Tools on Graphs and Widgets

Graph widgets, such as the Application Chart, Computer Chart, AutoSteps Chart and Latency Chart widgets, have a toolbar with tools that change how the data on the graph is shown. Not all tools are available on all widgets.

Split by server or process

The Application Chart widget by default shows one graph per application. However, one application may run on several different servers, so it can be useful to see if all of those servers perform equally well.

To see this, click the widget’s Split by icon , and then select one of these options:

• Server: one graph per server that runs the application.
• Process: one graph per process that uses the application.
• None: one graph per application. This is the default.

For web activities, splitting shows one graph per web activity element that PerformanceGuard measures.

Important

Example: If your administrator has set up PerformanceGuard to measure each image on a web page, you will see a graph for each image if you split the graph.

Connect points

By default, the graph connects the points automatically (Automatically connect points) . If you don’t want this, you can select Connect all points or Disconnect all points .

Resolution

To sort the large data-sets and view them more clearly in the graph, click the widget’s Resolution icon .

You can use resolution when you have a large number of individual graphic elements that you can not distinguish between them. It is very similar to the idea of putting data into categories / class as it divides the data values into a set of disjoint intervals called Bins. It will allow you to group individual data values into one instance of graphic element.

Caution

You can select Auto, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 1 week or 1 month.

Important

Example: You can see a significant difference in display of data values from 04:00 to 08:00 when resolution is selected at the intervals of 30 min, 1 hour and 4 hours allowing you to visualize data in ways that are meaningful.

The data values which fall in to those selected respective intervals, a bin, are replaced by a value representative of that interval. The data outside of the [start, end] range is discarded and thus will not be displayed on the graph.

Toggle Minimum and Maximum Values Off and On

The widget by default shows average, minimum and maximum values. To toggle the minimum and maximum values off and on, click the widget’s Show minimum-maximum / Hide minimum-maximum icon .

When you view minimum and maximum values, you can reveal otherwise hidden peaks in resource usage. The difference can be dramatic. Look at this example: When we view average values, the highest average value is 18, but when we view the minimum and maximum values, the maximum value for the same period turns out to be 79.

Important

How can the maximum value be much higher than the average? PerformanceGuard has typically sampled data many times between the data points in the graph. The maximum value is the highest value that PerformanceGuard has recorded when it sampled data in the interval between the points on the graph, but the maximum value may not have occurred very often, and therefore it may not contribute very much to the average value. The same principle applies to minimum values.

Adjust Vertical Axis (Y-Axis)

To adjust the vertical axis of a graph, click the widget’s Adjust y-axis icon . If the graph has multiple vertical axes, you can adjust each axis separately. Click Reset all to return to the default axes.

Caution

When you adjust an axis, bear in mind that you won’t be able to see data points that are outside the range that you specify.

Statistics

When you view the graph, you can also see a Statistics table by clicking Statistics . Click Graph to return to the graph. Statistics icon will not be visible if there is no data available.

Caution

Note that the Statistics table shows the weighted average for the graph’s samples. That means that each value to be averaged is assigned a weight based on the number of occurrences of that value.

Zoom

To zoom in, click and drag across the required area of the timeline. When you have zoomed in, the toolbar shows the zoomed period. Use the arrows next to the period to move back and forth in time, and click Zoom out to return to the full period.

Thresholds

Display of thresholds is by default on. When you view a graph, you can toggle threshold display off by selecting Hide threshold. This can be useful, for example if you think that a threshold blocks your view of the graph’s data points.

Tip

If no event threshold is available, the toggle button will be inactive or hidden.

Manage Thresholds and Events are only relevant for certain types of data e.g. Response time (ms). For such data, a threshold i.e. a baseline that the displayed values must ideally be below — can be displayed as a red horizontal line in the graph when:

• Your PerformanceGuard administrator has predefined such thresholds i.e. select Administration → Event management → Event rules (or create a new event rule).
• You have selected location, one server group and one agent group. You can also create new location from Administration → Computer grouping → Locations.

Tip

In order to have thresholds displayed on the graph, both the above mentioned conditions must be applied i.e. an event rule must be created with a selection of a matching set of parameters.

An event is a threshold violation on an individual computer or server e.g. a response time that isn’t acceptable. The event rules define the nature of the triggered event, and the parameters for capturing event-related information in an application. These events are categorized by Severity Levels.

After creating an event rule you can view these threshold lines on the graph. They work as an indicator on the graph providing you with target context and allowing you to identify application when the response time becomes higher or lower than the threshold’s set level. On the graph each threshold has a name with its location, so it is easy for you to see what the threshold is about.

Important

Example: In this example administrator has set the Lower Threshold as 20.0 ms for the DNS application for the IP Service - Response Time event. You can see in the following image where Response Time for DNS application has exceeded the limit than the level set in event rule. This threshold indication is concerning and alarming for the administrator / user.

Caution

When you select different locations or computers on your widget - threshold display might not be available, depending on how the thresholds have been defined i.e. which locations were selected when the event rules were created by the administrator.

Important

Why do I see more than one threshold on a graph?

This is because your PerformanceGuard administrator is able to set up multiple thresholds for the same type of data. This can be useful in order to indicate different levels of severity, for example if values above 80 are acceptable for short periods of time, whereas values above 90 require immediate attention.

Threshold becomes invisible if you click all the legends to make the series hidden i.e. it will stay visible if there is even one legend visible. If a graph has thresholds, the thresholds will also appear if you use the graph in a report, except when they’re hidden.

You can also enable Adaptive Baselining on this widget, read more about Adaptive Baselining.

Widgets supporting threshold functionality

The following are the widgets that support threshold functionality:

Application Chart Widget

A threshold for the metric Response Times can be set in Event Management using the Event Rule ‘IP Service - Response Time’

Computer Chart Widget

A threshold for the metric Response Times can be set in Event Management using the Event Rules:

• CPU Usage (%) = Computer - Machine Resource Usage
• Memory Usage = Computer - Machine Resource Usage
• Context Switches /s = Computer - Machine Resource Usage

Autosteps Chart Widget

A threshold for the metric Response Times can be set using the Event Rule “Business Transaction - Response Time”.

Export to Excel

Many widgets, including graph widgets, tables and lists such as the Event HotSpot Widget, have an Export to Excel button . Click it to download the widget’s data as an Excel file (.xlsx).

Exporting data is useful when you want to analyze the data more closely, in other ways, or share it with others.