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This chapter describes the Objective View editor and provides details on the concepts of maps.
This chapter includes the following sections:
The Objective View editor allows you to create interactive maps which, when run in the Objective View desktop tool, reflect the status of the network.
There are a number of terms used to describe how a map is created. The following sections describe these terms.
A map book is a collection of map pages. Map books are created in the Objective View editor and are used by the Objective View. All Objective Views start with a map book. A map book comprises map pages.
Map pages have unique names and contain the visible parts of an Objective View map.
A map page is made up of any number of layers (three by default.) Each layer is transparent, except for the symbols placed on it.
Each layer of a map page can contain any number of symbols. A symbol is a graphical representation on a layer. Three major groups of symbols exist:
A drawn symbol can be:
An image symbol is a rectangular area filled with a bitmap image. This is typically used for icons or background images.
A link symbol is a line which links two other symbols. This is used to represent an interconnection between two symbols.
A symbol carries a variety of information; associations with styles and entities, position, text for labelling, what should happen when the symbol is double-clicked, and settings to define how the symbol should show status. Note, not all types of symbols make use of all this information. Details of this are provided later in this chapter.
Entities are used for deriving the status of the Cisco Info Center System. Two forms of entity exist:
Entities are shared between all map pages and layers.
A filtered entity has a filter and a view associated with it. The filter is used in the Objective View to derive a status for the entity.
A dependent entity has no filter or view associated with it, however, it does have a list of other entities. A dependent entity derives its status from the status of that list of entities.
Each symbol can be associated with an entity. When the map is used in the Objective View, the entity derives a status. All symbols associated with that entity display the status in the configured format.
Symbols can be grouped together and can be manipulated as a group. A group of symbols is manipulated as one symbol, and can be grouped with other symbols. A group of symbols cannot be associated with an entity.
Styles are used to define the visual appearance of symbols. A style defines color, line drawing style, and fill colors. Each style has a name. Styles are shared between all map pages and layers.
Each symbol can be associated with a named style to define most of its visual appearance. When no style is associated, the style named Default is used.
One of the properties of a symbol is its action. This defines what happens when you double-click on the symbol. The available actions are None, Show List, Show Map, and Execute.
The None action provides no action when you double-click on the symbol.
When a symbol has a Show List action, the Objective View looks for the symbol's associated entity. When an entity is associated with the symbol, the filter and view of that entity is passed to a running Event List (or an Event List is started when one is not running), allowing you to see the full details of the events generating the symbol's status. When no entity is associated with the symbol, the double-click is ignored.
The Show Map action takes a parameter, which is the name of another map page in the map. When a symbol with a Show Map action is double-clicked, the named map page is opened and displayed. When no map is named by the action, the double-click is ignored.
The Execute action takes a parameter, which is the name of a program to run. When you double-click on the symbol with an Execute action, the Objective View attempts to run the named program. When no program name is available, the double-click is ignored.
Figure 7-1 shows a diagram representing the relationship between map pages, layers, symbols, and entities.
Note, in the Objective View editor, the entities are not evaluated, therefore, no status is displayed. It is only in the Objective View that the evaluation takes place.
To start the Objective View editor, click on the Map Editor button in the Conductor. The Main window is displayed.
You can also start the Objective View editor with an existing map. Move the mouse pointer over a map icon in the Conductor, press the right mouse button, then select the Start Map Editor option.
These are the recommended ways to run the Objective View editor. However, you can start the Objective View editor from the command line with the following command:
$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_ove &
The Objective View Editor window is displayed, as shown in Figure 7-2.
To open a new map page book, select the File menu's New option. This displays the New Map Book window, which allows you to clear the Objective View editor map book.
To load a map book, select the File menu's Open option in the Objective View Editor Main window menu bar. A file selection window is displayed, and you can then select a map book file to load. Map book files are identified by the file name extension .map.
To create a new map page, click on the Create button. A window is displayed, where you should specify a name in the Name text field and click on the OK button to create the map. To cancel creating the map page, click on the Cancel button.
To edit a map page, select the map page in the list, then double-click on it. The Map Page Editor window is displayed, as shown in Figure 7-3.
To remove a page from the map book, select the map page in the list then click on the Delete button.
