7.1 Understanding the Operations Center Portlets

Operations Center portlets are added to a page in the same way as other content. Configuring the look and feel of these portlets is also the same as for other portlets. For more information, see Section 6.0, Adding Content to a Page Using Portlets.

  • Some data, such as alarms, can be viewed in real time with automatic updates from the Operations Center server. Operations that are performed on alarms on the Operations Center console can also be performed in the Dashboard.

  • Element status data from Operations Center is available in the Dashboard using Operations Center portlets. For some portlets, you can select the Operations Center server as the source for displayed content.

  • Some portlets support custom condition/severity colors as set in the Operations Center console.

  • The defaults for Operations Center portlets are read from an XML file that can be modified.

  • For some portlets to display correctly, a third-party plug‑in must be installed on the user’s computer.

Review the following sections to understand data types in Operations Center and how to set options for portlets:

7.1.1 Understanding Data Types in Operations Center

Table 7-1 lists the types of data and views from Operations Center that can be displayed in the Dashboard:

Table 7-1 Operations Center Portlets by Portlet Type

Type

Description/Available Portlets

Information Summary

Information overview for an element, showing various types of related data based on preferences. Included data can include element properties, list of parents and children, alarm summary, alarms, layout/relationship diagrams, root cause and show impacted information. Related portlets include:

Element Status

Visual representation of the current condition of elements. Related portlets include:

Properties

Properties specified for an element. Related portlets include:

Alarms

Both historical alarms and real-time alarms in either a full view or summary view. Operations can also be performed for real-time alarms in the full view. Related portlets include:

Visual representation of alarms, both historical and real time. Related portlets include:

Root cause/Show impacted

The cause of an element’s state or the elements affected by the selected element. Related portlets include:

Performance Charts

A chart of performance metrics, SLA data, availability and downtime. Related portlets include:

Layout/Relationships

Visual representation of element relationships. Related portlets include:

Navigation/Element Selection

Related portlets include:

  • Navigation

    Displays the hierarchy from the Operations Center server with an indicator for status and controls the elements shown on the other portlets on the page.

    For more information, seeConfiguring the Navigation Portlet.

  • Starter

    Displays an element with an indicator for status and controls the elements shown on the other portlets on the page.

    For more information, seeConfiguring the Starter Portlet.

  • Search

    Locate elements in Operations Center and display properties for the found elements. Found elements can also be selected to control the elements shown in other portlets on the page.

    For more information, see Search Portlet.

Service Level Agreements

Related portlets include:

Administrative

Related portlets include:

7.1.2 Understanding Custom Colors in Portlets

As an option, users can select a custom color palette used for condition and severity colors in the Operations Center console. Only some portlets support this custom color selection.

The following portlets support custom color settings:

  • Alarms

  • ChartBuilder (all examples except the Element Property Gauge

  • Charting

  • Information (Alarms list only)

  • Performance

  • Search

  • SLA Status & Compliance Portlets (Compliance and Charts tabs only)

  • Summary

  • Tree Map (Element name labels only)

There are no configurations required to the portlets. However, current users must logout and re-login to see new severity colors after settings are changed in the Operations Center console.

For more information on custom color settings, see Managing Condition/Severity Colors in the Operations Center 5.6 User Guide.

7.1.3 Setting Options for a Portlet

Data is displayed using components within portlets. Some of the components allow data to be updated automatically when the Operations Center server receives new data.

Options for data content and formatting are set within each portlet.

To set options for any portlet:

  1. Click Options and select Preferences.

  2. Make changes to the options.

  3. Click Save.