5.18.4 Customizing Map Client

• Overview

• Customizing Map Layouts

• Writing Custom Layouts

• Integrating Custom Layouts with Web NMS

• Example Layouts

• Customizing Map Renderers

• Writing Custom renderers

• Integrating Custom Renderers with Web NMS

• Example Renderers

• Enabling Alert based Map Symbol Flash

• Customizing Map Toolbar

• Adding Custom Toolbar Buttons and Actions

• RI on Adding Custom Toolbar Button/Action

• Extending MapApplet for Customizing Map View

• Connect Map - RI on Extending MapApplet

• Developer Tips

Overview

Applications built on Web NMS undergo radical changes on the client side in the Rebranding phase of the customization cycle. Map client serves as the window to the entire networking environment and hence it gets customized to the maximum extent. Either the appearance of the maps is altered for aesthetics or the map view itself is altered.

Altering the appearance is relatively simpler and it is achieved by means of custom layouts, custom renderers, custom images, and custom toolbars. Altering the map view requires providing some additional features on the map view, by means of writing an ExtendedMapApplet. An example for altering the map view is using flashing symbols on the map, which are not available by default.

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Customizing Map Layouts

Apart from the layouts provided by Web NMS, you can have additional layouts by writing your own custom layout class. The three basic rules your custom layout should adhere to are:

1. Get the total number of symbols.

2. Find the position and dimension of different symbols based on the orientation requirement.

3. Assign these calculated values of position and dimension to the symbols.

Writing Custom Layout

You should write a class implementing the com.adventnet.nms.mapui.AutoLayout interface to create a custom layout. Source code of the layouts provided by Web NMS is available in <Web NMS>/default_impl/map_layouts directory. If you wish to do some minor modifications alone to any of the existing layouts, you can extend them and incorporate the desired change.

Integrating Custom Layout with Web NMS

Follow the steps given below to integrate your custom layout with Web NMS :

• Set classpath as <Web NMS Home >/classes/NmsClientClasses.jar for file compilation.

• Compile the layout java file.

• Update the NmsClientClasses.jar file , which is available at <Web NMS Home>/classes directory, with your layout class using the command jar -uvf NmsClientClasses.jar com

• edit the clientparameters.conf file and add your map layout class in the MAP_LAYOUT_CLASSES attribute.

Example Map Layouts

A few example layouts bundled with the product are available under <Web NMS Home >/default_impl/map_layouts directory. Refer the README.html file for a brief description on these layouts.

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Customizing Map Renderers

You can have renderers that paint your maps in the manner you desire. Web NMS provides few renderers for symbol rendering and link rendering. You can have additional renderers by writing custom renderer class. The most important thing that you need to keep in mind while writing custom renderer is that

• Any property of the map client component can be accessed and used in the renderer code and an appropriate graphical representation can be painted for the same.

Writing Custom Renderer

You should write a class implementing the com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MapSymbolRenderer interface or com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MapLinkRenderer interface. Source code of the renderers provided by Web NMS are available in <Web NMS Home >/default_impl/map_renderers directory. You can make use of these source files while writing your custom renderer. If you wish to have minor changes in any of these renderers, you can extend the same and incorporate only the desired change.

Integrating Custom Renderer with Web NMS

Follow the steps below to integrate the custom renderer with Web NMS :

• Set classpath as <Web NMS Home >/classes/NmsClientClasses.jar for file compilation

• Compile the layout java file.

• Update the NmsClientClasses.jar file , which is available at <Web NMS Home>/classes directory, with your custom renderer class using the command jar -uvf NmsClientClasses.jar com

Once you have done the above steps, you can specify the renderer name when you add maps. For example - if you are adding maps using map filters, then the code snippet for specifying the map renderers will be as shown below :

Code Snippet for Specifying Map Renderers in Filters
p.put("mapSymbolRenderer", "com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MapSymbolRendererImpl"); p.put("mapLinkRenderer", "com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MapLinkRendererImpl");

Example Map Renderers

A few example renderers bundled with the product are available under <Web NMS Home >/default_impl/map_renderers directory. Refer the README.html file for a brief description on these renderers.

Enabling Alert based Map Symbol Flash

Whenever a new alert is raised against a managed object,  the map symbol with the LED at the top left corner can be made to flash in the color code corresponding to the severity of the alert. e.g. when a critical alert is received, a red LED will flash indicating this alert on the map. This will help the administrators to identify that a new alert is raised for this MO and can take corrective action accordingly.

Map Symbols can be made to flash in the map view by configuring the "flash" and "mapSymbolRenderer" parameters of the map. On enabling flash, the map symbols will flash whenever there is status change.

