Add a Custom Dashboard

You can design a custom dashboard using a variety of widgets to help you to monitor network performance and organize network data.

To create or modify a dashboard:

  1. Go to Dashboard, then choose from the following actions:
    • To create a new dashboard, select . Proceed to the next step.
    • To modify a dashboard, select the target in the Dashboard window banner, then select .
  2. Optionally, type a dashboard name in the Name field. If you entered a name for the dashboard, select Add.
    If you do not assign a unique name to a dashboard, it is automatically added as Dashboard with a number. Example: Dashboard 2.
  3. Design a dashboard representing the entire network or a specific site. Under Sites, choose from the following options:
    • Retain the default setting <system> to design a network-level dashboard.
    • Select a site from the drop-down list to design a site-level dashboard.
    Note

    Note

    The widgets available depend on whether you choose to design a network- or site-level dashboard.
  4. Drag one widget at a time onto the dashboard area.
    Use widgets to create custom dashboard graphs. The widget graphs display a varierty of information about the devices in the network or at the selected site. Dashoboards allow you to assess and compare data for multiple devices at a glance. The widgets that are available for selection for system-wide and individual site graphs are described in Dashboard Widgets.
    Table 1. Dashboard Widgets
    Widget Description System widget Site widget
    Clients Displays the total number of wireless clients managed by the wireless controller or service platform. This Client table lists the top 5 RF Domains, in terms of the number of wireless clients adopted:
    • Top Client Count: Displays the client index of each listed top performing client.
    • Site: Displays the name of the client RF Domain.
    • Last Update: Displays the UTC timestamps when the client count was last reported.
    Yes No
    Clients by Band

    Displays a pie chart representing the radio frequency band utilization of connected RF domain member clients. Assess whether the client band utilization adequately supports the intended radio deployment objectives of the connected RF domain member access point radios.

    Each wedge has a label indicating its associated frequency band. You can take the following actions:

    • Hover over a wedge to view a pop-up showing the band and the total number of connected clients.
    • Toggle the interactive bands in the legend below the pie chart to include or exclude individual bands.
    No Yes
    Clients by Channel Displays a pie chart of color-coded channels over which clients using 5GHz and 2.4GHz radios are connected. Each wedge has a label indicating its associated channel number. You can take the following actions:
    • Hover over a wedge to view a pop-up showing the channel number and the total number of connected clients.
    • Toggle the interactive devices in the legend below the pie chart to include or exclude individual model types.
    No Yes
    Client Quality Displays a table of RF Domain connected clients requiring administration to improve performance. The table includes the following information:
    • Worst 5 Clients: Displays the five clients having the lowest average quality indices.
    • Client MAC: Displays the hard coded radio MAC of the wireless client.
    • Vendor: Displays the vendor name of the wireless client.
    No Yes
    Client Traffic Utilization Displays a table representing how efficiently the RF medium is utilized for connected clients. Traffic utilization is defined as the percentage of current throughput relative to the maximum possible throughput for the clients in the RF domain.

    The table includes the following information:

    • Top 5 Clients: Displays the top five performing clients with respect to overall traffic utilization.
    • Client MAC: Displays the hard coded radio MAC of the wireless client.
    • Vendor: Displays the vendor name of the wireless client.
    No Yes
    Device Status Displays a color-coded donut chart representing the relative number of online versus offline devices. Each half has a label indicating its associated status. You can take the following actions:
    • Hover over a donut half to view a pop-up showing the number of online or offline devices and the relative percentage with respect to the total number of devices.
    • Toggle the interactive statuses in the legend below the donut chart to include or exclude an individual status.
    Yes Yes
    Device Status Distribution Displays a ratio of offline versus online devices within the system. The information is displayed in pie chart format to illustrate device support ratios. Yes Yes
    Device Type Displays an exploded pie chart representing the device types populating the RF domain. Each color-coded wedge has a label indicating its associated device model. You can take the following actions:
    • Hover over a wedge to view a pop-up showing the device model and the total number of them.
    • Toggle the interactive devices in the legend below the pie chart to include or exclude individual model types.
    Yes Yes
    Device Type Distribution Displays a numerical representation of the different controller, service platform and access point models in the current system or RF Domain. Their operational status (online and offline) device connections are also displayed. Yes Yes
    Domain Manager Displays the name of the RF Domain manager. The RF Domain manager is the focal point for the radio system and acts as a central registry of applications, hardware and capabilities. It also serves as a mount point for all the different pieces of the hardware system file. No Yes
    Radios Displays top performing radios, their RF Domain memberships, and a status time stamp. RF Domain information can be selected to review RF Domain membership information in greater detail. Information in the Radio area is presented in two tables. The first lists the total number of Radios managed by this system, the second lists the top five RF Domains in terms of the number of available radios. Yes No
    Radios by Band

