12.4.7  Configuring the Client Tree

• Introduction

• Configuration Files

• Configuring defaultDMSView.xml

• Configuring clientparameters.conf

Introduction

In a distributed environment, where remote management is the main function performed, the client UI serves as a powerful tool in controlling all the managed objects in a single place, through a single interface. The Client UI contains a tree in the left-side panel and a display area in the right-side panel. These features have been retained from the Web NMS framework and Distributed Mediation Server setup does not alter the basic behavior or options. For information on the general options, please refer to General Features.

The client views of the Distributed Mediation Servers registered with the Central Server are segmented DMS-wise for easy management. Some Distributed Mediation Servers may be required to display only the fault in the network(s) they monitor, while some may be required to monitor only performance. It is therefore not necessary to clutter the views in the user interface with the information that is not required or if it is of less importance. The Web NMS Remote Management Edition provides an option to configure the client tree for effective display of views specific to the Distributed Mediation Server.

Configuration Files

The configuration files that impact the tree structure with respect to the Distributed Mediation Server views are

• defaultDMSViews.xml present in <Central Home>/dms/conf directory: Adding or removing the tree nodes for the DMS is achieved by making the required configuration changes in this file.

• clientparameters.conf present in the <Central Home>/conf/clientparameters.conf directory: Setting the DMS node as the root node is achieved by making the required configuration changes in this file.

Configuring defaultDMSViews.xml

In order to uniquely identify the distribution-specific nodes in this configuration file, the parameter values are prefixed with the string DEFAULTDMS_. At the time of tree node addition the Distributed Mediation Server name is used to replace the string DEFAULTDMS_ so that the nodes are unique and identified with the correct Distributed Mediation Server. The node corresponding to the Distributed Mediation Server has PANEL-KEY, ID and TREE-NAME values set to DEFAULTDMS, by default, and replaced by the Distributed Mediation Server name on addition. The sub-node parameters for which the values are appended with the string DEFAULTDMS are PANEL-KEY, ID and PARENT-ID.

To add a custom view, then the parameter VIEW-CRITERIA should contain the appropriate value. In Distributed Mediation Server setup, this parameter is left blank.

The configuration changes can be made at runtime. That is, when the Central Server is running, you can make the required configuration changes for the registered Distributed Mediation Servers before the DMS startup.

How It Works?

When a Distributed Mediation Server registers at runtime, notification is sent to the framework with details about the Distributed Mediation Server. The defaultDMSView.xml file present in <Central Home>/dms/conf is read to obtain the distribution-specific nodes to be used for adding the corresponding node to the Client tree. The node that is added to the Client tree for a Distributed Mediation Server will be identified by the Distributed Mediation Server name. The standard set of sub-nodes under this node will be in the following format:

<DMS node>

|----------------Fault

|                   |---------Events

|                   |---------Alarms

|----------------Performance

|                   |----------Configured Collections (Only in Java Client)

|                   |----------Reports (Only in Web Client)

|----------------Network Database

|                   |-----------Networks

|                   |-----------Nodes

|                   |-----------Switches

|                   |-----------Interfaces

|                   |-----------Routers

If a new sub-node is required, then the appropriate parameters are added under the LEVEL tag pair in this configuration file. A sample LEVEL node tag format for the node Fault and the sub-node Events will be as follows :

The values in bold indicate the unique parameter values in the distribution-specific node format. In these values, the  DEFAULTDMS_ string will be replaced by the Distributed Mediation Server name that is being added. Therefore, when a customized sub-node is required, these parameter values should begin with the string DEFAULTDMS_ as this will uniquely identify the sub-node.

Configuring clientparameters.conf

When a Distributed Mediation Server is added at runtime, a new node with a standard set of sub-nodes is added to the client tree. When a large number of Distributed Mediation Servers are added during runtime, the client tree may get cluttered. To avoid this cluttering, an toolbar icon  has been provided using which you can make the currently selected Distributed Mediation Server node or a sub-node as the root node of the tree. This adjust tree node feature is controlled by the following two parameters present in the <Central Home>/conf/clientparameters.conf:

• ADJUST_ROOT_NODE: This parameter is used to enable or disable the adjust tree node feature. By default, this feature is set to 'false'. To enable this feature, set this parameter to "true".

• ADJUSTABLE_LEVEL: This parameter controls the level up to which a node in that level can be made a root node.  By default, the value is 3, assuming the root node is at level 1. This means the nodes in sub-level one, two and three can be made the root node.

When the adjust tree node feature is enabled, if you click on a node, first the level of the node is determined. If the level is equal to or below the ADJUSTABLE_LEVEL parameter value, the node is made the root node of the tree. To navigate back to the previous level, use the icon in the toolbar. This option enables you to go back to the level of the immediate parent node or other parent nodes. Two types of actions are possible with this option: you can go back one level by clicking this button or you can click on the down arrow  in the button to see the list of nodes above the current node. Using the down arrow, you can choose the node to traverse.

The adjust tree node feature has been explained with an example in the following screen shots:

1. Initial client tree when two Distributed Mediation Servers, Gopal and LinDMS, have been added.

2. When the LinDMS node is clicked, it is made the root node and the resulting tree will be as follows:

3. The icon helps you navigate to the parent node, and  the  button provides a list of nodes, one of which can be made a root node.]