To rename a map page, select the page in the list of map pages, then click on the Rename button. A window is displayed asking for the new name of the map page. Specify the new name in the Name text field then click on the Ok button to make the name change or click on the Cancel button to abort the name change.
To save a map book, select the File menu's Save option on the Objective View Editor Main window menu bar. When no map book has been loaded, then a file selection window is displayed allowing you to specify a file name. Map book file names must end with the file name extension .map. The file name is displayed in the title bar of the Objective View editor. When the title bar displays [None] as the file name, this option operates the same as the File menu's Save As option.
The File menu's Save option saves the current map book into the file it was loaded from. The File menu's Save As option displays a file selection window and allows you to select a directory and file name to save the map book. Event List configuration files should be saved with the file name extension .map.
The Map Page window is where a map page can be manipulated and edited. Layers can be created, renamed and deleted. Symbols can then be added, positioned, modified, associated with entities and styles or deleted on those layers.
The Map Page window is displayed in Figure 7-3.
The Map Page window has File, Edit, Layer, Windows, and Help menus. A Tools menu may or may not be active. When active, it shows an administrator defined menu of tools.
The Help menu is the standard Cisco Info Center Help menu.
To close the Map Page window, select the File menu's Close option.
The Edit menu's Delete option deletes the currently selected symbols on the Map Page.
The Edit menu's Select All option selects all the symbols on all the layers.
The Edit menu's Deselect All option deselects all the currently selected symbols on all the layers.
The Edit menu's Group option makes all the currently selected symbols into a group.
The Edit menu's Ungroup option takes all the currently selected symbols, and for any group symbols, removes the group, leaving the symbols that were within the group.
When a map page is created, three default layers are provided. It is suggested you use these three layers for their nominated purposes and add extra layers when required. The default layers are object, annotation, and background.
Figure 7-4 shows an example map page and how it is broken down into the three default layers.
To manipulate layers, select the Layers menu's Edit option. The Layers window is displayed, as shown in Figure 7-5.
To create a new layer, click on the Create button. A window appears prompting for the new layer name. Specify the name and click on the OK button.
To delete a layer, select it in the Layers list then click on the Destroy button. Note, all symbols on the layer are deleted with the layer.
To rename a layer, select it in the Layers list and click on the Rename button. A window is displayed prompting for the new layer name. Specify the new name then click on the OK button.
With a layer selected in the Layers list, click on the Move Up and Move Down buttons to move the layer up and down the list, respectively. The order of the list sets the stacking order of the layers when displayed at the same time, with a layer higher in the list appearing on top of layers lower in the list.
When editing the symbols, the Objective View editor needs to know which layer is being worked on. The Current Layer option button shows which layer is currently in use for selection and editing.
By clicking on the option button, you can select any other layer to work on.
The Symbol Palette window, shown in Figure 7-6, is used to create symbols on any layer. It is displayed by selecting the Windows menu's Symbol Palette option.
The Symbol Palette contains the various symbols, which can be created on a layer. There may be more symbols on the palette than displayed here. These extra symbols appear when classes are defined in the Cisco Info Center system. For information on creating these classes, see Section, "Classes", in Chapter 4. The extra class symbols are functionally the same as the Image symbol except they have a pre-defined icon.
The Image symbol is used for creating bitmap symbols.
To create a symbol on the current layer, move the mouse pointer to the appropriate symbol in the symbol palette and press down the middle mouse button. Drag the symbol over the map where you wish to place it and release the middle mouse button to drop the symbol at that position.
To select a single symbol on the current layer, click on the symbol. To add a symbol to the selection, press the Control key, then click on another symbol.
When a symbol is selected, it is marked by small squares at its corners. These corner markers can be used to change the shape of the symbols.
Another way to select symbols is to drag a rectangle across the background of the map page; all symbols on the current layer within the dragged rectangle are selected. Previous selections are discarded unless you press the Control key when you drag the mouse.
To deselect a symbol, click on another symbol.
When you select a symbol, corner markers appear. You can click on these corner markers and drag the mouse pointer to change the size of the symbol. The exceptions to this are the line, text, and image symbols:
Pressing the left mouse button with the pointer within (that is, not on a corner marker) a set of selected symbols, allows you to move the symbols on that layer of the map. Releasing the mouse button drops the symbols at that point. When a number of symbols are selected, the symbols are moved as a group, retaining positions relative to one another.