    Displays a pie chart representing the RF domain member device radios classified by their radio band or sensor dedication. Review this information to assess whether RF domain member radios adequately support client device traffic requirements.

    Each wedge has a label indicating its associated classification. You can take the following actions:

    • Hover over a wedge to view a pop-up showing its classification and the total number of connected radios.
    • Toggle the interactive classifications in the legend below the pie chart to include or exclude individual classifications.
    No Yes
    Radios by Channel Displays pie charts of the different channels utilized by RF domain member radios. These dedicated channels should be as segregated as possible from one another to avoid interference. If too many radios are utilizing a single channel, consider off-loading radios to non utilized channels to improve RF domain performance. No Yes
    Radio Quality Displays a table of RF quality on a per radio basis. It is a measure of the overall effectiveness of the RF environment displayed in percentage. It is a function of the transmit retry rate in both directions and the error rate. This area of the screen displays the average quality index across all the defined RF domain on the wireless controller. The table lists worst five of the RF quality values of all the radios defined on the wireless controller.

    The quality is measured as:

    • 0-20 - Very poor quality
    • 20-40 - Poor quality
    • 40-60 - Average quality
    • 60-100 - Good quality
    No Yes
    RF Quality Displays RF quality per RF domain. It is a measure of the overall effectiveness of the RF environment displayed in percentage. It is a function of the connect rate in both directions, retry rate and error rate.

    This field displays an average quality index supporting each RF domain. The table lists the bottom five (5) RF quality values for RF domains. Listed RF domains display as individual links that can be selected to RF domain information in greater detail. Use this diagnostic information to determine what measures can be taken to improve radio performance in respect to wireless client load and the radio bands supported.

    The quality is measured as:

    • 0-20 - Very poor quality
    • 20-40 - Poor quality
    • 40-60 - Average quality
    • 60-100 - Good quality
    Yes No
    System Security Displays RF intrusion prevention stats and their associated threat level. The greater the number of unauthorized devices, the greater the associated threat level. It also displays a list of up to five (5) RF domains in relation to the number of associated wireless clients. The RF domains appear as links that can be selected to display RF domain information in greater detail. Yes No
    Top 5 Radios by Clients Displays a list of radios that have the highest number of clients. This list displays the radio IDs as links that can be selected to display individual radio information in greater detail. No Yes
    Wireless Displays a list of WLANs utilized by RF domain member devices. The table is ordered by WLAN member device radio count and their number of connected clients. Use this information to assess whether the WLAN is overly populated by radios and clients contributing to congestion. No Yes
    Wireless Security Wireless Security displays the overall threat index for the system. This index is based on the number of Rogue/Unsanctioned APs and Wireless Intrusion Protection System (WIPS) events detected. The index is in the range 0 - 5 where 0 indicates there are no detected threats. An index of 5 indicates a large number of intrusion detection events or rogue/unsanctioned APs detected No Yes
    WLAN Utilization

    Displays the traffic utilization index, which measures how efficiently the WLAN's traffic medium is used. WLAN Utilization is defined as the percentage of current throughput relative to maximum possible throughput for the WLAN.

    The table displays a list of the top five WLANs in terms of overall traffic utilization. It displays the utilization level (T-Index), WLAN name and SSIDs for each of the top five WLANs. Low indexes may require administration to assess why there's an excess of missed packets.

    Traffic indices are:

    • 0 – 20 (very low utilization)
    • 20 – 40 (low utilization)
    • 40 – 60 (moderate utilization)
    • 60 and above (high utilization)
    No Yes
  5. Close the Add Dashboard pop-up window.
  6. Select Save.