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.

Access the NetQ UI

Logging in to the NetQ UI is as easy as opening any web page.

To log in to the UI:

  1. Open a new Internet browser window or tab.

  2. Enter the following URL into the Address bar: /< netq_platform_ipaddress:port >/ netq/index.html

    images/download/attachments/8365523/image2019-2-4_15_41_28.png

  3. Select your language of choice (English or Spanish) from the dropdown at the top of the window.

  4. 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:

  1. Click the user icon at the top right of the application.

  2. Select Log Out.

Application Layout

The NetQ UI contains three main areas:

  • Navigation History (1): Provides quick access to your recent actions.

  • Application Header (2): Contains the main menu, search capabilities, quick health status chart, and user account information.

  • 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.

images/download/attachments/8365523/image2019-2-4_16_12_43.png

Main Menu

Found in the application header, click images/download/thumbnails/8365523/image2018-12-10_15_56_55.png to open the main menu which provides navigation to:

  • Favorites: contains list of links to workbenches that you have designated as favorites; Home is listed by default

  • NetQ: contains list of links to all workbenches in the application

  • Network: contains list of links to tabular data about various network elements

  • Admin: contains link to user documentation

images/download/attachments/8365523/image2019-2-4_16_18_12.png

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).

images/download/attachments/8365523/image2019-2-4_16_2_35.png

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:

  1. Click the user icon.

  2. Click Profile & Preferences.

Change Your Password

On the Basic Account Info card:

  1. Click Change Password.

  2. Enter your current password.

  3. Enter the new password you want to use.

  4. Re-enter the new password.

  5. Click Save to commit the change, or Cancel to discard it.

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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:

  1. Choose a theme from the Theme dropdown list. The default is xxx .

  2. Choose your preferred language from the Language dropdown list. In this release, only American English is available, so language selection is disabled.

  3. Choose the time zone where you reside from the Time Zone dropdown list. The default is Pacific Standard Time.

  4. Choose a date format where dates are displayed from the Date dropdown list. The default is M/D/Y (month/day/year).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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To remove a specific search from your search history, hover over the search name, and click Delete, then click Yes.

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To remove all searches from your search history, click Clear Search History, then click Yes .

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:

  • Home Workbench: Contains xxx

  • Switch: Contains cards related to switch performance

  • Inventory: Contains cards related to inventory management

  • xxx

On initial login, the Home Workbench is opened. After that, to open a different workbench:

  1. Click <arrow icon> in the Workbench header.

  2. 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:

  1. Click <arrow icon> in the Workbench header.

  2. Select Generic Workbench.

  3. Add cards or card decks, as described in xxx .

  4. Save...

Share a Workbench

If you find that a workbench is particularly helpful to you, you might decide to share it with a coworker.

To share a workbench:

  1. Click (share icon) in the workbench task bar.

  2. In the Share Workbench dialog, select whether you want to share the workbench with an individual, a group of individuals, or everyone with an account .

  3. Select a time ( what does this time mean? )

  4. Enter recipient(s):

    1. To share with an individual, enter one or more names into the To field. ( predictive name matching available? )

    2. To share with a group, enter one or more group names into the To field.

    3. To share with everyone, continue with next step.

  5. Click Add message and type a message into the text field provided.

  6. Optionally, check Send a copy to myself if you want to receive a copy of the message.

  7. Click SAVE to share the search and send the message, or click CANCEL to not share the workbench.

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:

  • Sort data by column: Hover over a column header and click <sort icon>

  • Choose columns to display: Click <gear icon> at the top right of the card, and select which data you would like displayed

  • Change order of columns: Click <gear icon> and xxx. (or drag and drop> can this even be done?)

  • 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:

  1. Click EXPORT.

  2. Enter a name for the file. (is a default name provided?)

  3. Enter the path to the directory where you want to store the file.

  4. Click EXPORT.

Visual L4s: same options?

Card Size Summary

Card Size

Small

Medium

Large

Full Screen

Primary Purpose

  • Quick view of status, typically at the level of good or bad

  • Enable quick actions, run a validation or trace for example

  • View key performance parameters or statistics

  • Perform an action

  • Look for potential issues

  • View detailed performance and statistics

  • Perform actions

  • Compare and review related information

  • View all attributes for given network aspect

  • Free-form data analysis and visualization

  • Export data to third-party tools

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:

  1. Hover over the card.

  2. Click (time picker icon).

  3. 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:

  1. Hover over the card.

  2. 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.

  3. Click the picker.

In this example, we switched from a small card to a medium card.

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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:

  1. Click images/download/thumbnails/8365523/image2019-1-28_16_24_47.png .

    images/download/thumbnails/8365523/image2019-1-28_16_26_52.png
  2. Select a card from the available list.

  3. If you select the Device | Switches card, a dialog opens for you to identify the switch.

    1. Select Switch from the Device Type dropdown list.

    2. Enter the switch hostname. As you type, the application suggests devices that match your entry to speed selection.

    3. Click Add to open the switch card or Cancel to discard the request.

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:

  • Network Health: small

  • Device | Switches: medium

  • Inventory | Devices: small

  • Inventory | Switches: medium

  • Network Services: small

  • Events | Alarms: medium

  • Events | Info: small

To remove a card:

  1. Hover over the card you want to remove.

  2. Select the More Actions menu (icon)

  3. 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:

  • Network Health: network-wide view of network health

  • Device Inventory: information about all switches and hosts in the network

  • Switch: information about a given switch

  • Switch Inventory: information about the components on a given switch

  • Alarm Events: information about all critical severity events in the system

  • 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:

  • For workbenches available from the main menu, open the workbench that contains the card flow

  • Open a prior search

  • Add it to a workbench

  • Search for it

To open the card workflow through a default workbench:

  1. Click (main menu icon).

  2. Select the relevant workbench.

The workbench opens, hiding your previous workbench.

To open the card workflow from a prior search:

  1. Browse your search list in the navigation panel.

  2. 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:

  1. Click (add card icon).

  2. 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:

  1. Click in the Global Search field.

  2. Enter the name of the card.

  3. 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:

  • Inventory: includes the medium Inventory | Switch card

  • 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 images/download/thumbnails/8365523/image2019-1-28_16_51_0.png and select User Documentation . You can also run through the UI Tutorial. Click images/download/thumbnails/8365523/image2019-1-28_16_51_0.png and select Welcome Workbench .

Questions

  1. Where can i see the version i am using?