To change a symbol's properties (that is, its style, its layer, the entity it is associated with, its display position, its image, its action, and its feedback style), move the mouse pointer over the symbol then press the right mouse button. A popup menu is displayed.
The title of the popup menu is the type of symbol you are viewing. There are two menu options, Edit and Delete. Select the Edit option. When the Symbol Inspector is not currently displayed, it appears. For details on using the Symbol Inspector, see Section, "The Symbol Inspector".
Two ways to delete symbols exist. To delete a single symbol, move the mouse pointer over the symbol, then press the right mouse button and select the Delete option from the popup menu. To delete multiple symbols, select the symbols then select the Edit menu's Delete option. All selected symbols are deleted.
A link symbol is a special type of symbol. It is not available on the symbol palette because it only ever acts as a link between symbols. To create a link symbol, position the mouse pointer within the first symbol to link between (called the source symbol) and then press down the shift key and the first mouse button. The pointer changes to a filled circle, as shown in Figure 7-8.
You can now drag the pointer to the symbol which is to be the other end of the link (called the destination symbol). While the pointer is not over any valid symbol, it is displayed as a cross-hair. When the pointer is over a valid destination symbol, it turns into an unfilled circle. Releasing the mouse button and Shift key creates a link symbol which links the source and destination symbols. When either the source or destination symbols are moved, the link moves with them.
Once a link symbol is created, it can be manipulated in the same way as a line symbol, except when the corner markers are moved to move the link, the symbol at that end of the link is also moved.
The Objective View editor allows you to drag and drop symbols within and between map pages. Press the middle mouse button over a symbol. You can drag the mouse pointer to another map page or within the same map page. When you release the second mouse button, the symbol is dropped.
To use drag and drop to copy a symbol, press the Control key and the middle mouse button over a symbol. You can drag the mouse pointer to another map page or within the same map page. When you release the Control key and the middle mouse button, a copy of the symbol is dropped where the mouse button was released.
When the symbol is one of the selected symbols, then the drag and drop operation applies to all of these symbols. When selected symbols exist on the map page, but the symbol itself is not selected, the selected symbols are ignored and the operation only applies to the single, unselected symbol.
Groups allow you to join a number of symbols together so they can be manipulated as a single symbol. To create a group, select a number of symbols on a map page then select the Edit menu's Group option. The corner markers on the separate symbols disappear to be replaced by corner markers for the group.
When symbols are grouped, you can no longer access the individual symbol properties that make up the group. The group has its own symbol properties and these obscure the properties of the components. The groups properties are accessed by pressing down the third mouse button and selecting edit from the popup menu.
When you press the third mouse button with the mouse pointer over the background of a map page, a popup version of the Edit menu is displayed.
To help with the positioning of symbols, a grid option is available. Select the Windows menu's Grid Options option to display the Grid Options window, as shown in Figure 7-9.
Click on the Snap To Grid toggle button to make movements snap to the nearest point on a fixed grid. Click on the Show Grid Lines toggle button to enable a display of grid lines over the map page.
The size of the grid is determined by the value in the Grid Size field. The two arrows to the right of the field increment and decrement the Grid Size value. The visual appearance of the grid is determined by the built in style called Grid. See Section, "The Style Editor", for details on how to change the appearance.
The Symbol Inspector allows you to modify the state of a symbol. The following states can be changed:
The Symbol Inspector shows the settings of the currently selected symbol in the map page. To display the Symbol Inspector, select the Windows menu's Symbol Inspector option from the map page menu bar, or popup the menu over a symbol and select Edit.
The symbol type being inspected is displayed in the top left corner, unless the symbol has a label set, in which case it displays the label name.
When no symbol is selected, it displays the message Inspecting: Nothing in the top left hand corner of the inspector. The rest of the Symbol Inspector is disabled, apart from the Close and Help buttons.
When a symbol is selected, the Apply and Undo buttons are active. Apply sets any changes made in the inspector to the symbol. Undo resets the inspector to the state it was in when the symbol was originally selected, or when Apply was last pressed, whichever is most recent.
