2.3 Configuring the Properties Stored

Operations Center uses profiles to select elements for which alarm and performance data are collected. Profiles can be seen in the hierarchy in the Operations Center console under Enterprise > Administration > Data Warehouse. The profile sets when the data is captured and how long it is retained (requires Data Warehouse restart). Every profile also contains expressions that specify the properties of an element that are stored. Properties collected in expressions can also be used to analyze performance.

By default, all elements that have an objective defined on them are automatically assigned to a profile called Service Levels. The Service Levels profile contains one predefined expression called Element Condition Change, which captures real-time condition changes including service level breach and warning alarms, outages, and so on. By default, the expression also captures root cause data with the threshold set to the severity level of Critical. There is an option to not collect root cause data or change the severity level to another condition for the threshold.

You can create additional expressions to capture other properties in the Service Level profile.

2.3.1 Setting Service Levels Profile Properties

Operations Center automatically applies the Service Levels profile to all elements that have an objective defined. You cannot add or remove elements from this profile.

The schedule is permanently set to one minute. This schedule merely represents the frequency with which data is updated in the BSW. Service level data is constantly captured.

Data is retained for 90 days by default. You can change this setting. However, when the data retention setting is changed for a profile, the new retention time applies only to data collected from that point forward.

To access the Service Level Profile properties:

  1. In the Operations Center Explorer pane, expand Enterprise > Administration > Data Warehouse > Profiles, then locate Service Levels.

  2. Right-click Service Levels, then select Properties to display the properties dialog box:

    Service Levels Profile Properties
  3. In the left pane of the properties page, click Profile.

    For more information about the Service Level Profile, see Understanding Default Service Level Management Profilesin the Operations Center 5.6 Server Configuration Guide.

2.3.2 Creating Expressions

There is no need to create additional expressions to support Service Level Agreements. However, to capture additional properties for analyzing performance for SLAs, add expressions to the Service Levels profile. Carefully consider the number of expressions that are added, as the amount of data stored can increase significantly.

To create an expression:

  1. In the Explorer pane, expand Enterprise > Administration > Data Warehouse > Profiles, right-click Service Levels, then select Create Expression to display:

    Create Expression Dialog Box
  2. In the Create Expression dialog box, provide a name, then select the options.

    The following types of properties can be stored for historical performance:

    Expression

    Data Saved

    Alarm Property

    A property in the Alarms view, such as date/time, priority, class. The list of valid property names varies among adapters.

    Use the same spelling (including underscores) that is used in the alarm column headings displayed in the Alarms view or in the alarm property pages.

    Some commonly used alarm columns:

    • severity to obtain the alarm’s severity

    • id to obtain the alarm’s ID

    • last_update to obtain the most recent update time for an alarm

    • persistent_id to obtain the persistent identifier for the alarm

    To specify that the incoming string values are treated as numerals, select the Force Numeric check box.

    Alarm Severity Counts

    The total number of alarms by severity for a selected elements.

    Child Condition Counts

    The condition codes (Critical, Major, Minor, and so on) of all child elements for a selected element.

    Element Condition

    The condition code (Critical, Major, Minor, and so on) for a selected element.

    Element Condition Change

    Any change in condition for a selected elements.

    Select the Store Root Cause check box to capture information regarding the root cause for the condition change.

    If capturing the root cause, specify a severity level to act as a trigger.

    Element Property

    The values of a selected element property.

    Specify the name of an element property to monitor, such as memory usage or response time.

    The Property list is populated only if the profile’s elements have custom properties, meaning properties other than Element Condition, Last Reported, and Element Name.

    Performance Series

    Data derived from measurements made by an external management system.

    Select a name for the series from, then specify the property to monitor. The values vary among different management systems. By default, the expression Name value is created using the Series value and the Property value, separated by a period (such as Series.Property). The default Name value is editable.

    Wildcards can be used. For example, enter the asterisk (*) as the Series and Property values. If an object has multiple series, they are all stored.

    Script

    The values resulting from running a script.

    Enter the entire contents of a script (written using NOC Script that determines the type of data to include.

    For more information on expressions, see Creating Expressions in the Operations Center 5.6 Server Configuration Guide.

  3. Click Create.

    The Alarms property provides data for historical alarms that can be viewed in the Alarms view of the Operations Center console. For more information on alarms, see Filtering and Managing Alarms in the Operations Center 5.6 User Guide.