Web Dashboard

User Interface

The user interface is accessed using a web browser.

There are two main sections that can be accessed via the following URLs:

• Display and navigation of dashboards and slideshows:

http://<web-dashboard-host>:<web-dashboard-port>/

• Configuration of connections, dashboards and slideshows:

http://<web-dashboard-host>:<web-dashboard-port>/#Config:

System requirements

Web Dashboard is a 64-bit application on Linux, with the following system requirements:

Web Dashboard requires libnsl.so.1 library in order to run the application properly on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.

Note: Other OS distributions may work with the correct libraries installed but are not officially supported. For x86-64 distributions, the required 32-bit libraries must be available on the system. Also, other web browsers may work but are not officially supported.

When Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) is running in Enforcing mode, it may deny certain functions of Geneos depending on the implemented configurations and policies.

To see which functions SELinux denies, check the audit log. The log is typically located in /var/log/audit.log, where the log type entry is AVC. The audit log provides the details of any denied access. For example, denied connection to the TCP port.

If you experience issues related to this mode, you may opt to disable SELinux, or create policy modules to grant the required access. Please contact your administrator or security team for assistance.

Enabling Authentication

Note: Always clear browser cache and cookies when switching between authenticated and unauthenticated versions of Web Dashboard.

Note: Single Sign On (SSO) must be disabled when enabling Authentication.

• Go to <web_dashboard_install_dir>/config directory.
• Edit security.xml. Comment out:

<intercept-url pattern="/**" access="permitAll" />

Note: In XML documents, follow this syntax to comment out: "<!--Comment String Here-->"

and uncomment the following:

<intercept-url pattern="/**" access="isAuthenticated()" />

<authentication-provider>
    <password-encoder hash="bcrypt"/>
    <user-service properties="file:./config/users.properties"/>
</authentication-provider>

• Edit users.properties. Follow the syntax indicated in the file to add users. To generate an encrypted password, run the following command at the <web_dashboard_install_dir> directory:

java -cp 'jars/*:jars/geneos-bcrypt-hasher-1.0.jar' com.itrsgroup.login.auth.BCryptPasswordHasher <password to encrypt>

Enabling SSO

If Single-Sign-On (SSO) is enabled, the SSO Agent verifies your user permission. After verifying your user credentials, the Web Dashboard checks your user's group to grant the appropriate access.

For more information, see Enable SSO with Web Dashboard in SSO Agent User Guide.

Note: Authentication must be disabled when enabling SSO.

These are the SSO properties that you may need to configure when connecting to SSO Agent:

-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY----
MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEA9KTR6IFL44UTGCs5Hi2x
fISO7eMBaqf75BQym/E8woQE2NOocyAvshGLAaE9oHP4vqRnc+hHyDs7DDF2u0VF
cYp6r4uISe+HUka+wKjfSZZFOB5lFYzZfb7hRGvc5kMZEvg7QYBej/c37uSB9r1/
T4yao3SAdHGEwlthTKf0V+TtDGvlWPKGzVdCYowmNC0Z1RxsT/X3jhNvnkHRQYXW
hwGiEKU1+U7Bgtlpzd/3UFQnZsOIMFME9R53b+Wjron04B6OBB0jqmWFTYaoXWh2
oZBK5XZ1e165HaNXAYkeC4RcHdu8M0urk8JkkRby9M8UXxCATbVrtYGosoI9JH+t
1wIDAQAB
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----

Enabling SSL

Here are the steps to enable an SSL and scripts that you can use in the Web Dashboard.

WEB_DASHBOARD_INSTALL_DIR=<web_dashboard_install_dir>

CN=localhost.itrs.test, OU=Geneos, O=ITRS, 
L=Mountain View, ST=California, C=US

keyStore=config/keystore.db
trustStore=config/keystore.db
keyStorePassword=ab987c
trustStorePassword=ab987c

#ENABLE_SSL="-ssl true"

Adding Active Dashboards

Dashboards need to be created in Active Console and exported as .adb files before they can be added to Web Dashboard.

The deployment of dashboards into Web Dashboard takes place in three steps:

<geneosWebServer>
        <gatewayConnections>
                <gatewayConnection name="Gateway1">
                        <enabled>true</enabled>
                        <primary>
                                <host>gateway1A-host</host>
                                <port>30001</port>
                        </primary>
                        <secondary>
                                <host>gateway1B-host</host>
                                <port>30002</port>
                        </secondary>
                        <description>Gateway One</description>
                        <user>user1</user>
                        <password type="encrypted">AABBZZYYZZ</password>
                </gatewayConnection>
                <gatewayConnection name="Gateway3">
                        <enabled>true</enabled>
                        <secure>true</secure>
                        <primary>
                                <host>localhost</host>
                                <port>80003</port>
                        </primary>
                        <secondary>
                                <host/>
                                <port>0</port>
                        </secondary>
                        <description>Gateway Three</description>
                        <user>admin</user>
                        <password type="plain">MyPlainPassword</password>
				</gatewayConnection>
                <gatewayConnectionname="Gateway2">
                    <enabled>true</enabled>
                    <secure>true</secure>
                <primary>
                <host>gateway2A-host</host>
                        <port>80004</port>
                </primary>
                <secondary>
                        <host/>
                        <port>0</port>
                </secondary><description>Gateway Two</description>
                <sslEnabled>admin</sslEnabled>
                <user>admin</user>
                <passwordtype="plain"></password>
            </gatewayConnection>			
        </gatewayConnections>
</geneosWebServer>

<geneosWebServer>
        <dashboards>
                <dashboard name="dashboard1" path="/path/to/dashboards/uploaded/dashboard1.adb"/>
                <dashboard name="dashboard2" path="/path/to/dashboards/uploaded/dashboard2.adb"/>
                <dashboard name="dashboard3" path="/path/to/dashboards/uploaded/dashboard3.adb"/>
                </dashboard>
        </dashboards>
</geneosWebServer>

DASHBOARDS_DIR="-Dcom.itrsgroup.dashboard.dir=<Path to dashboards directory>"

<geneosWebServer>
        <tree>
                <group name="GROUP 1">
                        <dashboard name="dashboard1A"/>
                        <dashboard name="Dashboard1B"/>
                </group>
                <group name="GROUP 2">
                        <dashboard name="dashboard2A"/>
                        <dashboard name="dashboard2B"/>
                        <dashboard name="dashboard2AC"/>
                        <group name="GROUP 2.1">
                                <dashboard name="dashboard2.1A"/>
                                <dashboard name="dashboard2.1B"/>
                        </group>
                </group>
                <group name="GROUP 3">
                        <dashboard name="dashboard3A"/>
                        <dashboard name="Dashboard3B"/>
                </group>
        </tree>
</geneosWebServer>

Defining slideshows

Slideshows can be defined to view a set of dashboards or all dashboards, one after another at specified time intervals.

Select Slideshows from the left-hand navigation list in order to define a slideshow.

Web Dashboard can be configured to set:

• A single slideshow for all dashboards defined in the navigation tree
• Any number of user-defined slideshows to view selected dashboards in the navigation tree

<geneosWebServer>
   <slideshows>
          <slideshow name="All Dashboards" interval="5"/>
          <slideshow name="Slideshow 1" interval="5">
                 <dashboard name="dashboard1"/>
                 <dashboard name="dashboard2"/>
                 <dashboard name="dashboard3"/>
                 <dashboard name="dashbaord4"/></slideshows>
</geneosWebServer>

Settings for the visualisation of dashboards in browsers

config.xml contains the <dashboardDefaults> element with the settings applicable to all dashboards configured in Web Dashboard:

<geneosWebServer>
        <dashboardDefaults>
                <updateRate>5</updateRate>
                <dashboardRefreshRate>3</dashboardRefreshRate>
                <tileSize>
                        <width>200</width>
                        <height>200</height>
                </tileSize>
        </dashboardDefaults>
</geneosWebServer>

It is not recommended to change these settings but, if required, these changes need to be implemented with care. The following points need to be taken in consideration:

• <updateRate> should be set equal or more than <dashboardRefreshRate> since clients are guaranteed not to receive an update until a dashboard refresh takes place.
• Faster <dashboardRefreshRate> makes dashboards appear more real-time but in turn increases CPU usage on the server and potentially increases network traffic as updates are being sent more frequently – this assumes <updateRate> is closely aligned to <dashboardRefreshRate>.
• Tiling size allows for more granular control of how updates are processed on the server and sent over the network. Smaller values make more efficient use of network as clients download less redundant data but in turn makes many more requests. Also, CPU usage on the server may increase due to processing more granular updates and handling the increased number of requests.

Note: The settings tileCacheSize and tileCacheTime have been removed from config.xml.

Deleting a dashboard in Web Dashboard

Removing a dashboard from the configuration takes place in 4 steps in a precise sequence:

Deleting a slideshow in Web Dashboard

1. Go to the Slideshows configuration page.
2. Locate the slideshow and click on its “X” icon.
3. Click on the “Save” button so that Web Dashboard modifies the <slideshows> element in config.xml.

Opening the navigation interface

Type the host and the port of Web Dashboard in the web browser to access the navigation interface in the following format:

http://<web-dashboard-host>:<web-dashboard-port>/

Example:

http://192.168.10.155:8080/

If authentication is enabled, the page displays a log-in screen. See Enabling Authentication in Starting Web Dashboard section to set up users.

If authentication is disabled or after a successful log-in, the page displays the navigation tree with 2 root entries: Dashboards and Slideshows. The Dashboards group expands to the first level if the navigation tree has been configured.

The Last Updated timestamp is the update between the user's browser and the Web Dashboard client. For more information, see <updateRate> property in the Settings for the visualisation of dashboards in browsers.

Selecting a dashboard to view

There are two ways to bring a dashboard to be displayed:

• Select the dashboard in the Dashboards navigation tree. This may require to expand a group in the tree by clicking the add button.
• Access the dashboard directly by adding #WebDashboard:<dashboardname> to the basic URL. Example:

http://192.168.10.155:8080/#WebDashboard:Dashboard1

Maximizing the view of the dashboard

By default, the dashboard on display occupies a pane beside the navigation tree and under the top banner.

There are 2 ways to maximize the display of a dashboard:

• Right-click anywhere in the dashboard and select “Toggle Full Screen”.

The same steps can be used to return to the normal view.

• Select the dashboard in the Dashboards navigation tree and add ?fullscreen to the basic URL, e.g.,

http://192.168.10.155:8080/?fullscreen#WebDashboard:Dashboard1

Executing data item commands

Right-click on a data item in the dashboard to access data item commands. This action prompts Web Dashboard to display a menu with the commands relevant to the data item.

If the selected command requires user input, the page displays a dialog for the user to fill in.

If the execution of the command results to an output, the page displays a command output dialog.

Executing hyperlinks

If hyperlinks have been defined in the dashboard, these can be accessed through the right-click menu of the data item. Select a link to open its page as a new tab in the browser.

Selecting a slideshow to view

There are 3 ways to bring a slideshow to be displayed:

• Click on the slideshow in the Slideshows navigation tree.
• Right-click on the slideshow in the Slideshows navigation tree and select the “Play” option.
• Access the slideshow directly by adding #Slideshow:<slideshowname> to the basic URL, e.g.,

http://192.168.10.155:8080/#Slideshow:User Slideshow 1

The slideshow displays the sequence of dashboards it was configured with. The time a dashboard remains in view is the time interval defined in the configuration of the slideshow.

Every dashboard in the slideshow that is displayed is highlighted in the Dashboards navigation tree. This allows the user to follow the order of the sequence.

Stopping a slideshow

There are 2 ways to stop a slideshow:

• Right-click on the slideshow in the navigation tree and select the “Stop” option.
• Select and click on any other dashboard in the navigation tree.

Increase the heap size to reduce memory issues in dashboards

Memory issues can affect the system performance of your dashboards. Dashboards freezing or not responding can be due to a problem with the allotted memory or large number of XPaths used when loading dashboards. Also, check if OutOfMemoryException is present in the logs of your dashboards.

If you suspect memory or performance issues when processing or loading multiple dashboards, follow these recommendations:

1. Use JMX plug-in to check the CPU and memory usage. This allows you to monitor the heap memory size and ensure it has not reached its allocated maximum. For more information, refer to Enable JMX port for remote monitoring.
2. Increase the heap memory size. This can be done by manually editing the geneosws file, located in the main directory of the web dashboard folder. Inside the geneosws file is a variable named GWS_RUN_CMD:

   GWS_RUN_CMD="$JRE_BIN_PATH/java -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -Xmx1024M -server $HEADLESS

   The option -Xmx1024M represents the heap size. By default, this is set to 1GB (1024M). To increase the heap size, change 1024 to a larger number.

Define update rates or tiling size settings for individual dashboards

By default, the settings in the <dashboardDefaults> element are applied to all dashboards configured in Web Dashboard. However, if these settings are not adequate for an individual dashboard, specific settings may be set for that dashboard only.

Edit the dashboard entry in config.xml and add the new settings.

Example:

<dashboardDefaults>
   <updateRate>5</updateRate>
   <dashboardRefreshRate>3</dashboardRefreshRate>
   <tileSize>
          <width>200</width>
          <height>200</height>
   </tileSize>
</dashboardDefaults>
<dashboards>
        <dashboard name="Dashboard1" path="/root/dashboards/uploaded/db1.adb"/>
        <dashboard name="Dashboard2" path="/root/dashboards/uploaded/db2.adb"/>
        <dashboard name="Dashboard3" path="/root/dashboards/uploaded/db3.adb">
                <!-- DASHBOARD SPECIFIC SETTINGS -->
                <updateRate>10</updateRate>
                <dashboardRefreshRate>5</dashboardRefreshRate>
                <tileSize>
                        <width>400</width>
                        <height>400</height>
                </tileSize>
        </dashboard>
</dashboards>

In this example, “Dashboard1” and “Dashboard2” use the default settings, while “Dashboard3” has its own settings.

Redirect the dashboard loading folder

By default, Web Dashboard uploads the .adb files into the <web_dashboard_install_dir>/dashboards/uploaded/ folder and then loads the dashboard from that location.

If a different location is required, edit config.xml to change the path attribute of the dashboard under the <dashboards> element.

Example:

<dashboards>
  <dashboard name="Dashboard_A2" path="/home/gelo/etc/support_dashboard.adb"/>
  <dashboard name="Dashboard_B1" path="/home/gelo/etc/test.adb"/>
  </dashboard>
</dashboards>

Resolve the high CPU/memory of Web Dashboard

CPU and memory used by Web Dashboard are largely determined by the contents and updates of the dashboards it has been configured with.

Edit config.xml to slow down the update rate for:

• The <dashboardDefaults> element - this action implies that the new settings for <updateRate> and <dashboardRefreshRate> are applied to all dashboards.
• Individual dashboards if they have been identified as main contributors to the high CPU/memory - the settings for <updateRate> and <dashboardRefreshRate> need to be added to the specific dashboard under the <Dashboards> element.

In both cases, it is recommended that <dashboardRefreshRate> is equal or faster than <updateRate> to ensure timely updates.

Resolve the constant flickering and blank areas of a dashboard on display

This issue may be the result of:

• Having more updates than those processed by Web Dashboard in the time set by the <dashboardRefreshRate> parameter. If this is the case, increase the value of this parameter up to the value of the <updateRate> parameter.
• Having increased the tile size, which implies that there is too much data through the network for each tile. If this is the case, reduce the values of the <tileSize> element.

Prevent memory buildup due to gateway disconnection

By default, Web Dashboard will try to reconnect to a disconnected gateway over and over again until the connection is restored. This, in turn, causes rapid memory buildup. To prevent this behavior:

1. Edit the run script to add:

export ORBFASTER_FAST_CALLBACK=false

2. Save the changes and restart Web Dashboard.

Apply MySQL to Web Dashboard

Web Dashboard supports database queries required for historical charts. Although no changes are required for Sybase, MSSQL, or Oracle, the connection to MySQL needs to be manually incorporated to the geneos-web-server.jar file.

1. Create a temporary directory (e.g., gws) under the Web Dashboard installation directory.
2. Copy geneos-web-server.jar into the gws directory.
3. Extract the jar file with the following command:

jar xvf geneos-web-server.jar

The gws directory will contain the folders: com and META-INF.

4. Delete geneos-web-server.jar from the gws directory.
5. Navigate to the META-INF folder.
6. Open MANIFEST.MF in an editor.
7. Add the path to the MySQL driver to the end of the Class-Path pair and save the MANIFEST.MF file.
8. Go back to the gws directory and recreate geneos-web-server.jar with the following command:

jar cmf META-INF/MANIFEST.MF geneos-web-server.jar *

9. Replace geneos-web-server.jar in the Web Dashboard installation directory with the new geneos-web-server.jar file just created.

Enable DEBUG in Web Dashboard

Sometimes, there may be issues with Web Dashboard that need further investigation, and a detailed log file may be useful.

1. Edit log4j.properties and modify the log4j.rootLogger parameter from:

log4j.rootLogger=off, CONSOLE, FILE

to:

log4j.rootLogger=DEBUG, CONSOLE, FILE

2. Save the changes and restart Web Dashboard.
3. Repeat the actions that led to the issue.
4. Send the log file to Geneos Support for assistance.

Enable JMX port for remote monitoring

JMX can be used to remotely monitor the GatewayMonitor and DashboardMonitor MBeans.

To do this, enable the JMX_PORT and JMX_FLAG debugging flags in the run script of your installation.

JMX_PORT=50505
JMX_FLAGS="-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=$JMX_PORT -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false 
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false"

GatewayMonitor MBeans

The GatewayMonitor MBean attributes are as follows:

Each item in the CompositeData list contains GatewayDetailsthat represents Gateway attributes:

DashboardMonitor MBean

The DashboardMonitor MBean attributes are as follows:

Each item in the CompositeData list contains DashboardDetailsthat represents Gateway attributes:

Gateway connections are not displayed when opening the Configuration interface

Frequent manipulation of config.xml may disrupt the presentation of the Connections page.

Press the “Reload” button to restore the gateway connections or press F5 to refresh the page.

Cannot remove a dashboard in the Dashboards configuration interface

This action will not be allowed if the dashboard has been configured in the Navigation tree and has been included in Slideshows.

1. Remove the dashboard from Slideshows and then in the Navigation tree.
2. Remove the dashboard from the Dashboards configuration interface.

Slideshow on display does not seem to update if a new dashboard has been added

Press F5 to refresh the slideshow on display.