Network Element Groups and Sites
A large network may consist of hundreds of network elements. Working with these network elements in a single flat topology Map may be impractical. To reduce clutter in the Map view, the proNX Service Manager allows you to arrange network elements into hierarchical groups. A group is represented by a single icon.
Network elements not belonging to any user-created group are placed in a default top level group. This top level container group is represented by the Elements entry in the Network tree view. All network elements contained at this level in the hierarchy are displayed in the top level Map view. You can assign network elements to groups during discovery, or you can move network elements to groups that you have created at a later stage.
PSM stores group associations in its database. This allows group associations to persist across PSM software upgrades.
Groups are hierarchical. For example, you can create a group called WALL_ST that is inside a group called LOWER_MANHATTAN that in turn is inside a group called MANHATTAN.
The lowest form of a group is called a site. A site is intended to represent network elements at the same location. For example, you can create a site called NYSE inside the WALL_ST group. A site can be inside a group but a site cannot be nested in another site. Groups and sites share the same namespace.
The namespace for a group or a site is local to its location in the Network tree. In other words, you can create multiple WALL_ST groups in different parts of the tree, but at each location in the tree, you can only have one group or site called WALL_ST.
 | Note: Network element groups and sites are part of the replicated data set when running with multiple servers. For more information on replicated data, see Running multiple servers with server replication. |
Creating a New Group
Use this procedure to create a new group.
- In the Elements branch in the Network tree view, perform one of the following actions:
- Right click the Elements entry and select Create Group to create a new group at the top level of the tree.
- Right click an existing group and select Create Group to create a new group nested inside that existing group.
You can also create a new group by right clicking an existing group in the topology Map view and selecting Create Group.
- A pop-up dialog appears in which you can enter a name
for the new group.
Enter a name and select OK. The name must be unique for all groups and sites at that location in the tree.
Note: Network element groups and sites are part of the replicated data set when running with multiple servers.
Moving Network Elements, Groups, And/or Sites to a Different Group
Use this procedure to move network elements, groups, and/or sites to a different group.
- Select the network elements, groups, and/or sites in the Elements branch of the Network tree view.
- Click and drag the selections to the desired group as
shown below.
Note: If you no longer want a network element to be part of any user-defined group, move it back to the top level Elements group.
Note: Network element groups and sites are part of the replicated data set when running with multiple servers. If a server in the cluster has not discovered the network elements being moved, that server will show the destination group with these network elements undiscovered.
Adding Network Elements to a New Group or Site
Use this procedure to add network elements to a new group or to a new site.
This procedure creates a group or a site, and populates it with network elements in one step. You cannot use this procedure to add network elements to an existing group or site.
- Select one or more network elements from the same level in the topology Map view or in the Elements branch of the Network tree view. Right click and choose Add to... >Group or Add to... >Site as desired.
- A pop-up dialog appears in which you can enter a name
for the group or site. Enter the name and click OK. The
name must be unique for all groups and sites at that location in the
tree.
The new group or site is created at that location and the selected network elements are moved into it.
Note: Network element groups and sites are part of the replicated data set when running with multiple servers. If a server in the cluster has not discovered the network elements being added, that server will show the new group or site with these network elements undiscovered.
Adding Groups And/or Sites to a New Group
Use this procedure to add groups and/or sites to a new group.
This procedure creates a group and populates it with other groups and/or sites in one step. You cannot use this procedure to add groups and/or sites to an existing group.
- Select one or more groups and/or sites from the same level in the topology Map view or in the Elements branch of the Network tree view. Right click and choose Add to New Group.
- A pop-up dialog appears in which you can enter a name
for the group. Enter the name and click OK. The name must
be unique for all groups and sites at that location in the tree.
The new group is created at that location and the selected groups and/or sites are moved into it.
Note: Network element groups and sites are part of the replicated data set when running with multiple servers.
Navigating Between Parent and Child Groups
Use this procedure to navigate between a child view of network elements inside a group and a parent view of the group itself.
- To view the contents of a group in the topology Map view, select the group in the Elements branch
of the Network tree view or double-click the group in
the topology Map view.
Figure 1: Map View Of Group Contents
Note: Network element groups are part of the replicated data set when running with multiple servers. You may see undiscovered network elements in this view if this group was created on another server and if your server has not been configured to discover the network elements in that group.
- To go back to the parent, right-click in the background
of the child and select Show Parent.
Figure 2: Map View Of Parent
