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Adding or editing a combo group


  1. Select Network > Spans > Combo Groups.
  2. Perform one of the following actions:
    • To define a new combo group, click Add.
    • To create a new combo group by duplicating and editing an existing combo group, click Copy Icon_Copy.png.

    • To edit an existing combo group, click Edit Icon_Edit.png.

      Tip

      To help you identify a combo group that you want to copy or edit, you can display a summary of the attributes of a combo group by clicking View Icon_View.png.

      The Add/Edit/Copy Combo Group page is displayed. 

      ComboGroupEdit_TextMode.png

  3. On the Details tab, define the following group attributes:

    The [confluence_table-plus] macro is a standalone macro and it cannot be used inline.

  4. Click Save.

Note

You cannot change the realm of an existing combo group because the groups that comprise it might not make sense in a different realm. Instead, use the Copy option to create a new combo group in a different realm if you want to re-use dynamic field values.

Specifying groups

When you choose a mode (menus or text) of group data entry, the fields in the other mode are cleared and do not get updated. That is, if you select to combine groups via text entry and you type in your groups, the (hidden) menus are cleared and do not get updated as you type. The reverse is also true. If you switch back and forth between menu and text mode, you will observe how only one set of the fields is populated. When you save, only the fields associated with the currently selected mode are saved.

When you edit or copy an existing combo group, the edit page initially populates both sets of fields (the menus and the text area), with the menus being displayed. You can switch to text mode and edit that, as it will be populated. However, if you stay in menu mode and make any change in the menus, the text field will be cleared. Now, if you want to switch to the text mode, you must cancel out of the edit session and start over, then select the text mode. 

The following sections provide guidelines for using Boolean operators and text mode. 

Using Boolean operators

Use Boolean operators to combine groups as follows:

  • AND operator: "group 1 AND group 2" means "A device belongs to this combo group if it belongs to group 1 AND it belongs to group 2."
  • OR operator: "group 1 OR group 2" means "A device belongs to this combo group if it belongs to group 1 OR it belongs to group 2."
  • NOT operator: "NOT group 1" means "A device belongs to this combo group if it does NOT belong to group 1."

Specifying text entries

If you have a large number of groups to combine (for example, many models of Cisco devices or many auto-groups derived from data extracted from configurations), it might be easier to type in the Boolean expression manually than to use the menus to construct it bit by bit. Also, if you have a large number of groups, the menus will be long and it might be tedious to scroll through those menus, searching for your groups. If you know your group names well, it can be easier to type in the group names directly. Or, if you have an external tool listing your groups or generating the exact Boolean expression, it might be easier to copy/paste from the tool into the editor. In these cases, select to combine your groups via text entry.

Use the following guidelines to create text entries:

  • The text you enter must be a syntactically correct Boolean expression.
  • The AND, OR, and NOT operators must be spelled correctly and appear in the proper locations, however, need not be in upper case.
  • Left and right parentheses must be properly paired up and appear in proper locations.
  • Group names must be spelled correctly and they must belong to the selected realm, though the names are case-insensitive.
  • If your group name contains spaces, parentheses, or double quotes, enclose the group name in double quotes. 
  • If your group name contains double quotes, replace the double quotes with the string, \x022 (a backslash, followed by the letter x, followed by 022).

Tip

To familiarize yourself with the Boolean expression syntax, start by using the menus and observe the Combined Groups field, which displays a read-only version of what is selected in the menus.

 

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