Configuring in Map Filter

When adding the map using the MapFilter, the flash functionality in map can be configured by setting the following properties.

1. Set the "flash" property of the map to true.

2. Set the mapSymbolRenderer class name as "com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MapSymbolRendererImpl_4"

The flash count and the interval is by default set as 1000 (milliseconds) and 120. This can be modified by providing the parameter entry in the <Web NMS Home>/conf/clientparameters.conf file and assigning the required value.

Example:  

MAP_FLASH_COUNT="120"

MAP_FLASH_INTERVAL="1"

In the above case, the map symbol will flash for 120 times @ interval of 2 sec. i.e. it will flash for 2 mins when its status changes.

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Customizing Map Toolbar

A default toolbar is associated with all maps. If you wish to have a different toolbar for your map, then you need to do two things. :

• First - create a toolbar file, say mymaptoolbar.xml.

• Second - associate the toolbar file with the map.

To associate the toolbar with your map, you can rely on map filters or maps.conf, depending on how you add the map.

• If you are adding the map using a map filter, specify the "mapToolBar" as a (tree node) property and then specify the xml file (mymaptoolbar.xml) as the value.

• If you are adding the map using maps.conf file, specify the mymaptoolbar.xml against the property mapToolBar.

Adding New Toolbar Buttons and Actions

You can add new toolbar buttons and specify the action they have to perform on mouse click. The steps involved in adding a new toolbar button are :

• Create an entry for the button in the maptoolbar.xml file (or any toolbar.xml file where you want to add the button) for the new button

• Write an extended map applet class - write a listener which will do the action for that button - get instance of editable map and specify your listener in the addActionListener() method

RI on Adding New Toolbar Buttons and Actions

The two steps mentioned earlier for adding a custom toolbar button and action are followed in this reference implementation. In this RI, we have two parts - one is the modified maptoolbar.xml file and the other is the class that extends the MapApplet class. This RI adds a button by name "Select All" and it selects all the symbols in the map on execution.

Find below the entry in maptoolbar.xml, which adds a new button with name as Select All.

Sample Entry in the maptoolbar.xml
<TOOLBAR-BUTTON tooltip="Select All" action_command="Select All" enabledimage="../images/select.png" disabledimage="../images/select.png" />

The following are the code snippets of MyExtendedMapApplet class, which extends the MapApplet. Here in this class, we have got the instance of the editable map and specified the listener (MyListener) in the addActionListener() method.

Code Snippet of MyExtendedMapApplet class

public class MyExtendedMapApplet extends MapApplet { public void constructUI(EditableMap emap) { emap.addActionListener(new MyListener()); super.constructUI(emap); } public class MyListener implements ActionListener { public MyListener() { } public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) { String actionComm=ae.getActionCommand(); if(actionComm.equals("Select All")) { String mapName=NmsUiAPI.getCurrentNodeId(); MapClientAPI mapclientapi = MapClientAPI.getInstance(); DefaultMapModel defaultmapmodel = mapclientapi.getMapModel(mapName); java.util.Vector vector = defaultmapmodel.getSymbols(); defaultmapmodel.setSelectedSymbols(vector); } } } }

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Extending MapApplet for Map Client Customization

Many a time you will be extending the MapApplet class for customizing map client. This class is a container for the map view. It provides the map view with the facilities provided by the client framework such as menus. You need to follow the steps given below while extending the MapApplet :

1. Write a class extending the MapApplet class - ensure that the key() method is not overridden

2. Update the NmsPanels.conf file with the entry for custom class.

By default, the NmsPanels.conf file will have the entry as shown below :

< className="com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MapApplet" PANEL-KEY="MapApplet"/> Change this as

< className="com.adventnet.nms.mapui.MyExtendedMapApplet" PANEL-KEY="MapApplet" />

ConnectMap - RI on ExtendedMapApplet

This is an example class that extends the MapApplet. It records the source and destination symbols on mouse clicks and connects them with a Map Link. The connection is triggered by a hot key "ALT". If you run this example, you will be able to connect two symbols on a map by just clicking on the source symbol and the destination symbol with your ALT key pressed down.

The flow of actions when you click on a source symbol and destination symbol with your ALT key pressed down are

• Records the map symbol when the mouse is clicked first on the map.

• Class checks whether the ALT key is pressed down when the symbol is clicked.

• If "Yes", it paints a line when the mouse is dragged. If "No", does nothing.

• Records the map symbol when the mouse is clicked next.

• Does a model.addLink() between the source and destination points.

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