Custom widget value different than the standard widget
Article ID: 60445
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Why is the value of a custom widget different than the standard widget based on the metric?
Environment
CA Business Service Insight 8.3.5.x and 9.0
Resolution
Background
The first thing to understand when working with the dashboard is knowing what you want to display. Once you clearly determine what you want to see in the dashboard, then you can decide the best way to display it. Not all graphic widgets are valid for all metric types. Once you have planned the widgets types you want to make use of, then you can start creating your dash views.
Custom Widgets should mainly be used when you are interested in the combined results of several metrics in some fashion. There are three (3) separate methods you can use to determine how you want to combine the results of several metrics. The key behind understanding how these methods will combine results will help you create a usable custom widget. All custom widgets use a form of "Roll-Up Calculation Method" which does not use the actual values of the metrics, but rather the value of the results (red, yellow or green) based on the metrics defined threshold values. So, all calculations from this type of widget will be based on the status (red, yellow or green) of the individual metrics and not the actual value.
The Dashboard uses roll-up methods to calculate severities of higher level entities in the hierarchy. These roll-up methods are customizable to allow reflecting of important concerns and better control the influence of each of the components in the overall picture.
The available roll-up methods are:
- Count - In this method, if more than X percent (default is 33 percent) of the children entities are red, the parent entity is red. If more than Y percent (default is 33 percent) of the children entities are yellow, the parent entity is yellow. Otherwise, the parent entity is green.
If the roll-up calculation ends up with more than one result, the worse severity is taken (e.g. prefer red over yellow).
The X and Y parameters are configurable under Administration -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Dashboard -> Custom count rollup - Average - In this method, each severity is assigned a representative score: Red=X, Yellow=Y and Green=Z (default values are X=50, Y=75 and Z=100). The parent score is the average of its children scores. The parent color is determined by matching its score with the thresholds.
The X, Y and Z parameters are configurable under Administration -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Dashboard -> Average Score rollup - Worst case - In this method, if one or more children entities is red, the parent entity is red. If one or more children entities is yellow, the parent entity is yellow. Otherwise, the parent entity is green.
Another difference you will notice in the custom widget from standard widgets is the colors associated with the thresholds may appear to be reversed. This is because values in custom widgets are determined by adding a set numerical value determined from the severity of the metric rather than the actual output from the metric.
A couple examples for each method.
Assume the following for a Count:
Metric 1 deviation = 55 (Display =Yellow)
Metric 1 thresholds are 50 and 60
Metric 2 deviation = 21 (Display =Red)
Metric 2 threshholds are 10 and 20
Metric 3 deviation = 69 (Display =Green)
Metric 3 threshholds are 75 and 85
Metric 4 deviation = 92 (Display =Yellow)
Metric 4 threshholds are 90 and 95
Metric 5 deviation = 93 (Display =Yellow)
Metric 5 threshholds are 90 and 95
Metric 6 deviation = 19 (Display =Yellow)
Metric 6 threshholds are 10 and 20
Custom Widget threshold is 33%
With these values we have
Green = 16.6 % Yellow = 66.6% Red = 16.6 %
So the color of the widget would be yellow.
If Metric 5 was to slip into Red then the distribution would be:
Green = 16.6 % Yellow = 50% Red = 33.3 %
This would cause the widget to turn Red even though Yellow has a higher percentage. This is because both yellow and red are above the 33% threshold and BSI will caution to the worst case instead of the highest value.
Assume the following for an Average:
Metric 1 deviation = 55 (Display =Yellow)
Metric 1 thresholds are 50 and 60
Metric 2 deviation = 21 (Display =Red)
Metric 2 thresholds are 10 and 20
Custom Widget thresholds are 50 (red), 75 (yellow) and 100(green)
If you only added Metric 1 to the custom widget, the value displayed on the custom widget would be 75 and the color would be Yellow.
If you only added Metric 2 to the custom widget, the value displayed on the custom widget would be 50 and the color would be Red.
If you added both metrics to the custom widget, the value displayed on the custom widget would be 62.5 and the color would be Yellow.
To give a little more flexibility to this type of widget you can alter the importance of each metric to give more or less weight to the percentage. Changing the weights will change the value of the custom widget only and will not affect the existing metric thresholds nor any other widgets displayed elsewhere.
Assume the following for a Worst Case:
Metric 1 deviation = 55 (Display =Yellow)
Metric 1 thresholds are 50 and 60
Metric 2 deviation = 21 (Display =Red)
Metric 2 threshholds are 10 and 20
Metric 3 deviation = 69 (Display =Green)
Metric 3 threshholds are 75 and 85
The widget display would simply be Red because the worst case status of the children is always chosen.
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