How do I use Drop Box when creating dashlets?

To drag an attribute-object directly into a custom dashboard

Drag in a single attribute-object

Drag in a single attribute-object and then add further objects to it

Drag in multiple attribute-objects to create multiple charts

To import from the Drop Box into the Create Dashlet form

The Drop Box is useful for when you are adding dashlets to a new custom dashboard.

You will need to ensure that the appropriate applicable context type is selected for the selections that you will make from your Drop Box. In the example below, we will be adding attributes applicable to devices, so we will need to ensure the Device box is ticked on the Applicable Context Types form.

To drag an attribute-object directly into a custom dashboard:

Navigate to the New/Edit Dashboard page. Open the Drop Box form. You can do one of the following:

• Drag in a single attribute-object (AttributeA @ ObjectX) to create a single Chart dashlet.
• Drag in a single attribute-object to create a single Chart dashlet (AttributeA @ ObjectX), and then drag in other objects of the same attribute to that single Chart dashlet (AttributeA @ Object Y, AttributeA @ Object Z). This will compare AttributeA across ObjectsX, Y and Z in the same chart.
• Drag in multiple attributes-objects to create multiple Chart dashlets (one chart for each attribute-object).

Drag in a single attribute-object:

1. Open the Drop Box. Select your specified attribute-object and drag it into the empty dashboard. In the below example, we will drag in Average SNMP Response Time @ bottom2960.entuity.local.
   
   
   
   
2. Resize the Chart dashlet as you wish and then preview the dashboard. You will see that the Chart dashlet is populated with the appropriate data.
   
   

Drag in a single attribute-object and then add further objects to it:

1. In the below example we will again drag the Average SNMP Response Time @ bottom2960.entuity.local onto the empty dashboard.
   
   
   
   
2. You can also drag a number of other attributes-objects into that Chart dashlet. In the below example, we will next drag in the Average SNMP Response Time for the madrid-routerb.testnet.entuity.lab and madrid-switchbtestnet.entuity.lab devices to the Chart dashlet that we have already created.
   
   
   
   
3. This will open the Edit Dashlet form, which displays all three data series that you have added to the Chart dashlet. From here you can change the settings of the chart, including the color of each line. Click Done to confirm these additions, and the Chart dashlet will be updated.
4. When you preview the dashboard, you will see that the chart displays all three data series:
   
   

Drag in multiple attribute-objects to create multiple charts:

You can also select multiple objects from the Drop Box list and drag them into the New Dashboard screen, which creates a separate Chart dashlet for each object.

1. In this example, we will select 4 different objects:
   • Average SNMP response Time @ bottom2960.entuity.local
   • CPU Utilization% @ madrid-routerb.testnet.entuity.lab
   • CPU Utilization% @ mardid-switchb.testnet.entuity.lab
   • Memory Used% @ madrid-switchb.testnet.entuity.lab
     
     
     
     
2. Drag those 4 objects into the New Dashboard screen.
   
   
   
   
3. 4 separate Chart dashlets will appear. When you have resized them as you wish and then previewed the custom dashboard, you will see the charts are populated with the data that you have chosen:
   
   

To import from the Drop Box into the Create Dashlet form:

You can also click the Drop Box icon  to import objects from the Drop Box form. This will add only the Attribute of the selected Drop Box object, not the device/port to which it was connected.

Select the object(s) you want to import into the series data and then click Add. In the below example, we will be importing Average SNMP Response Time @ bottom2960.entuity.local.  This will add the Average SNMP Response Time attribute, but not the bottom2960.entuity.local device.

You can also import multiple objects at the same time if you wish. 

Average SNMP Response Time will appear in the Series Data field.

You can also use the Import from Drop Box functionality to when choosing the Dashlet Source. This will select only the device/port of the object that you are selecting from the Drop Box, not the attribute to which it is connected.

In the below example, we are adding the madrid-switchb.testnet.entuity.lab device. To do this, we can add any of the 4 attribute-objects that are in the Drop Box list for this device, even if the attribute does not match the attribute already selected for the Data Series above.

Below we can see that the madrid-switchb.testnet.entuity.lab device has been added to the Dashlet Source field (without any attributes attached). We can also see where we have previously added the Average SNMP Response Time attribute to the Data Series field (without any devices attached). Therefore, we can now click Done in the top right of the form to create a Chart dashlet that displays Average SNMP Response Time against the madrid-switchb.testnet.entuity.lab.

When you preview the chart, we see the following: