NetQ User Interface Overview
The NetQ 2.0 graphical user interface (UI) enables you to access NetQ telemetry capabilities through a web browser as opposed to through a terminal window using the Command Line Interface (CLI). Visual representations of the health of the network, network topology, and system events make it easy to both find faults and misconfigurations and to fix them.
The UI is supported on Google Chrome. Other popular browsers may be used, but have not been tested and may have some presentation issues.
Before you get started, you should refer to the release notes for this version.
Contents
Access the NetQ UI
Logging in to the NetQ UI is as easy as opening any web page.
To log in to the UI:
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Open a new Internet browser window or tab.
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Enter the following URL into the Address bar: /< netq_platform_ipaddress:port >/ netq/index.html
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Select your language of choice (English or Spanish) from the dropdown at the top of the window.
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Enter your username and then your password ( admin, CumulusNetQ! by default).
The default Cumulus Workbench opens, with your username showing in the upper right corner of the application.
To log out of the UI:
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Click the user icon at the top right of the application.
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Select Log Out.
Application Layout
The NetQ UI contains three main areas:
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Navigation History (1): Provides quick access to your recent actions.
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Application Header (2): Contains the main menu, search capabilities, quick health status chart, and user account information.
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Workbench (3): Contains a task bar, targeted content cards with status and configuration information about your network and its various components, and the software version.
Main Menu
Found in the application header, click
to open the main menu which provides navigation to:
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Favorites: contains list of links to workbenches that you have designated as favorites; Home is listed by default
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NetQ: contains list of links to all workbenches in the application
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Network: contains list of links to tabular data about various network elements
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Admin: contains link to user documentation
The content of the NetQ and Favorites lists change as you create and favorite workbenches.
Quick Network Health View
Found in the header, the graph and performance rating provide a view into the health of your network at a glance. The graph shows (all alarms/checks/?) and the performance rating is based upon the (xxx).
User Account Information
Your user account information is accessed by clicking the user icon in the top right of the header. This opens My Preferences Workbench where you can view your current profile and set application-level preferences, such as default language, time zone and date format, from here. As noted above, this is also where you log out from the NetQ UI.
To view or modify your account information:
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Click the user icon.
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Click Profile & Preferences.
Change Your Password
On the Basic Account Info card:
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Click Change Password.
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Enter your current password.
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Enter the new password you want to use.
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Re-enter the new password.
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Click Save to commit the change, or Cancel to discard it.
<insert image>
Choose How to Display Data
Based on where you reside and your visual preferences, you can specify how you want your data to display.
On the Display card:
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Choose a theme from the Theme dropdown list. The default is xxx .
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Choose your preferred language from the Language dropdown list. In this release, only American English is available, so language selection is disabled.
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Choose the time zone where you reside from the Time Zone dropdown list. The default is Pacific Standard Time.
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Choose a date format where dates are displayed from the Date dropdown list. The default is M/D/Y (month/day/year).
<Insert image>
Set Notification Receipt Preference
On the Application Behavior card, move the toggle to the right to receive system and user interface event notifications in the application. Move the toggle to the left to ignore, and thus not display, these notifications in the application.
<insert image>
Specify Your Home Workbench
You can specify your home workbench, the one you see when you open the application, from either the Application Behavior card or the Workbenches card.
To specify the home workbench using the Application Behavior card, select the workbench from the Home Workbench dropdown list.
<insert image>
To specify the home workbench using the Workbenches card, click to the left of the workbench name. <icon> is displayed next to the selected workbench.
<insert image>
Manage Your Workbenches
You can assign a workbench to be your home workbench (refer to previous section), you can remove a workbench that you no longer need, and you can indicate which cards to include on a workbench from the Workbenches card.
To sort your workbench listing, when you have a large number of workbenches for example, hover over the Workbench Name or Access headers, and click <icon> to reorder the list according to that selection.
<insert example>
To remove a workbench from your workspace, hover over the workbench name, and click Delete, then click Yes.
<insert image>
When you delete a workbench you remove it completely for ALL users.
To specify which cards are displayed on a given workbench, do this.
Manage Your Search History
You can view, sort and remove the last x searches you have performed on the Searches card. You can also identify a given search as a favorite so that it remains in the your saved searches.
To sort your search history, hover over any column header, and click <icon> to reorder the data according to your selection.
<insert image>
To identify a search as a favorite, click in the Favorite column of the given search row. <icon> is displayed in the Favorite column. Click <icon> to remove the search from saved searches.
<insert image>
To remove a specific search from your search history, hover over the search name, and click Delete, then click Yes.
<insert image>
To remove all searches from your search history, click Clear Search History, then click Yes .
Search
The Global Search field in the UI header enables you to search for devices by IP or MAC address or hostname, alarms by type/name, and workbenches by name .
Create a Search
As with most search fields, simply begin entering the criteria in the search field. As you type, items that match the search criteria are shown in the search history dropdown along with the last time the search was viewed. Wildcards are not allowed, but this predictive matching eliminates the need for them. By default, the most recent ( # ) of searches ( within a user session? ) are shown. If more have been performed, they can be accessed ( by scrolling down? selecting from the navigation panel? never–too bad for you? ). This may provide a quicker search by reducing entry specifics and suggesting recent searches. Selecting a suggested search from the list provides a preview of the search results to the right ( only if searched before? ).
Additional options are provided at the bottom of the matching searches:
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See All <#> Results: Shows a list of all matching searches.
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Favorite: Saves and adds the selected search to list of search favorites or saved searches? or shows previously saved favorite searches?
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Load: Select a previously saved search. Is the favorites list the same as the saved list? what is diff between favorite and share if so?
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Share: Share the current search with an individual or group of individuals .
To create a new search:
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Click in the Global Search field.
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Enter your search criteria.
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Click <search icon> to open a full-screen listing of matching devices, alarms, or workbenches .
Run a Recent Search
If you did not save a recent search, but want to rerun the search, you can check the navigation panel to see if it is in the actions list. If it is there, just click it to run the search. If it is no longer in the actions list:
-
Click in the Global Search field.
-
Begin entering your search criteria.
-
When the desired search appears in the suggested searches list, select it and click <icon>. You may need to click See All Results to find the desired search.
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Click <icon> to open a full-screen listing of matching devices , alarms, or workbenches .
Save a Search
You can save a search for later or repeat use. Doing so saves the search criteria, not the results. When a saved search is run, all matching items at that moment in time are provided in the results. Because of the dynamic nature of the search, you always have the most current results, but they may be different for each run.
To save a search:
-
xxx
-
xxx
-
xxx
Run a Saved Search
Once you have saved a search, you can re-use the search whenever you like.
To run a saved search:
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Enter any character.
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Click Load option.
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Select search from popup listing.
Run a Favorite Search
For searches that you use on a regular basis, you can add the search to your favorites list.
To run a favorite search:
-
Click in the Global Search field.
-
Enter any character.
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Click Favorite option.
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Select search from popup listing.
To add a search to your favorites list, refer to Create a Search .
Workspaces
A workspace is comprised of a given set of workbenches and navigation items. Each user has one workspace. The workspace number??? , name, time, , and ( a refresh/sync option? ) are displayed on the left side of the application header. The time indicates when the last update ( or access? ) was made to the workspace. Clicking the <icon> ( does something ).
Workbenches
A workbench is comprised of a given set of cards. Each user may have one or more workbenches. A user might create a workbench that focuses on each category of tasks for which he is responsible. For example, a user could create a workbench focused on Switch Performance and a workbench focused on Inventory. A set of preconfigured default workbenches are available to get you started; however, they can can be modified to better suit your specific tasks.
(max number of cards on a workbench?)
Default Workbenches
The following default workbenches are provided with the UI:
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Home Workbench: Contains xxx
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Switch: Contains cards related to switch performance
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Inventory: Contains cards related to inventory management
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xxx
On initial login, the Home Workbench is opened. After that, to open a different workbench:
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Click <arrow icon> in the Workbench header.
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Select the desired workbench.
You can modify a workbench by adding or removing cards or card decks, as described in Add or Remove a Card .
Create Custom Workbench
When the default workbenches do not meet your needs, you can create custom workbenches. Modify existing? or is there a generic workbench with no cards to start with?
To create a custom workbench:
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Click <arrow icon> in the Workbench header.
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Select Generic Workbench.
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Add cards or card decks, as described in xxx .
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Save...
Cards
Cards present information about your network for monitoring and troubleshooting. This is where you can expect to spend most of your time. Each card describes a particular aspect of the network. Cards are available in multiple sizes, from small to full screen. The level of the content on a card varies in accordance with the size of the card, with the highest level of information on the smallest card to the most detailed information on the full-screen view. Cards are collected onto a workbench where you see all of the data relevant to a task or set of tasks. You can add and remove cards from a workbench, move between cards and card sizes, and make copies of cards to show different levels of data at the same time.
Card Sizes
The various sizes of cards enables you to view your content at just the right level. For each aspect that you are monitoring there is typically a single card, that presents increasing amounts of data over its four sizes. For example, a snapshot of your total inventory may be sufficient, but to monitor the distribution of hardware vendors may requires a bit more space.
Small Cards
Small cards are most effective at providing a quick view of the performance or statistical value of a given aspect of your network. They are commonly comprised of an icon to identify the aspect being monitored, summary performance or statistics in the form of a graph and/or counts, and often an indication of any related events. Other content items may be present. Some examples include a switch card, an inventory card, and a trace result card, as shown here:
<image> <image> <image>
Medium Cards
Medium cards are most effective at providing the key measurements for a given aspect of your network. They are commonly comprised of an icon to identify the aspect being monitored, one or more key measurements that make up the overall performance. Often additional information is also included, such as related events or components. Some examples include a switch card, an inventory card, and a trace result card, as shown here. Compare these with their related small- and large-sized cards.
<image> <image> <image>
Large Cards
Large cards are most effective at providing the detailed information for monitoring specific components or functions of a given aspect of your network. These can aid in isolating and resolving existing issues or preventing potential issues. They are commonly comprised of detailed statistics and graphics. Some large cards also have tabs for additional detail about a given statistic or other related information. Some examples include a switch card, an inventory card, and a trace result card, as shown here. Compare these with their related small- and medium-sized cards.
<image> <image> <image>
Full-Screen Cards
Full-screen cards are most effective for viewing all available data about an aspect of your network all in one place. When you cannot find what you need in the small, medium, or large cards, it is likely on the full-screen card. Most full-screen cards are comprised of data grid, or table; however, some contain visualizations. Some examples include All Switches card, All Inventory card, All Network Services card, as shown here. (maybe only show one here of each type?)
<image> <image> <image>
Data Grid Settings
You can manipulate the data in a data grid in several ways:
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Sort data by column: Hover over a column header and click <sort icon>
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Choose columns to display: Click <gear icon> at the top right of the card, and select which data you would like displayed
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Change order of columns: Click <gear icon> and xxx. (or drag and drop> can this even be done?)
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Anything else under settings?
Export Data
You can export tabular data to a ( csv? )-formatted file. ( always all of the data or can you select a portion of it either by selecting the rows or changing what is showing on screen (column settings)?, what is the max number of rows that can be exported at a time? )
To export the data:
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Click EXPORT.
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Enter a name for the file. (is a default name provided?)
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Enter the path to the directory where you want to store the file.
-
Click EXPORT.
Visual L4s: same options?
Card Size Summary
Card Size |
Small |
Medium |
Large |
Full Screen |
Primary Purpose |
|
|
|
|
Card Interactions
Every card contains a standard set of interactions, including the ability to switch between card sizes, change the time period of the presented data, and view labels associated with the card. Most cards also have additional actions that can be taken, in the form of links to other cards, scrolling, and so forth. The four sizes of cards for a particular aspect of the network are connected into a flow; however, you can have duplicate cards displayed at the different sizes. Cards with tabular data provide filtering, sorting, and export of data. The medium and large cards have descriptive text on the back of the cards.
To access the time period, label , card size, and additional actions, hover over the card. These options appear, covering the card header, enabling you to select the desired option. For medium and large size cards, a folded corner appears, enabling you to turn the card over to view a description of the card.
<image-small> <image-medium> <image-large>
Change the Time Period for the Card Data
All cards have a default time period for the data shown on the card, typically the last 24 hours. You can change the time period to view the data during a different time range to aid analysis of previous or existing issues.
To change the time period for a card:
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Hover over the card.
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Click (time picker icon).
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Select a time period from the dropdown list.
Changing the time period in this manner only changes the time period for the given card.
If you want all of the cards on your workbench to show data for the same time period, click (sync icon) in the workbench task bar.
View Labels Associated with this Card (not in 2.0?)
Labels are used to identify a common aspect of a device or software element. For example, labels can be used to create a virtual group of devices with a particular characteristic or component. Can be used in search?
Switch to a Different Card Size
You can switch between the different card sizes at any time. Only one size is visible at a time. To view the same card in different sizes, open a second copy of the card.
To change the card size:
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Hover over the card.
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Hover over the Card Size Picker, (insert icon here) and move the cursor to the right until the desired size option is highlighted.
Single width opens a small card. Double width opens a medium card. Triple width opens large cards. Full width opens full-screen cards. -
Click the picker.
In this example, we switched from a small card to a medium card.
<images>
Reposition a Card on Your Workbench
You can also move cards around on the workbench. Simply click and drag the card to the desired location. In this example we want to move a small card closer to other small cards.
<image-start> <image-end>
(on dev system, this is working kind of oddly. need to get rules for placement from Kleeen.)
Add or Remove a Card
You can add or remove cards from a workbench at any time.
To add a card:
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Click
.
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Select a card from the available list.
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If you select the Device | Switches card, a dialog opens for you to identify the switch.
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Select Switch from the Device Type dropdown list.
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Enter the switch hostname. As you type, the application suggests devices that match your entry to speed selection.
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Click Add to open the switch card or Cancel to discard the request.
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The card is placed at the end of the set of cards currently on the workbench. You might need to scroll down to see it. You can move it to another location as desired.
By default, the size of the card added to your workbench is as follows:
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Network Health: small
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Device | Switches: medium
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Inventory | Devices: small
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Inventory | Switches: medium
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Network Services: small
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Events | Alarms: medium
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Events | Info: small
To remove a card:
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Hover over the card you want to remove.
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Select the More Actions menu (icon)
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Click Remove.
The card is removed from the workbench, but not from the application.
Respond to Data Loading Errors
If for some reason the < netq ts? > is not responding and cannot load the requested data, an error is shown indicating such and asking you to try again.
<image examples>
Card Workflows
The UI provides a number of card workflows. Card workflows focus on a particular aspect of your network and are a linked set of each size card—a small card, a medium card, one or more large cards, and one or more full-screen cards. The following card workflows are available:
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Network Health: network-wide view of network health
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Device Inventory: information about all switches and hosts in the network
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Switch: information about a given switch
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Switch Inventory: information about the components on a given switch
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Alarm Events: information about all critical severity events in the system
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Info Events: information about all warning, info, and debug events in the system
Access a Card Workflow
You can access a card workflow in multiple ways:
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For workbenches available from the main menu, open the workbench that contains the card flow
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Open a prior search
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Add it to a workbench
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Search for it
To open the card workflow through a default workbench:
-
Click (main menu icon).
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Select the relevant workbench.
The workbench opens, hiding your previous workbench.
To open the card workflow from a prior search:
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Browse your search list in the navigation panel.
-
If it is still available, select the relevant card.
The card appears on the current workbench, at the bottom.
To access the card workflow by adding the card:
-
Click (add card icon).
-
Select the relevant card.
The card appears on the current workbench, at the bottom.
If you have multiple cards open on your workbench already, you might need to scroll down to see the card you have just added.
To access the card workflow by searching for the card:
-
Click in the Global Search field.
-
Enter the name of the card.
-
Press Enter.
The card appears on a current workbench ???
Card Decks
A card deck is a collection of related cards that can be added and removed from a workbench all at once. They are distinct from card workflows, which focus on a particular aspect of your network. A card deck pulls multiple cards with related information to aid the user in performing a broader task. It also simplifies the creation of new workbenches when a card deck is available. The following card decks are provided by default:
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Inventory: includes the medium Inventory | Switch card
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Events: includes the medium Events | Alarms card and the small Events | Info card
Basic Terminology and Acronyms
The following table covers some basic terms used throughout the NetQ user documentation.
Term |
Definition |
Agent |
NetQ software that resides on a host server that provides metrics about the host to the NetQ Telemetry Server for network health analysis. |
Alarm |
In UI, event with critical severity. |
Bridge |
Device that connects two communication networks or network segments. Occurs at OSI Model Layer 2, Data Link Layer. |
Clos |
