (select Close Current Workspace), or select another workspace to close (select Close Workspace > <name of workspace>).

Load a saved workspace — If you have previously closed a saved workspace, you must load it to view it again. (By default, you can display up to four active workspaces.)

Delete a saved workspace — Deleting a saved workspace permanently removes it from your system.

Cycle your workspaces — Select Cycle Workspaces to automatically cycle through the display of workspaces in the Performance Manager Console at an interval you define.

Convert a shared workspace to private — In the System or Network Administrator role, you can select Convert to Private Workspace to select one or more shared workspaces to convert to private workspaces that are viewable by the creator only.

Move or copy a view to another workspace — If you open a view in one workspace, you can move or copy it to another workspace using the Workspace Actions option. When you copy a view, it displays in both workspaces. When you move a view, it displays in the new workspace only. (Refer to "Drag and Drop to Move or Copy Views" on page 12 for details on a drag-and-drop method of moving and copying workspaces.)

Change time settings on views — To make changes related to the time period for which data is displayed, and have the changes be applied to all applicable views in the current active workspace, make your changes by selecting Change Time Settings on Views. This differs from time settings selected from the Time menu which are only applied to the current active view.

11

Drag and Drop to Move or Copy Views

You can move or copy views from one workspace to another by using the following shortcuts:

Move a view — Alt-click the view title bar, drag into the tab of the target workspace and release the Alt-click combination to move the view to the target workspace.

Copy a view — Ctrl-Alt-click the view title bar, drag into the tab of the target workspace and release the Ctrl-Alt-click combination to copy the view to the target workspace.

Holding the Alt-click (or Ctrl-Alt-click), drag toward the tab of the target workspace.

Alt-click (to move) or Ctrl-Alt-click (to copy) the view title bar.

When the cursor changes from the dragging circle ...

... to a rectangle (or rectangle with a plus sign for a copy), release to stop dragging.
