Creating and using a dashboard

To create a dashboard

1. On the Dashboard tab, open the dashboard list, and click Create a new dashboard.

2. In the New Dashboard dialog box, enter the following details:

   Field	Description
   Dashboard name	(Required) Enter a unique name from 1 to 40 characters long.
   Default time	Set a specific default time range in days or hours in which to collect data for the dashboard. The shipped default time range is six hours. You can set a time range from 1 to 99.
   Visibility	Select one of the following visibility modes for your dashboard: Private: (Default) Only the owner can view or edit it. When you create a dashboard, it is marked as Private by default and is visible only to you. You can change the visibility of your dashboard from Private to Public at any time to make it available to non-owners for viewing. Public: Everyone can view it, but only the owner can edit it. If a dashboard that was available earlier is no longer available on the dashboard list, it means the dashboard owner either deleted it or marked it as Private.
   Created by	Displays who created the dashboard. A dashboard owner can view, modify, clone, download and delete a dashboard. Non-owners can only view, clone, and download a dashboard. Created by me: You are creating the dashboard or you uploaded a BMC-created dashboard for your business requirements. Additionally, all the BMC-created dashboards for your specific business requirements that you upload also display Created by me. Created by the system: If it is an out-of-the-box dashboard. Created by {userName}: If the dashboard is created by another user.

3. After entering the information, you can perform one of the following actions:
   • Click Save. This action creates an empty dashboard.
     In the dashboard, click Create your first Panel and proceed to the next steps to add more information to the panel.
     For more information about adding information to the panel, see To add a panel to a dashboard.
   • Click Create the first panel to create the first panel on the dashboard. The Add Panel pane is displayed.
     For more information about adding panels to a dashboard, see To add a panel to a dashboard.

Troubleshooting errors while creating a dashboard

If you get one of the following notifications while creating a dashboard, perform the indicated action:

To add a panel to a dashboard

Perform the following steps to add a panel or to create your first panel: 

1. At the top-right of the dashboard, click Add Panel.
   If you are creating your first panel, then on a dashboard or in New Dashboard dialog box, click Create your first panel and proceed to the next procedure.

2. In the General section of the Panel Configuration dialog box, enter the following information:

   

   Panel name	Panel name containing up to 40 characters. You can include digits. Error Warning While configuring a dashboard or a panel, if you refresh the browser without saving, all the changes to the dashboard or the panel is cancelled.
   Panel type	Panel types to help visualize and analyze data effectively These include line charts, area charts, column and bar charts, pie and donut charts, gauge and metric charts, and tables. The Data fields change according to your selection of the panel type. Warning Important If you are using pie or donut charts, the displayed percentage may not add up to 100% due to rounding of values.

3. If you selected Line, Area, Column, Bar, Pie, or Donut panel type in step 2, enter the following information in the Data section, and then skip to step 7.
   If you selected Gauge, Metric, or Table panel type, see steps 4, 5, and 6.

   Metric name	(Required) Select a name from the metric list. A metric is a specific measurement that provides real-time or historical insight into the performance, capacity, or health of a monitored mainframe entity. The data is collected from different subsystems, such as z/OS, Db2, CICS, IMS, and MQ on various system performance indicators, such as CPU usage, memory consumption, storage capacity, and transaction rates.
   Group by	(Required) Select an entity by which to group the metrics. An entity typically refers to a distinct attribute within the mainframe environment that can be monitored, managed, or analyzed. Each entity represents a specific resource or process that impacts overall system health. For example, subsystems, LPARS, jobs, and tasks.
   Display order	(Available only for bar and column charts) Select one of the following options: Data over time: Data collected over a specific period of time. Display order based on data over time refers to the sequence in which metrics are presented within a dashboard. The chronology of the information enables you to see trends, patterns, and changes in performance metrics across a selected time frame. This is critical for identifying anomalies, peaks, or troughs in system behavior as they evolve. Warning Important Selecting this option enables Metric 2, which uses y-axis in a column chart. Monitored Entity Name ordered by: Entities monitored by BMC AMI Ops User Interface. It refers to the metrics organized according to a predefined sequence based on the names and values of the monitored entities. This makes it easier to analyze data consistently across entities and spot discrepancies or trends in similar entities. The monitored entity names can be ordered by ascending or descending value, or alphabetically from A-Z and Z-A.
   Calculated value	Select a value. The Last value option is available only for bar, column, pie, and donut charts if you have selected Monitored Entity Name ordered by option. For Tables, last value is displayed either as a default value for string metrics, or as a calculated type for numeric metrics.
   Top N items criteria Direction Items # (1-20)	Select a criteria, direction, and the number of items.  In the Direction field, select Biggest to select the top <n> biggest values, or Smallest to select top <n> smallest values for the selected criteria. The default is Biggest. In the Items # (1-20) field, select top <n> number of items. The default value is 10.
   Stacked chartType chart	(Available only for area, column, and bar charts) Switch the toggle key to convert a chart to a stacked chart.
   Secondary Group by Secondary Top N Items criteria Direction Items #	(Available only for column and bar charts if you selected the Monitored Entity Name ordered by option) Enter the details for each field. The secondary group by field enables you to select a second data category after the primary grouping. Once data is grouped by a primary attribute (For example, a job name), a secondary grouping can further refine and organize the data view. Select a secondary criteria, direction, and the number of items. When you select a secondary criteria, make sure the numbers in the Items # fields do not exceed 20, and the product of the two Items # fields is either 100 or less. In the Direction field, select Biggest to select the top <n> biggest values, or Smallest to select top <n> smallest values for the selected secondary criteria. The default is Biggest. In the Items # field, select top <n> number of items. If the Secondary Group by field does not list any item, it means it has no matching option for the metric selected in the Group by field. To resolve this, in the Metric name field, select a metric that has at least two metrics in the Group by field.
   Metric 2 Line Chart Metric 2 name Calculated value for Metric 2	(Available only for column charts if you selected Data over time option) Switch the toggle key to add a second metric relating to the sequence data over time to the chart. Enter the details for each field. Metric 2 relates to sequence data over time. It enables enhanced comparison, contextual, and trend analysis.  The metric that you select is represented on the right Y-axis in the chart. But, if the units for the first and the second metrics are the same then they are represented together on the left Y-axis for comparison. If the Metric name filed does not list any item, it means it has no matching option for the metric selected in the Metric name field. To resolve this, select another metric in the Metric name field.

