8.11 Search Portlet

The Search portlet is used to find elements in the Operations Center hierarchy. The Search portlet returns only native elements within the Operations Center hierarchy, and does not return any linked instances of an element.

View information about the properties of found elements in the search results. Or, use it to update the starting elements in other portlets by selecting one of the found elements. In addition, you can:

8.11.1 Configuring Search Parameters

To configure search parameters:

  1. To search for elements, enter the element name or a portion of the name and a wildcard (*), then click Search.

    This is the default type of search.

    Define other types of searches using the search parameters.

  2. To set search parameters, click the options icon and select Preferences.

  3. Click the Search tab, then click the Configuration tab.

  4. Configure the following options that are available to portlet users:

    Element Name Label: Creates a label that shows next to the element name field.

    Property: (Optional) Creates a new search field on the specified element property. Type the property name as it appears in Operations Center. Also specify a text description of the property in the Property Label field; this can aid users in knowing what to enter for the search.

    To look up a property name in the Dashboard, use the Element Properties portlet or Information portlet. For information on looking up element properties in the Operations Center console, see Viewing Element Properties in the Operations Center User Guide.

    Enable Max Results option: (Optional) Provide users with the option of setting a maximum number of results before conducting the search.

    Max Results Label: (Optional) Add a text description for the Max Results option. The description displays on the Search portlet. Defaults to Max Results when not specified.

  5. To narrow the search, add the following search constraints:

    Class: To limit the search to elements of a specific class, enter the class name as it appears in Operations Center. The search results include elements in that class only. For more information about classes, see the Operations Center Service Modeling Guide.

    Condition: To limit the search to elements of a specific condition, enter the condition as it appears in Operations Center. For more information on element conditions, see Managing Condition/Severity Colors in the Operations Center User Guide.

    Scope: Restrict the search to only the top level at which the element is first found by selecting ONELEVEL. To include child elements of the first found element, select SUBTREE.

    Depth: Select the number of levels to search for elements. The default is 10.

    Timeout: To prevent the search from running indefinitely, add a timeout value as the number of minutes. The default is 1.

    Default Results: The number of search results to display. Defaults to 20. If set to 0, then no limit is set and all results are returned.

    HINT:Consider implementing options that sets limits on search results. Restricting the search results can be helpful to reduce the amount of time it takes for users to obtain results.

  6. Click Save.

8.11.2 Configuring Properties for Found Elements

By default, elements found using the Search portlet display the element condition, including both the condition severity text and associated color. Other properties associated with an element in the Operations Center server might also be displayed.

For information on properties in Operations Center, see Viewing Element Properties in the Operations Center User Guide. For instructions on creating custom element properties for service model elements, see Defining Properties for a Property Page in the Operations Center Service Modeling Guide.

To configure properties for found elements:

Adding Properties Displayed in Search Results

To add properties displayed for elements found after a search:

  1. Click the options icon and select Preferences.

  2. Click the Search tab, then click the Add Properties tab.

  3. Specify the following options:

    Property Name: Enter the name to display in the column to describe the property. This field is required. It can be any text.

    Operations Center Property: Enter the property name as it appears in Operations Center. The name is required, is case-sensitive and must match exactly.

    To look up a property name in the Dashboard, use the Element Properties portlet or the Information portlet. For information on looking up element properties in the Operations Center console, see Viewing Element Properties in the Operations Center User Guide.

    Text Before: To display anything before the property value, such as a dollar sign ($), enter it here.

    Text After: To display anything after the property value, such as a % sign, enter it here.

  4. Specify the following check box options:

    Highlight property background when the following conditions are met: If enabled, use the selectors to set a value at which the background is highlighted, then specify a background color.

    The colors are mapped to conditions on the Operations Center console. For more information, see Managing Condition/Severity Colors in the Operations Center User Guide.

  5. Click Add Property.

  6. Click the Current tab to specify the display order for the new property.

  7. Click Add Property.

Setting the Order in Which Properties are Displayed

To set the order that the properties are displayed and edit the properties displayed:

  1. Click the Current tab.

  2. After selecting properties to display for elements found after a search, edit a property by clicking Edit Property.

    The options are the same as when you added the property. The properties display in a table after the search is complete ac-cording to the order that they were added.

  3. Click the up and down arrows next to the property to change the order.

  4. Click Save after making any changes.

  5. To remove a property, select it, then click Remove.

    WARNING:This option cannot be undone. When you remove a property, you must add it again in order to see it in the portlet.

  6. Click Update to save all changes.