2.3.5 DSR Dashboard

This GUI display is an operational tool allowing customers to easily identify the potential for or existence of a DSR Node or Diameter Network outage. This dashboard is accessible via the SOAM or NOAM GUI and provides the following high-level capabilities:

  • Centralized view: Allows operators to view a high level summary of key operational metrics.
  • Identifies potential operational issues: Assists operators in identifying problems through visual enhancements such as colorization and highlighting.
  • Centralized Launch-Point: Allows operators to drill-down to the next level of status information to assist in pinpointing the source of a potential problem.

Figure 2-4 DSR Dashboard on the NOAM


DSR Dashboard on the NOAM

The Dashboard is comprised of the following concepts and components:

Dashboard Metrics:

  • Metrics are the core component of the DSR Dashboard. The operator can determine which Metrics can be viewed on their Dashboard display through configuration.
  • Server metrics are maintained by each MP. Per-Server metric values are periodically pushed to their local SOAM which can be displayed on the SOAM Dashboard display.
  • “Server Type” metrics allow the operator see to a roll-up of Server metrics by Server type. The formula for calculating a Server Type metric value is identical to that for calculating the per-NE metric for that metric.
  • Network Element (NE) metrics are derived from per-server metrics. A “Network Element” is the set of servers managed by a SOAM. The formula for calculating a per-NE metric value is metric-specific although, in general, most NE metrics are the sum of the per-Server metrics.
  • Per Network metrics are derived from per-NE summary metrics. A “Network” is the set of DSR NEs managed by a NOAM. The formula for calculating a Network metric value is identical to that for calculating the per-NE metric for that metric.

Metric Groups:

  • A Metric Group allows the operator to physically group Metrics onto the Dashboard display and for creating an aggregation status for a group of metrics.
  • The “status” of a Metric Group is the worst-case status of the metrics within that group.

Server Type:

  • A Server Type physically groups Metrics associated with a particular type of Server (e.g., DA-MP) onto the Dashboard display and for creating summary metrics for Servers of a similar type.
  • The following Server Types are supported: DA-MP, SS7-MP, IPFE, SBR, cSBR, SOAM.

Network Element (NE):

  • A “Network Element” is a set of Servers which are managed by a SOAM.
  • The set of servers which are managed by a SOAM is determined through standard NOAM configuration and cannot be modified via Dashboard configuration.
  • A NOAM can manage up to 32 NEs.

Dashboard Network Element (NE):

  • A “Dashboard Network Element” is a logical representation of a Network Element which can be assigned a set of Metrics, NE Metric Thresholds and Server Metric Thresholds via configuration that defines the content and thresholds of a SOAM Dashboard display.
  • Up to 32 Dashboard NEs are supported.

Dashboard Network:

  • A “Dashboard Network” is a set of Dashboard Network Elements, Metrics and associated Network Metric Thresholds that is created by configuration that defines the content and thresholds of a NOAM Dashboard display.
  • The set of Dashboard Network Elements assigned to a Dashboard Network is determined from configuration.
  • One Dashboard Network is supported.

Visualization Enhancements:

  • Visualization enhancements such as coloring are used on the Dashboard to attract the operator’s attention to a potential problem.
  • Visualization enhancements are enabled through metric thresholds.
  • Visualization enhancements can be applied independently to Server Type, NE and Network summary metrics and Server metrics.
  • Visualization enhancements are applied to Dashboard row and columns headers to ensure that any metric value which has exceeded a threshold but cannot be physically viewed on a single physical monitor is not totally hidden from the operator’s view.

Metric Thresholds:

  • Metric thresholds allow the operator to enable visualization enhancements on the Dashboard.
  • Up to three separate threshold values (e.g., thresh-1, thresh-2, thresh-3) can be assigned to each metric.
  • Dashboard Network summary, Dashboard NE summary and Server metric thresholds are supported.
  • Dashboard Network summary and Dashboard NE summary metric threshold values can be assigned by the operator.
  • Metric thresholds are used for Dashboard visualization enhancements.
  • Most (but not necessarily all) metrics have thresholds.
  • Whether a Metric can be assigned thresholds is determined from configuration.

Dashboard GUI Display:

  • The Dashboard GUI display allows an operator to view a set of metric values used for monitoring the status of a Network or NE.
  • The NOAM Dashboard allows the operator to view both Network summary and NE summary metrics.
  • The SOAM Dashboard allows the operator to view the NE’s summary metrics, its per-Server Type summary metrics and its per-Server metrics.
  • Metric values are displayed as text.
  • Sets of Metrics associated with network components are displayed vertically on the Dashboard in network hierarchical order. For example, on the NOAM Dashboard, Network metrics are displayed first followed by per-NE metrics.
  • Each column on the Dashboard contains the set of values for a particular Metric.
  • The operator can control which metrics are displayed on the Dashboard via configuration.
  • The order that Metric Groups are displayed on the Dashboard is determined from configuration.
  • The order that Metrics are displayed within a Metric Group on the Dashboard display is determined from configuration.
  • Metrics selected for display on the Dashboard via configuration are hidden/viewed via a Dashboard GUI control based on “threshold level” filters (for example, only display metrics having at least one value exceeding its threshold-3 value).

Drill-down via hyperlinks:

  • A Dashboard provides high level metrics providing an overall view of the health of one or more Network Elements of the customer’s network.
  • When a visual enhancement on the Dashboard is enabled when a user-defined threshold is exceeded, the operator may want to investigate the potential problem by inspection of additional information.
  • The Dashboard facilitates operator trouble-shooting via context-sensitive hyperlinks on the Dashboard to assist in viewing more detailed information via existing DSR status and maintenance screens.
  • The linkage between content on the Dashboard to DSR status and maintenance screens is determined from configuration.