Set the Symbol Inspector to Appearance to display the visual attributes of the selected symbol, as shown in Figure 7-10. Some of these items may be disabled as the symbol being examined does not use those attributes.
The Style option button controls which style the symbol is drawn. The styles are edited using the Style Editor (see Section, "The Style Editor").
When a symbol is created, it is placed on the current layer. This layer name is displayed for each symbol in the Layer option button. To move a symbol between layers, select a new layer on the Layer button.
Most symbols have an X and Y coordinate to set their position on the map page. The position may be changed in the Position X and Y fields to fine tune positions on the map page. This entry is not available for lines and links.
Many symbols are defined with the Size fields, Width, and Height, setting how wide and high a symbol is. The Size field is disabled for group, text, image, link and line symbols which all derive their size in a different way.
For text symbols the label defines the text string displayed by the symbol. For all other symbols, it defines a text string which appears beneath the symbol as its visual label.
For rectangle, circle, ellipse and rounded rectangle symbols, you can fill the symbol with the background color. Select Yes on the Filled option button to enable the filling option. Select No on the Filled option button to make the symbol transparent.
Line symbols are defined by a start position (X1,Y1) and an end position (X2,Y2). The Line X1, Y1, X2, and Y2 fields allow you to edit the start and end positions. The line option is only available for line symbols.
Line and Link symbols can have arrows (or other end markers defined by the style) at the ends of the line or link. The Arrows option button allows you to select None (no arrows), Source (arrow at the X1,Y1 position), Destination (arrows at the X2,Y2 position), or Both (arrows at both positions).
For Image symbols, the Image Selector allows you to select a bitmap image. Move the slider to step through the preloaded cache of images. When a required image is not in the cache, click on the Add Image button to display a list of files present in the $OMNIHOME/backdrops directory. These are usually large images of maps for backgrounds. Select one of these images from the list to load the image into the image cache, at which point it can be selected using the slider. The image is available to any other Image symbol as it is now present in the cache.
The Class field allows you to select a class value for the symbol. This in turn selects the appropriate tools menus for the symbol when used in the Objective View. Creating menus and classes is covered in the "Introduction" Section in Chapter 4. The arrow buttons to the right of the field increment and decrement the Class field value.
Each symbol may be associated with an entity, by selecting an entity from the scrolled list. In the Objective View, this entity is evaluated to have a status, and each symbol associated with that entity displays that status. The Entity list allows associations to be made. When no entity is selected, the symbol has no status information.
When a symbol is associated with an entity, it needs to be able to display what the entity status is. The Feedback Selector allows you to the select of one of five ways to display status. Table 7-1 shows the types of feedback.
| Feedback Type | Feedback Appearance |
|---|---|
Fill Background | The background of the symbol is filled with the status color. For lines and links, Fill Background changes the line/link color. For images, the rectangle behind the image is filled with the status color. |
Highlight Bar | A bar is drawn below the symbol in the status color. |
Outline | For most symbols, the line color of the symbol changes to the status color. For text and image symbols, a box is drawn around the symbol in the status color. |
Overlay Bar | Similar to the Highlight Bar, except the bar is drawn over the middle of the symbol. For text symbols, the background color of the text changes to the status color. |
Overlay String | Similar to the Overlay Bar, except the string value of the status (for example, Critical, Warning) is drawn over the middle of the symbol. This option operates in the same way as the Overlay Bar option on text, line, or link symbols. |
A symbol may have an action associated with it. The Action option button setting determines what the symbol does when you double-click on that symbol in the Objective View.
The Show List setting sets the symbol to call the Event List with the filter and view of the associated entity. When an Event List is not running, one is started. A message is then sent to the Event List which pops up a special Event List with no Filter/View bar, however, it is displayed with the entity's filter and view settings. This special Event List does not appear in the Monitor Box window of the Event List tool.
The Show Map setting takes the name of another map in the map book as a parameter. This name is specified in the Action parameters text field below the Action option button. When the symbol is double-clicked in the Objective View, the Objective View looks for a map of the name specified and open it on the display. This option can be used to link maps so the entire map book can be navigated.
The Execute setting takes a command string in the same format as those used by system menus. The Action parameters text field becomes a command field. See Section, "Creating Commands for Symbols".