4.  (BMC.AMIOPS.SPE2510)   If you selected Gauge in step 2, enter the following information in the Data section, and then skip to step 7.

   Metric name	(Required) Select a name from the metric list.
   Calculated value	Select one of the following types of calculated values: Avg (Average) Max (Maximum) Min (Minimum) Last value
   Label	The label is auto-populated based on the selected metric and calculated value. You can change the label if required. The label is reset if you change the metric name or the calculated value.
   Show metric unit	Enable this option to see the metric unit on the gauge.
   Min value Max value	(Required) Enter a minimum and a maximum value of the metric to display in the gauge.
   Color range	Set a value range and a color for the range to display in the gauge. Enter the following details: Add range: Click to add a range for the gauge. You can set up to five ranges by clicking the Add range option. Before adding a new range, you must complete the details of the previous range that you have entered. Value (Greater than or equal to ≥): Enter a value. When the value of the metric is greater than or equal to the entered value, the gauge displays the value range in the selected color. Color: Select a color for a specific value range. The first color range is mandatory. Show color range marker: Shows and hides the color ranges set by you as markers around the outer arc of the gauge.  Example of a gauge panel ​​​​

5. (BMC.AMIOPS.SPE2510)If you selected Metric in step 2, enter the following information in the Data section, and then skip to step 7.

   Metric name	(Required) Select a name from the metric list.
   Calculated value	Select one of the following types of calculated values: Avg (Average) Max (Maximum) Min (Minimum) Last value
   Label	Set a label in accordance with the selected metric and the calculated value.  The label is reset if you change the metric name or the calculated value.
   Text size Display	Enter a text size of medium or large. (Required) Select one of the following display types: Label, value & unit Label & value Label only If you select this option, the Label field is required. To configure colors indicating severity, see Graphical indication section. Example of a metric panel

6. If you selected Table in step 2, enter the following information in the Data section, and then skip to step 7.

   Monitored entity	(Required)Select an entity. The monitored entities include data from one or more BMC AMI Ops products.
   Metrics (up to 14 column)	(Required) Select one or more metrics. You can drag metrics to reorder them in the table. If you change the order of these metrics, the table columns change accordingly. To delete a metric, hover over it and click Delete .
   Setup individual calculated value	Select to change the individual calculated value for each metric. This option is available only if you have selected metrics with numeric values.
   Default sort by Direction Items # (1-30)	Sort the specified number of items for a metric by ascending or descending order.

7. In the Filter section of the Panel configuration dialog box, you can perform the following actions: 

   Add criteria	Select a criteria name from the list or enter it in the text box to search for it.  You can also type the criteria name and press Enter to add it. By adding criteria (For example, z/OS system and LPAR Rel Share), you can filter data to create more relevant analytical charts.  The Add criteria option is only available when the criteria list contains at least one filter.  If you add multiple criteria, an AND condition is applied for all criteria.  Select one of the relational operators based on your selection of numeric, string, or duration criteria.
   	Click to remove your current filter selection.
   Remove All	Click to remove all your filter selections.

8. (Available only if the Metric panel type is selected) In the Graphical indication section, set a color range for a criteria in a metric panel as follows:
   

   1. Under Color by criteria, click Add criteria to add a criteria from the list.
      You can change the severity color for the selected criteria by clicking on the color button.
   2. Select an operator from the list, and enter a value for it to define the severity range.
   3. From the Severity color display, select one of the following display options:
      • Border on top: Displays the severity color on top of the panel.
      • Entire panel: Displays the panel background in the severity color.