Multistage circuit switching network used by the telecommunications industry, first formalized by Charles Clos in 1952. |
Device |
UI term referring to a switch, host, or chassis or combination of these. Typically used when describing hardware and components versus a software or network topology. See also Node. |
Event |
Change or occurrence in network or component; may or may not trigger a notification. In the NetQ UI, there are two types of events: Alarms which indicate a critical severity event, and Info which indicate warning, informational, and debugging severity events. |
Fabric |
Network topology where a set of network nodes is interconnected through one or more network switches. |
Fresh |
Node that has been heard from in the last 90 seconds. |
High Availability |
Software used to provide a high percentage of uptime (running and available) for network devices. |
Host |
Device that is connected to a TCP/IP network. May run one or more Virtual Machines. |
Hypervisor |
Software which creates and runs Virtual Machines. Also called a Virtual Machine Monitor. |
Info |
In UI, event with warning, informational, or debugging severity. |
IP Address |
An Internet Protocol address is comprised of a series of numbers assigned to a network device to uniquely identify it on a given network. Version 4 addresses are 32 bits and written in dotted decimal notation with 8-bit binary numbers separated by decimal points. Example: 10.10.10.255. Version 6 addresses are 128 bits and written in 16-bit hexadecimal numbers separated by colons. Example: 2018:3468:1B5F::6482:D673. |
Leaf |
An access layer switch in a Spine-Leaf or Clos topology. An Exit-Leaf is switch that connects to services outside of the Data Center such as firewalls, load balancers, and Internet routers. See also Spine, CLOS, Top of Rack and Access Switch. |
Linux |
Set of free and open-source software operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Cumulus Linux is one available distribution packages. |
Node |
UI term referring to a switch, host or chassis in a topology. |
Notification |
Item that informs a user of an event. In UI there are two types of notifications: Alert which is a n otification sent by system to inform a user about an event; specifically received through a third-party application, and Message which is a notification sent by a user to share content with another user. |
Peerlink |
Link, or bonded links, used to connect two switches in an MLAG pair. |
Rotten |
Node that has not been heard from in 90 seconds or more. |
Router |
Device that forwards data packets (directs traffic) from nodes on one communication network to nodes on another network. Occurs at the OSI Model Layer 3, Network Layer. |
Spine |
Used to describe the role of a switch in a Spine-Leaf or CLOS topology. See also Aggregation switch, End of Row switch, and distribution switch. |
Switch |
High-speed device that connects that receives data packets from one device or node and redirects them to other devices or nodes on a network. |
Telemetry server |
NetQ server which receives metrics and other data from NetQ agents on leaf and spine switches and hosts. |
Top of Rack |
Switch that connects to the network (versus internally) |
Virtual Machine |
Emulation of a computer system that provides all of the functions of a particular architecture. |
Web-scale |
A network architecture designed to deliver capabilities of large cloud service providers within an enterprise IT environment. |
Whitebox |
Generic, off-the-shelf, switch or router hardware used in Software Defined Networks (SDN). |
The following table covers some common acronyms used throughout the NetQ user documentation.
Acronym |
Meaning |
ACL |
Access Control Link |
ARP |
Address Resolution Protocol |
ASN |
Autonomous System Number |
BGP/eBGP/iBGP |
Border Gateway Protocol, External BGP, Internal BGP |
CLAG |
Cumulus multi-chassis Link Aggregation Group |
DHCP |
Dynamic Host Control Protocol |
DNS |
Domain Name Server |
ECMP |
Equal Cost Multi-Path routing |
EVPN |
Ethernet Virtual Private Network |
FDB |
Forwarding Data Base |
GNU |
GNU’s Not Linux |
HA |
High Availability |
IGMP |
Internet Group Management Protocol |
IPv4/IPv6 |
Internet Protocol, version 4 or 6 |
LACP |
Link Aggregation Control Protocol |
LAN |
Local Area Network |
LLDP |
Link Layer Data Protocol |
MAC |
Media Access Control |
MIB |
Management Information Base |
MLAG |
Multi-chassis Link Aggregation Group |
MLD |
Multicast Listener Discovery |
NTP |
Network Time Protocol |
OOB |
Out of Band (management) |
OSPF |
Open Shortest Path First |
RFC |
Remote Function Call |
SDN |
Software-Defined Network |
SNMP |
Simple Network Management Protocol |
SSH |
Secure SHell |
SQL |
Structured Query Language |
STP |
Spanning Tree Protocol |
TCP |
Transport Control Protocol |
ToR |
Top of Rack |
UDP |
User Datagram Protocol |
URL |
Universal Resource Locator |
USB |
Universal Serial Bus |
VLAN |
Virtual Local Area Network |
VNI |
Virtual Network Instance |
VPN |
Virtual Private Network |
VRF |
Virtual Routing and Forwarding |
VRR |
Virtual Router Redundancy |
VTEP |
VXLAN Tunnel EndPoint |
VXLAN |
Virtual Extensible Local Area Network |
ZTP |
Zero Touch Provisioning |
Format Cues
Color is used to indicate links, options, and status within the UI.
Item |
Color |
Hover on item |
Blue |
Clickable item |
Light mode: White; Dark mode: Black |
Selected item |
Green |
Highlighted item |
Blue |
Link |
Blue |
Good/Successful results |
Green |
Result with critical severity event |
Pink |
Result with high severity event |
Red |
Result with medium severity event |
Orange |
Result with low severity event |
Yellow |
Get Help
You can access the user documentation for the UI from the Main Menu. Just click
and select
User Documentation
. You can also run through the UI Tutorial. Click
and select
Welcome Workbench
.
Questions
-
Where can i see the version i am using?