Types of widgets (classic)

Overview

This article explores the different types of widgets that you can use on your dashboards to visually display data related to the computation of metrics. These types of widgets can be used on dashboards within Basic modules so you can choose the visualizations for your metrics individually.

Widgets similar to these can be found on dashboards within Service Monitoring modules, but the types and layouts are fixed. Software Metering modules display only one kind of widget on their dashboards, which are completely different from the widgets displayed on both Basic and Service Monitoring module dashboards.

KPI

A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) widget mainly comprises a single numerical figure that reflects the inner value of the represented metric or metrics.

The figure in a KPI widget is either an absolute or a relative number (a percentage). A percentage can only exist if the definition of the associated metric includes a ratio computation. A ration computation is defined as a comparison between the value of the metric itself and the value returned by an additionally supplied investigation. This additional investigation is usually a less constrained version of the investigation that computes the value of the metric.

Value variation

In addition to the main figure, a KPI widget may also include a secondary figure that displays the variation in the value of the metric with respect to its previous value. In this case, the meaning of previous depends on the time frame selected in the dashboard. Moreover, when specified in the definition of the associated metric, a KPI widget indicates whether an increase or decrease in the value of the metric is good or bad. This is shown visually through either a green (good) or red (bad) arrow next to the variation figure. If you have decided that a variation in the value of the metric is not necessarily good or bad, the arrow will appear blue.

Indicating threshold crossing

The definition of a metric may include thresholds that limit the ranges of values considered normal, worrying (optional) or bad. The KPI widget can be configured to display such information in the form of colored dots that precede the main KPI figure. The color of the dot reflects if the value lies within the normal range (green), the worrying range (yellow) or the bad range (red). The dot will only appear yellow when there are two set thresholds which define a worrying range.

Example of a KPI widget

The following example shows a KPI widget related to a metric that counts the number of devices with CPU issues. The definition of the associated metric includes a ratio (devices with CPU issues compared to the total number of devices) which is the main figure in the widget. An increase in the value of the metric is obviously bad, it implies more devices with CPU issues, so the increase is displayed with a red arrow.

Two thresholds have been defined:

When up to 10% of the total number of devices have CPU issues, the situation is considered to be normal.
When between 10% and 20% of the total number of devices have CPU issues, the situation is considered to be worrying.
When more than 20% of the total number of devices have CPU issues, the situation is considered to be bad.

A single KPI widget can display the values of more than one metric. Individual visualizations of each metric can be arranged vertically or horizontally within the KPI widget.

The KPI widget is compatible with count and quantity metrics. Top metrics can not be displayed as a single figure.

Table

A table widget arranges the value of a metric (or metrics) in a grid. Add a table widget to your dashboards to display either a top metric or a group of count and quantity metrics.

Displaying a top metric

When displaying a top metric in a table widget, the table shows the list of top objects as rows, while the columns are the display fields chosen in the configuration of the top metric. You can limit the number of fields displayed in the configuration of the table widget. Be aware that you are allowed to turn off only those which are not essential to the definition of the metric.

A single table widget may display one top metric at most and will occupy the whole widget. Therefore, it is not possible to combine a top metric with another top metric or with any other kind of metric in the same table widget.

Count and quantity metrics

The display of count and quantity metrics in a table widget is very flexible. You can add up to 50 of these types of metrics to a single table widget.

For each metric you can choose to display:

The value of the metric itself
A computed ratio value, when specified in the definition of the metric

If the metric defines thresholds you can choose to display:

The status (a green, yellow or red dot) and the value
The status alone
The value only

You can also choose to display the variation of the metric with respect to its previous value. These choices are very similar to those you can find in the KPI widget.

Values can be arranged into the rows and columns of the table by:

Hierarchy
Metric names
Grouping criteria of the metrics that you have added to the widget, if specified in the definition of the metrics

Note that depending on the particular metrics chosen, not all combinations will be allowed.

Line chart

A line chart graphically displays the historical evolution of the value of a metric (or metrics) over time. Line charts allow you to visualize significant events in the history of metrics, compare values of different metrics over time and discover trends.

Up to 5 metrics can be added to a single line chart. All metrics in the same line chart must be expressed in the same units, where the word unit must be understood in a broad sense. For example, you can add count metrics of different objects, such as devices and binaries, to the same line chart. This is possible because the units are compatible, they all represent a number of objects. You can even mix count metrics with those quantity metrics that measure a number of events. However, you cannot mix a metric that counts devices with a metric that measures the average boot time of devices, as a number of devices is not compatible with time units.

Line crosses threshold

Each line in the chart can be made to represent either the value of a metric or a computed ratio when the latter is specified in the definition of the metric.

Metric-defined thresholds can be optionally displayed in a line chart as horizontal lines:

One defined threshold is displayed as a single red line.
Two defined thresholds are displayed as one yellow and one red horizontal line at the level specified by the thresholds.
The points above the thresholds are displayed with the corresponding color.