9. In the Drill-down section, perform the following actions:

   To Origin View (BMC.AMIOPS.SPE2510)	Use the toggle key to drill down to the origin view from a panel. For more information, see To drill down to the origin view.
   To Dashboards	Switch the toggle key to drill down into specific dashboards.
   Dashboard destination	(Required) Select one or more dashboards. The selected dashboards are displayed in the tooltip of the chart node in a panel and in the monitored entity column of a table. You can navigate to these dashboards from the origin dashboard. You can select up to five dashboards.
   Use filters from origin dashboard	Select to inherit the filters set for both, the origin dashboard and the panel, which is the one you are working on.
   Use time selection from origin dashboard	Select to inherit the time selected in the parent dashboard. To drill down to selected dashboards from an existing panel, see To drill down to dashboards.

   To drill down to selected dashboards from an existing panel or a table, see To drill down to dashboards.

   Warning

   Important

   If you are using a tablet, on the chart, click once to display the details of the chart node in a tooltip. Click a second time to display the drill-down menu.

10. Click Add.
    Your first panel is added to the dashboard and is ready for analysis. You can add more panels to the dashboard by selecting Add panel option at the top-right of the dashboard.
    
    
    If a dashboard does not include any panel, then a non-owner viewing that dashboard sees the following message on the dashboard: 

    You can view and analyze data on the dashboard once the owner adds the panels to it.

To discard the changes while creating or modifying a panel, click X on the Panel Configuration dialog box and then click Discard Change for confirmation. Or, click Cancel to continue with the changes.

To zoom in to a specific time period

Click and drag to select a specific time period to zoom in for better visualization. 

To drill down to the dashboards

After adding the dashboards to a panel using the Drill-down option, you can perform the following steps:

To drill down to the origin view

You can use the To Origin View option to drill down to the origin view from a panel.

1. To go to the origin view, you can perform the following actions to display the drill-down dashboards list and the origin view names:
   • On a chart panel, click a data point. 
     
   • In a Gauge, click anywhere on the gauge.
   • In a Metric panel, click on the label or the value.
   • In a Table panel, click on a value in a column.
     If you have metrics from different views, the Drill down to dashboards list includes more than one origin view name when you click a value in the first column (Monitored entity).
     
2. From the displayed list, click the origin view name.

To modify a dashboard

1. From the dashboard list, open the dashboard that you want to modify.
2. Select > Dashboard Configuration.
   
   The Dashboard Configuration pane opens.
3. Modify the dashboard and click Save changes.
   To cancel editing a dashboard, on the Dashboard Configuration panel, close the Dashboard Configuration dialog box by clicking X.
   Cancelling a dashboard deletes all the unsaved changes.

To export a dashboard configuration

1. From the dashboard list, open the dashboard that you want to export.
2. Select > Export Configuration.
   The configuration file is downloaded to your local folder. 

To upload an exported dashboard configuration file

When uploading an exported dashboard configuration, make sure that the first line in the configuration file is removed.
For example:

To download a dashboard as PDF file

1. From the dashboard list, open the dashboard that you want to download as a PDF file.
2. Select > Download as .pdf.
   The dashboard is downloaded to your local folder.

To clone a dashboard

1. On a dashboard, select and then click Clone.
   A clone of the dashboard is added to the dashboard list with the same name but with a number appended to it. 
   
   Each time you clone the dashboard, the name of the new dashboard remains the same with a number added to it. 
   You can open a cloned dashboard and modify it.
2. After modifying, click Save changes.

To delete a dashboard

1. On a dashboard, select > Delete.
   Only the dashboard owner can delete the dashboard.
2. When prompted with the delete confirmation notification, click Delete.

To set a dashboard as default

On a dashboard, select > Set as Default.
The dashboard is now set as your default dashboard and marked as default in the dashboard list. 

To modify a panel

1. In a panel, select and then select Panel configuration.
   
2. In the Panel Configuration dialog box, make the changes and click Save changes.
   The chart or table panel displays the updated information. 

To use the full-screen mode for panels

To see a panel in full-screen mode, click Maximize .

In full-screen mode, you can make changes to the Filters and Time options to visualize the updated information. Any changes you make in a maximized panel applies to all the other panels in the dashboard.

While in full-screen mode, you can use the toolbar to perform the following tasks:

• Auto-refresh for a specific time-range, or click refresh icon to refresh the data.
• Select another dashboard.
• Download the dashboard.

To download a panel in .CSV or .PNG format

1. On a panel, select > Download as.
2. Select .CSV or .PNG file format to download the panel data.

To delete a panel

1. On a panel, select > Delete.
   Only the dashboard owner can delete panels within a dashboard.
2. When prompted with the delete confirmation notification, click Delete.