The None setting gives the symbol no action.
The Redirect Output toggle button controls what happens with the output (that is, stdout) when a command is run. When not selected, output is discarded. When selected, output is echoed through a read only window in whichever tool used the command.
The Redirect Errors toggle button controls what happens with the errors (that is, stderr) when a command is run. When not selected, error messages are discarded. When selected, errors are echoed through a read only window in whichever tool used the command.
To display the note attributes of the selected symbol, set the Symbol Inspector to Notes. See Figure 7-12.
A note is text which may be displayed on request inside the Objective View. Specify the required text in the text panel, then click on the Apply button to add the note to the symbol.
When a symbol has an execute action defined, it requires a command. Commands are a template for the actual command which is executed. When run, the tools substitute particular information where required.
A command may have no substitution at all. For example, when a menu item is required which runs the xterm program, the command is:
host% xterm
Simple commands are ideal for starting local tools.
A command may require information to be inserted automatically from information available in the tool. Where you want to insert an element, you should move the cursor to the Command field to where you wish the information to be inserted and click on the Elements button. The Command Elements window is displayed, as shown in Figure 7-13.
The Type option button selects which type of variable to insert. This can be Internal Variables or Environment Variables. When the appropriate type of variable is selected, you can scroll down the list, select the variable to insert, then click on the Apply button. The Elements window remains displayed, however, the appropriate string is inserted into the command string. Click on the Close button to close the Elements window.
When information is required before starting a command, a parameter should be used. For example, starting a telnet session may require a host name and password. The command in this case would contain two parameters, one for the host name and one for the password.
These parameters are gathered before a tool starts running and the information specified is substituted into the command template. As with elements, position the cursor within the Command field where you wish the substitution to take place, then click on the Parameters button. The Parameter Builder window is displayed, as shown in Figure 7-14.
Each parameter requires a name to be specified in the Name field and a prompt to be specified in the Prompt field.
Below these fields is the Type option button. This button allows you to select one of six types of parameter prompts: String, Integer, Float, Choice, Lookup, or Password.
For String, Integer, and Float parameters, the only active field is the Default field, which should contain the string which initially appears in the field. The only difference between these three parameters is the characters each field accepts. A String parameter accepts any character, Integer accepts the characters 0-9, and Float accepts 0-9 and the decimal point (.).
The Choice parameter allows you to create an option button with a fixed set of options. Select Choice to enable the scrolling list below the Default entry. The Clear button deletes all the entries in the list.
The Lookup parameter works in the same manner as the Choice parameter, except instead of specifying the choices in the scrolled list, the parameter refers to a file on disk. Each line of this file is used as a choice. To select the file, either specify the file name in the Filename field or click on the Browse button. A file selection dialog is displayed where you can select the file. Note, this file must be available on the machine running the Cisco Info Admin Desktop tools.
The Password parameter operates in the same manner as the String parameter, except at the prompt, where any text specified is obscured.
An entity comprises a filter and a view. The filter determines what status information is displayed by symbols associated with the entity.
For example, when you want a symbol to display the highest severity alert related to a node named node1, you would create an entity with a filter which reads Node='node1'. You would then associate this entity with the symbol through the Symbol Inspector. When the map is subsequently used in the Objective View, the symbol attempts to show (depending on its appearance settings) the highest severity alert related to node1. This is a filtered entity.
The other type of entity is a dependent entity. A dependent entity refers to other entities and it takes the highest severity value of those entities as its severity value.
To create and manage entities, use the Entity Manager window, shown in Figure 7-15 This is displayed by clicking on the Entity button in the Objective View editor's main window.
To create an entity, click on the New button then specify the entity name into the Name field. The Update button turns red; you should click on this button to complete the addition.
Select the type of entity from the Derive State From option button. The options are Filter for an entity which uses a filter to derive its state and Dependants for an entity which uses other entities to derive its state. Select either:
For filter entities, click on the Edit Filter button to display the Filter Builder window. Details on using the Filter Builder are provided in the Cisco Info Center Users Guide. Note, when you use the Filter Builder from the Objective View editor, you cannot create subqueries or change the name of the filter.
For dependent entities, the entity dependencies list shows all other entities as entries. Entries in italics are not used to derive the entity status. Entries in normal text are used. To change any entry in the list, double-click on it.
When you have finished entering the entity details, click on the Update button. The entity is created and symbols may be associated with the new entity.
To discard the new entity, click on the Cancel button before you click on the Update button.
To modify an entity, select the entity in the list. Its name is displayed in the Name field. You can then change the type of entity, edit the filter or view (for a filter entity), or change the dependency list for a dependent entity. Any change makes the Update button turn red. Click on the Update button to apply the changes.
To rename an entity, select the entity in the list then click on the Rename button. A window is displayed prompting you for the new name. Specify the new name and click on the OK button. The name is changed. Click on the Cancel button in the prompting window to cancel the name change.
To delete an entity, select the entity in the list, then click on the Delete button.
A style defines foreground and background colors, line appearance, fonts, and other attributes connected with the appearance of symbols. The style mechanism allows symbol appearance to be defined and modified globally.
To display the Style Editor window, shown in Figure 7-16, click on the Styles button in the Objective View Editor Main window.
A style has a foreground and background color. The colors are currently defined as black, white, and a range of greys. Styles do not allow for other colors, as color is used in the Objective View to show severity and highlight symbols; it would be confusing to have a red line highlighted in red, for example.
The colors can be selected with the option buttons marked Foreground and Background.
A style is a definition for the appearance of lines.
The width of any lines drawn with the style is defined by the Width slider, which can range from 0 to 8.
Select the line style from the Style option button. As shown in Figure 7-17, three line styles exist:
The cap allows the style to set how a line ends. Four end styles exist:
The Join option controls how lines in rectangles are joined. Miter extends the lines to a point, Bevel crops the lines at the end, and Round rounds the lines.
Where a line or other symbol is set to have arrows, the Ends option button allows you to define the type of arrow to use; the choices include arrows, square ends, and circle ends, both filled and unfilled. The Ends option button shows the selected option and allows the selection of the end type.
When a style is set to use a dashed line of some description, the Dashes slider allows the setting of the length of the dash from 1 to 25.
A style has a font which is used for drawing all text used by symbols using that style. To set the font, click on the Select button in the font frame which displays the Font Selector window, as shown in Figure 7-18.
To use the font selector, select the font name, style, and size from the three scrolled lists. The lists update as you make your selections, so when you select 8 in the Size scrolled list, the Font list updates to show only fonts with a size of 8 available.
The Show Size in Points toggle button switches between displaying font sizes in points and pixels.
The Show Proportional Fonts toggle button switches between showing only fixed width fonts and all fonts including proportional fonts.
There are two built in styles, Default and Grid. Default is the style allocated to all new symbols when created. Grid is the style used to draw a grid on the background. These styles cannot be deleted.
To create a new style, click on the New button and specify the style name in the Name field. The Update button turns red to denote it needs to be clicked on to update the style information. Specify the settings and click on the Update button. To abort the style creation, click on the Cancel button.
To modify a style, select the style in the Style list. Its name and settings are displayed. Modify the settings as appropriate. Any change makes the Update button turn red. To make the changes, click on the Update button. To discard any changes, click on the Cancel button or select another style in the Style list.
To rename a style, select the style in the Style list and click on the Rename button. A window is displayed prompting for the new name for the style. Specify the new name and click on the Ok button to change the name, or click on the Cancel button to abort the rename operation.
To delete a style, select it in the Style list then click on the Delete button. When the style is referenced by symbols, a prompt appears allowing you to change all references to that style, to refer to the default style, or to cancel the operation. Click on the Ok button to change references or on the Cancel button to abort the deletion.
The Access Editor is used to set the first map page displayed when a map is opened in the Objective View and also to control which users are allowed to access the map.
To display the Access Control List window, shown in Figure 7-19, click on the Access button in the Objective View Editor Main window.
To create an Access List entry, click on the New button, then specify the user name in the User field. Next, specify the name of a map page in the Map field. The Update button turns red indicating changes have been made. Click on the Update button to add the user.
To modify an Access List entry, select a user in the Access List. The user's details are displayed. Modify the Map field, then click on the Update button.
To delete an entry from the Access List, select a user from the Access List, then click on the Delete button.
Posted: Thu Apr 1 10:57:51 PST 1999
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