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Edit a chart with the Metric Explorer

The Metric Explorer is a tool for creating and editing charts, which lets you construct dynamic visualizations of device and network behavior.

Create and edit a basic chart

With the Metric Explorer, you can edit chart components, such as sources, metrics, and data calculations, and then preview how metric data appears in different chart types. When you are satisfied with your selections, save your chart to a dashboard.

The following steps show you the basic workflow and minimum requirements for completing a new chart.

  1. Click Add Source and then select a source.
    • You can select a static source for the chart by typing the name of an application, device, or network.
    • You can also select a dynamic source that can be dynamically modified by dashboard viewers by typing $ and selecting a variable from the Source Type Variable list. For more information about source type variables and dashboard templates, see Create a dashboard with dynamic sources.
  2. Select the source from the list of results.
  3. In the Metrics field, type a protocol and metric name. Then select the metric from the list of results, as shown in the following figure.
  4. Select a chart from the bottom of the Metric Explorer, as shown in the following figure.
  5. (Optional): Click the drop-down link below the metric name to display a count or rate or percentile.
  6. Complete one of the following steps:
    • Click Save when creating or editing a chart from a dashboard. Your dashboard is updated with your basic chart.
    • Click Add to Dashboard when creating or editing a chart from a protocol page. Then select an existing dashboard from the list, or select Create Dashboard.

Configure advanced options for data analysis and chart customization

Depending on the metrics and chart type you select, you can configure advanced options for creating sophisticated visualizations with the Metric Explorer, as shown in the following figure.

Drill down on metric data and sources to display details

In the Details section from the Metrics tab, you can drill down to display detail metrics or drill down on a device group to display individual devices within the chart. You can also filter detail metrics for exact matches, or create a regex filter.

Add a baseline or threshold line from the Analysis tab

You add a dynamic baseline or static threshold line to your chart. Baselines are calculated after the chart is saved. To see a line that represents a threshold, such as an service level agreement (SLA) value, add a static threshold line to your chart.

Rename legend labels and the chart title

For charts that display a legend, you can change a metric name in the chart legend with a custom label. In the Metric Explorer, click the label in the preview pane then select Rename. To rename a chart, click the chart title and select Rename.

Customize your chart from the Options tab

You can access the following options for customizing chart properties and the display of metric data in your chart:
  • Convert metric data from bytes to bits
  • Convert metric data from base 2 (Ki=1024) to base 10 (K = 1000)
  • Change the y-axis in a time-series chart from linear to log scale
  • Abbreviate metric values in a chart (for example, abbreviate 16,130,542 bytes to 16.1 MB)
  • Sort metric data in ascending or descending order in a bar, list, or value chart
  • Change the percentile precision in a pie chart
  • Hide or display a chart legend
  • Hide inactive metrics with a zero value so that these metrics are not visible in the chart, including the legend and label
  • Include sparkline in a list or value chart
  • Show the alert status for data displayed in list or value charts (for more information, see Alerts)
  • Switch the color display for metric data to grayscale (with exception to charts that display an alert status)
  • For IP address labels, display the hostname (if detected from DNS traffic in wire data) or origin IP address (if a proxy is detected from wire data)
  • Show the relative time for an expiration date, such as the number of days until an SSL certificate expires.
Note:Some options are only available for specific chart types. For example, the option to include a sparkline only appears in the Options tab for list and value charts.

Create an ad hoc group to combine data from multiple sources

From the Metric tab, you can create an ad hoc group of multiple sources within a set by selecting Combine Sources. For example, you can combine two applications and then view a single metric value in the chart for both of these applications.

Next steps

Practice building charts by completing the following walkthroughs:
Published 2020-12-02 21:01