How do I manage View content filters?

Introduction

Content filter types and rules

To see content filters, see which are applied to a View, and to apply a different content filter

To create a new content filter

To edit a content filter

To delete a content filter

RESTful API

Introduction:

Content filters determine the objects that are displayed in a View. You can use View content filters to determine what a View can contain. A View content filter is a defined set of rules that determine which of the network objects potentially available in a View are actually displayed, in order to present only the information a user needs to see, e.g. you can restrict a View to show only the particular components of the network that you are interested in.

For an overall introduction to View filters, please see this article.

Content filter types and rules:

Types:

There are 3 types of content filter that can be associated with a View:

• All Objects - includes all objects within the content scope. This is the filter used by My Network and All Objects Views.
  • This is a system content filter, and contains 1 rule:
    • All
• Infrastructure Only - includes only the infrastructure ports and their associated devices, VLANs and applications within the content scope. Infrastructure ports are either uplinks (i.e. ports connecting routers with switches), trunk ports (i.e. ports connecting switches together), or router ports.
  • This is a system content filter, and contains 6 rules:
    • Source=Device AND Zone=all
    • Source=Port AND Port Type=Trunk AND Device Type=Ethernet Switch AND Zone=all
    • Source=Port AND Port Type=Uplink AND Device Type=Ethernet Switch AND Zone=all
    • Source=Application AND Zone=all
    • Source=Port AND Device Type=Router AND Zone=all
    • Source=Vlan
• user defined rules-based content filter.

Rules:

The rules of a content filter, filter required components into a View, rather than filter them out. Therefore, when creating your own filter (see below), you will need to add as many rules as are needed to display the components you want to see in the View.

To see content filters, to see which are applied to a View, and to apply a different content filter:

You can see the content filters on your Views via the View Management page, or from the specific View itself.

To see the content filters currently applied to Views:

From the Views tab under the View Management page, you can see the content filters that are currently applied to which Views under the Content Filter column in the table (from the dropdown box in the top left of the page, select the server or configuration set for which you wish to see details):

To see a list of content filters:

Click the Content Filters tab under the View Management page. From the dropdown box in the top left of the page, select the server or configuration set for which you wish to see details. This will open the table of all content filters that you have created (plus the system content filters) on the currently selected server or configuration set, detailing the following for each filter:

• Name - name of the content filter.
• System - if this is a system content filter (Yes) or a custom filter (No).
  
• In Use - if this filter is currently applied to any Views.
• Description - summary of the rules applied to this filter.

Please see the sections below for help and information on how to add, edit or delete content filters.

To see content filters from a specific View, and to apply a different content filter to that View:

1. Find the View you would like to look at either via the Explorer or the breadcrumbs.
2. Right click the desired View and click Edit View.
   
   
   
   
3. The Edit View form will slide in on the right of the browser. Click the Content Filter field. This field displays the currently selected content filter applied to this View.
   
   
   
   
4. This will open the Content Filters form, which lists the available content filters for that View, and the currently selected content filter (which is highlighted). Simply click another content filter to apply it to the View instead of the currently selected one. You can see the rules of a content filter by clicking on its > icon. In the below example, we can see that the current content filter for this View is 'Test filter'.
   
   
   
   

To create a new content filter:

You can create a new content filter under the Content Filter tab of the View Management page, or via a View itself.

1. Navigate to one of the following:
   • View Management page > Content Filters tab > select the server or configuration set on which you wish to create the content filter > Create Content Filter.
     
     
     
     
   • View > Edit View > Content Filters form > Create Content Filter.
     
     
     
     
2. The New Content Filter form will open.
   
   
   
   
3. Enter a name for the content filter in the Name field.
4. Under the Rules field, click + to create a new rule for the content filter. This will open the New Content Rule form. The fields on this form will depend on the Source for the content rule that you select in the dropdown field:
   
   • Application
   • Device
   • Port
   • Service
   • VLAN

Application or Device content rule:

These have the same fields available.

1. Specify the Device Type of the parent device from the dropdown field.
2. Specify the Device Name of the deice that you want to include in the rule.
3. Specify the device's location in the Location field.
4. Specify a description of the device in the System Description field.
5. Specify the administrator-assigned name of the device in the System Name field.
6. Enter the starting and ending IPv4 addresses in the From and To fields respectively.
7. Specify if you want to only consider the device's management IP address by turning on the Management IP Only switch. If switched off, all IPs on the device will be considered.

Port content rule:

The Port source type has the same fields as Application and Device above, plus a Port Criteria section as detailed below:

1. Specify a Port Name, or leave it blank (equivalent to 'all'). This field supports filtering using regular expressions.
2. Specify the Port Type from the dropdown field, selecting from All, Other, Router, Server link, Trunk, or Uplink.
3. Specify the IF Type from the dropdown field, selecting from All, ATM Logical, Ethernet 100BaseT, Ethernet(6), Ethernet(7), FDDI, Frame Relay, Gigabit Ethernet, HSSI, ISO Token Ring, PPP, Prop. Serial, or SDLC.
4. Specify the Duplex from the dropdown field, selecting from All, Auto, Full, Half, or Unknown.
5. Specify the Speed from the dropdown field, selecting from Any, Less Than, Equals, or More Than. If you select an option that is not Any, a Speed Value (bps) field will appear below where you can enter the comparitive value.

Service or VLAN content rule:

If you select either a service or a VLAN as the source of the rule, there are no further fields to complete.

• Service permits into the View all services that are defined on that server. When not specifed, Entuity restricts the services in a View to those explicitly added to that View.
  
  
  
  
• VLAN permits into the View objects and events related to VLANs.
  
  

Once you have defined the new content filter rule, click Done to save and return to the New Content Filter form. Add as many rules as you wish, and then click Done to save the new content filter.

To edit a content filter:

Note, Entuity provides default system filters that cannot be edited or deleted.

You can edit a content filter from either the View Management page, or from the Content Filters form of a View.

1. Navigate to one of the following:
   • View Management page > Content Filters tab > select the content filter to edit > Edit Content Filter.
   • View > Edit View > Content Filter field > select the content filter to edit.
2. The Edit Content Filter form will open, which contains the same fields as when creating a new content filter (see above). Once you have added, edited or deleted a content rule(s), click Done to return to the Edit Content Filter form.
3. Click Done in the top right to return to the View Management page/Content Filters form, otherwise click Cancel.

To delete a content filter:

Note, Entuity provides default system filters that cannot be edited or deleted.

You can delete a content filter from either the View Management page, or from the Content Filters form of a View.

• View Management page > Content Filters tab > select the content filter to delete > Delete Content Filter.
• View > Edit View > Content Filters field > select the content filter to delete > Delete Content Filter.

Note, you cannot delete a content filter that is currently applied to a View. You must first edit the View so that it is not using the specified content filter, and then you will be able to delete the content filter.

RESTful API:

Please see the following for help and information on managing content filters via Entuity RESTful API:

• List content filters and information thereof.
• Return details of, modify, or delete a specified content filter.
• List, add, or modify the content filters in a config set.