Note that even when you choose to display thresholds, the horizontal lines may not be visible in the chart if all the values of the metric are under the specified limits. Displaying thresholds is only available when displaying one metric in the chart, as having thresholds in the same line chart for more than one metric would be confusing.

Setting the scale of the vertical axis

Set the scale of the line chart to be:

Automatic, for Portal to adapt the range of the vertical axis in the line chart to the values of the represented metric
Fixed, to specify the minimum and maximum values representable in the line chart. This is useful if you know in advance the range of values of the represented metric (e.g. a metric based on a score). In addition, fixed scales favor the comparison of line charts in dashboards. Specify:
- from, as the minimum value for the vertical axis in the line chart
- to, as the maximum value for the vertical axis in the line chart

Time span of the horizontal axis

Instead of spanning the time frame selected in a dashboard, line charts actually go much further into the past. When you select a time frame for a dashboard (day, week, month or quarter), each point in the line of a line chart represents the value of the metric aggregated for that period. The last point in the line corresponds to the selected date in the dashboard, while the values to the left are past values. How far the line chart goes into the past depends on the selected time frame and on the amount of available historical data. The minimum span gradually grows into the maximum span as Portal computes more and more data:

Time frame	Line chart min span	Line chart max span
Day	30 days (1 month)	60 days (2 months)
Week	12 weeks (3 months)	52 weeks (1 year)
Month	12 months (1 year)	24 months (2 years)
Quarter	8 quarters (2 years)	16 quarters (4 years)

Time frame

Line chart min span

Line chart max span

Day

30 days (1 month)

60 days (2 months)

Week

12 weeks (3 months)

52 weeks (1 year)

Month

12 months (1 year)

24 months (2 years)

Quarter

8 quarters (2 years)

16 quarters (4 years)

The line chart widget is compatible with count and quantity metrics, but is not adapted to display top metrics.

Bar chart

A bar chart graphically displays the values of count or quantity metrics in horizontal bars, allowing you to compare results at a glance.

Arranging the bars in the chart

Depending on the metrics displayed in a bar chart, the bars that represent the measured values may be arranged differently:

If the bar chart displays just one metric, arrange the bars by:
- The grouping criterion selected in the definition of the count or quantity metric.
- Hierarchy. If you chose two grouping criteria (or none at all) when creating the metric, this is the only method available for arranging the bars.
If the bar chart displays more than one metric, bars are arranged necessarily by metric.

Sort the results in the bar chart by:

The value
The names of the metrics
The nodes in the hierarchy
The labels of the group by option

To see the most important values first, it is best to sort the bar chart by value in descending order.

If the bar chart holds a count metric, choose between displaying its value or one of the two following ratios:

Ratio defined in the metric

Because the ratio defined in the metric compares arbitrary groups, those determined by the conditions in both the metric and ratio definitions, the value of each bar is independently calculated and the sum of all the bars in the widget does not add up to 100% in general. This option is only valid if the count metric actually defines a ratio.

Ratio of total

In bar charts you are seldom interested in displaying the ratio defined in the metric, but rather the distribution of each grouping option with respect to the total number of objects seen in the widget. The bars in a widget that display the ratio of total add up to 100% and the related count metric does not need to define a ratio for this option to be valid.

Bar crosses threshold

In a bar chart that displays a metric with defined thresholds, tick the box Threshold to visualize if and when a threshold has been crossed. The bars will appear green, yellow (for metrics with two thresholds), or red as explained in the previous section. If the metric does not define any threshold or you do not tick the Threshold box, bars will appear blue. If multiple metrics are displayed in the same bar chart, each one will be colored independently.

Height of the bar chart

To set the height of a bar chart, choose the Minimum number of bars that you wish to see in the chart:

If fewer bars than the configured minimum are available for display, the widget fills the empty spaces with blank lines. Note that setting an excessive minimum will waste dashboard space.

If more bars than the configured minimum are available for display, bars in excess may still be directly visible as long as there is space left in the dashboard. Otherwise, a small downward arrow will appear in the lower-right corner of the chart.

Hover the cursor over the bar chart to turn the small arrow into a slider. Use the slider to scroll through all the values in the bar chart. If you leave the bar chart after scrolling, small arrows will appear to indicate the availability of more results to the top of the chart, the bottom of the chart or both, when applicable.

Horizontal scale of the bar chart

The width of the bar chart is automatically scaled to accommodate enough space for the highest value to be displayed. For bar charts with only one metric, it is possible to fix the scale to a maximum value that is useful to you. In the configuration of the bar chart, you can choose between Automatic or Fixed. In the latter case, specify the maximum value that the chart should show. If this maximum fixed value is exceeded by a bar in the chart, the widget will automatically be resized to fit the new maximum.

Title widget

A title widget lets you group several other widgets under the same title. The title widget does not hold metrics by itself, but acts as an umbrella for other widgets that do display metric results.

Title widgets are particularly useful for organizing widgets of different types into logical sets, offering you more flexibility in the design of layouts for your dashboards.

Compatibility matrix

Not every type of widget is suited to display any kind of metric. The table below shows a compatibility matrix with types of metrics and the widgets that can display them: