Visualizing predictive time series data

Example: View the predictive server operations data

A tenant administrator can view the forecast of the back-end operations for the next 2 months by using the Helix Time Series Forecast visualization plug-in:

To create a dashboard by using the Helix Time Series Forecast plug-in

1. From the navigation menu, click Dashboards.
2. Click Add visualization.
3. In the Query section, select the data source (For example, BMC Helix) and add your queries.
   For instructions, see Configuring-dashboards-with-additional-customizations.
4. On the Panel tab, expand Visualizations and select Helix Time Series Forecast.
5. ​​​​​Expand the following tabs and configure the settings:

   Setting	Configuration
   Panel options
   Title and description	Specify a panel title and optional description.
   Transparent background	Specify whether you want to use the transparent background for the panel.
   Panel links	Add one or more links to navigate to other content.
   Repeat options	Select a variable. The panel is created for each variable value. Important: The panel creation options are not visible in edit mode. To view these options, navigate to the dashboard and update the variable or reload the dashboard.
   Helix Time Series Forecast
   Algorithm type	Select the type of algorithm to calculate predictive data.  By default, AUTOMATIC is selected. Best practice: We recommend that you use the AUTOMATIC algorithm type for viewing better predictive time series data. For details on all algorithms, see Algorithm types.
   Show/hide the confidence bands	Select this option to show the confidence bands in the panel.
   Future period	Select the period for which predictive data is calculated and displayed in the dashboard. In the example screenshot, 2 months is selected as the future period.
   Forecast metric	Select the metric for which predictive data is calculated and displayed in the dashboard.
   Threshold based on metric	Select this option to show the thresholds based on the metric series so that you can visualize and analyze how the forecast metric behaves relative to a threshold metric. For example, you can compare and analyze the data for TOTAL_STORAGE_USED (forecast metric) with TOTAL_STORAGE_PROVISIONED (threshold metric).   When this option is disabled, all metrics except for the metric defined in Forecast metric are displayed as a metric threshold. To specify fixed values for thresholds, see Setting fixed thresholds.
   Threshold metric  (Displayed when Threshold based on metric is selected)	Select the metric whose data is considered as a threshold to compare with the forecast metric.
   Threshold percentage (Displayed when Threshold based on metric is selected)	Specify a value between 0 to 100 that represents the percentage of the threshold metric data. For example, if you set this value to 90 and TOTAL_STORAGE_PROVISIONED is 200, threshold lines for both 200 and 180 are displayed along with the forecast metric value.
   Axis
   Placement	Select the placement of the axis. By default, Auto is selected.
   (Not displayed when Placement is Hidden) Label	Specify a label for the axis.
   (Not displayed when Placement is Hidden) Width	Set a fixed width for the axis.
   Show grid lines	Specify the axis grid line visibility. By default, Auto is selected. It automatically displays grid lines based on the data density.
   Color	Specify whether to set the axis color based on text or series.
   Scale	Specify the scale for the axis.  Linear: Divides the scale into equal parts. Logarithmic: Uses a logarithmic scale. When you select this option, you can select a log base from a binary (base 2) or common (base 10) logarithmic scale. Symlog: Uses a symmetrical logarithmic scale. When you select this option, you can select a log base from a binary (base 2) or common (base 10) logarithmic scale. Additionally, you can set the threshold at which the scale changes from linear to logarithmic.
   Centered zero	Select this option to set the axis centered on zero.
   Soft min and soft max	Specify the soft minimum and soft maximum ranges for better control of axis limits. The axis might not consider the user-defined range if the graph data falls outside the minimum and maximum range.
   Standard options
   Unit	Select a unit for all fields in the visualization or define a custom unit.
   Decimals	Enter the number of decimals to be used in the rendered value.
   Color scheme	Select a color theme for your visualization.
   Thresholds
   Default values	When the Show thresholds setting is not Off, the following threshold values are used by default:  80 with the red color  Base with the green color
   + Add threshold	Enter a new threshold value or use the up and down arrows at the right side of the field to update the value. Click the colored circle to update the threshold color from the color picker.
   Thresholds mode	Select the mode for the threshold.  Absolute: Thresholds are defined by a number. By default, Absolute is selected.  Percentage: Thresholds are defined relative to minimum or maximum; for example, 80 percent.
   Show thresholds	Specify how thresholds are displayed in the visualization. The default value is Off.

   For details about settings in some of the tabs, see Time series.