How do I add a user defined attribute to be polled by Entuity?

Data model hierarchy

To add a user defined attribute to be polled by Entuity

To create a custom threshold or status for a user defined attribute

To create a custom event from a user defined polling event

To edit a user defined attribute

To delete a user defined attribute

User Defined Polling enables you to define and customize additional attributes that can be polled from managed objects. This applies to both system managed objects and user defined objects.

User Defined Polling allows you to:

• create user defined attributes for:
  • devices.
  • ports.
  • UDcomponents.
• override selected object attributes from the following object types:
  • device.
  • fan.
  • power supply.
  • UDcomponentsN
  • memory
  • processor.
• override selected stream attributes from the following object types:
  • fan.
  • memory.
  • processor.

Data model hierarchy:

Attributes are always associated to an object type. There are 3 types of attribute:

• Object.
  • a system attribute for which a history of the attribute’s values is not required as the attribute value rarely changes.
• Stream.
  • a system attribute that is used to retain the history of the attribute’s values, for example when recoding CPU utilization.
• User Defined Attribute.
  • you can use when creating new attributes. This attribute can be used both when it is important to retain the history of an attribute’s values and when it is not.

When adding attributes, you should consider the data model hierarchy when adetermining with which object type to associate the attribute. For example, a BladeCenter-specific attribute should be associated to the BladeCenterDevice object and not DeviceEx. An attribute associated to DeviceEx would be available for all of its subtypes.

Use the StormWorks Data Dictionary to interrogate the data model.

To add a user defined attribute to be polled by Entuity:

1. In the Main Menu, click Administration.
2. Click User Defined Polling. This will open the User Defined Polling page.
3. Go to the Attributes tab and click Add in the bottom left of the browser.
   
   
   
   
4. A window titled Please select an example device will open. Here, you can select the example device against which you want to test your new defined attribute. Either enter the search term or click Search to bring up the whole list of example devices. Select your preferred device and click Next, or Cancel to exit.
   
   
   
   
5. In the User Defined Attribute window, under the Details tab, enter a name for the new attribute in the Name field. By default, Entuity adds the prefix ud_. You can amend or delete this prefix. However, this prefix is helpful to distinguish between system attributes and user defined attributes, for example in the case of a future Entuity upgrade that includes an attribute with the same name as a user defined attribute. The name entered in the Name field must not include any mathematical or logical operators, e.g. a hyphen ' - '.
   
   
   
   
6. Enter a name for the attribute to be displayed in Entuity in the Display Name field.
7. Enter a description for the attribute in the Description field.
8. Specify the StormWorks object type in the Object Type field.
9. Specify the StormWorks filter that you want to apply to the attribute in the Filter field.
   
   
   
   
   1. Click Edit to open the Collector Filter window.
   2. Use Add and/or Remove to determine the enterprise included in the filter.
   3. Use Test to test the filter against the example device selected at step 4.
   4. Click OK to update the filter expression, otherwise click Cancel.
10. In the Display Format dropdown field, choose the format you want Entuity to use when displaying the attribute value, e.g. Integer, String.
11. In the Data Type dropdown field, choose the data type you want Entuity to use when interpreting the attribute value, e.g. Counter.
12. Specify the interval between polling in the Polling Interval field.
13. Specify the period of time for which Entuity retains polled data in the Retention Period field.
14. Select which configuration you want Entuity to use to convert polled data into meaningful values from the Transform dropdown field. When you have selected a transform, you can click View to view a definition of that transform (this opens up in a window titled Transform Mapping).
15. Enter minimum and maximum values for the gauge parameters in the Gauge Range field. This field is optional and only required for gauge types.
16. Click OK to save, Back to return to step 5. above, or Cancel to close the User Defined Attribute window without saving.

To create a custom threshold or status for the user defined attribute:

To create a threshold:

You can create your own custom thresholds for the user defined attribute. You cannot create a custom threshold for a system attribute. The two incident types are as follows:

• User Defined Attribute Status Incident, which has the following contributing events:
  • User Defined Attribute State Down.
  • User Defined Attribute State Disabled.
  • User Defined Attribute State Other.
  • User Defined Attribute State Up.
• User Defined Attribute Value Abnormality Incident, which has the following contributing events:
  • User Defined Attribute Value Critical.
  • User Defined Attribute Value High.
  • User Defined Attribute Value Warning.
  • User Defined Attribute Value Low.
  • User Defined Attribute Value Abnormality Cleared.

1. In the User Defined Attribute window (see step 5. above), click the Events tab.
2. Click the Threshold radio button. You can define your own Critical, High, Warning and Low thresholds in the respective fields by clicking the dropdown button to the right.
3. Each of these dropdown buttons will open the Manage Threshold window. This displays a list of the custom thresholds that you have created. To choose a parameter for the selected threshold, select it from the list and click Select.
4. To add a new user defined threshold, click New in the bottom left of the window. This will open the User Defined Threshold window.
5. Enter the name of the threshold in the Name field. By default, this is derived from ud_, the attribute name and the threshold level. From Entuity v20.0 P02 upwards, this name cannot contain a hyphen ' - '.
6. Enter the threshold name to be displayed on the Threshold page in the Display Name field.
7. Enter a description for the threshold in the Description field.
8. Enter the group name you want to use for this user defined threshold. The group name is used on the Threshold page to group together different thresholds, for example different severity level thresholds set against the same attribute.
9. Enter the measurement unit of the attribute in the Display Unit field.
10. Enter the minimum value of the threshold range in the Minimum Value field.
11. Enter the maximum vale of the threshold range in the Maximum Value field.
12. Enter the default value of the threshold range in the Default Value field.
13. Tick the Enabled box to enable the threshold.
14. Click OK to save your threshold, otherwise click Cancel.

To create a status:

1. In the User Defined Attribute window (see step 5. above), click the Events tab.
2. Click the Status radio button. You can define the Up, Down, Disabled and Other values in their respective fields by clicking Add to the right of each field.
3. This will open the Add Status window. Enter a value for the selected status and click OK to save, otherwise click Cancel.
4. To remove a status value, select the value in the field and click Remove.
5. Click OK to save your changes, Back to return to the Please select an example device window, or Cancel.

To create a custom event from a user defined polling event:

In Entuity, you can create a custom event that is raised in response to a user defined polling event. Please see this article for further help and information on this functionality.

To edit a user defined attribute:

1. Navigate to the Attributes tab on the User Defined Polling page.
2. Select the user defined attribute that you want to edit and click Edit in the bottom left of the browser.
3. This opens the Please select an example device window, where you can ....
4. Click Next to open the User Defined Attribute window.
5. When you have made the changes you want to make, click OK to save, Back to return to step 3. above, or Cancel to close the User Defined Attribute window without saving.

To delete a user defined attribute:

1. Navigate to the Attributes tab on the User Defined Polling page.
2. Select the user defined attribute that you want to delete and click Delete in the bottom left of the browser.
3. A deletion confirmation window will open. Click Yes to delete, or No to cancel.