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NorthStar Controller Web UI Overview

You have two options for the NorthStar Controller Web UI:

  • Classic—this option, also known as the Ext UI, is available for all releases. Ext refers to the Extended Javascript (ExtJS) framework upon which this UI is based.

  • New—this option is available starting in release 6.2.0.

To switch between the two UI options, see Switching Between the Classic and New UI. This document shows screenshots from a mix of the two UIs.

The NorthStar Controller web UI has the following menus and sub-menus:

  • Favorites

  • Dashboard

  • Network Management: Includes sub-menus for Topology, Nodes, Analytics, and Provisioning.

  • Applications: Includes sub-menus for Bandwidth Calendar. Network, Events, Path Optimization, Reports, and Maintenance.

  • Administration: Includes sub-menus for Analytics, Authentication, Device Profile, License, Subscribers, System Health, System Settings, Task Scheduler, Transport Controller, Topology Filter, and Users.

Figure 1 shows the navigation bar (or left-nav bar) that appears on the left side of each page. From this bar, you can select the different menu items and sub-menus. You can access the sub-menus by clicking the down arrows.

Figure 1: Web UI Main MenusSidebar menu with options: Favorites, Dashboard, Network Management, Applications, Administration.
Note:

The availability of some functions and features is dependent on user group permissions.

If you have certain pages that you use frequently, you can save them to Favorites in the left-nav bar for quick access.

The Dashboard (landing page) shows the network status and statistics information in the form of widgets. This page is displayed when you first log in to the web UI. Figure 2 shows a sample of the available widgets.

Figure 2: Dashboard Network monitoring dashboard with visualizations: pie chart of device count by vendor, tables of top LSP sources and destinations, LSP status bar chart, and bar charts of top 10 traffic devices and interfaces.

The Network Management > Topology page is the main work area for the live network you load into the system.

Figure 3 shows an example of the Topology page.

Figure 3: Topology Page Network management interface screenshot showing network status overview, topology visualization, interface utilization color scale, node details table, and toolbar icons.

The Network Management > Nodes page, shown in Figure 4, displays detailed information about the nodes in the network. With this view, you can see node details, tunnel and interface summaries, groupings, and geographic placement (if enabled), all in one place.

Figure 4: Nodes PageNetwork management interface showing node vmx101 details with hostname, IPv4 and management IP addresses, AS 11, ISIS area 490011, and 8 tunnels.

The Network Management > Analytics page , shown in Figure 5, provides a collection of quick-reference widgets related to analytics.

Figure 5: Analytics PageNetwork analytics dashboard showing visualizations and data on Label Switched Paths LSPs, including path types, traffic, metrics, and tunnel details.

The Network Management > Provisioning sub-menu has options for provisioning LSPs, configuring devices, and managing work orders (Figure 6 through Figure 11).

Figure 6: Provision LSPAdmin panel interface with navigation menu on left featuring options like Admin Group and System Settings. Right side shows editable fields labeled bit0 to bit31 with Save button at bottom right.
Figure 7: Provision Diverse LSPGUI for provisioning Label Switched Paths in a network management system with Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2 configuration fields, general settings dropdowns, and Preview Paths, Cancel, and Submit buttons.
Figure 8: Provision Multiple LSPsConfiguration interface for provisioning multiple Label Switched Paths in a network with options for ID Prefix, Count, Provisioning Method and Type, Planned Bandwidth, Setup and Hold priorities, and Node selection.
Figure 9: Configure LSP DelegationConfiguration interface for LSP Delegation in MPLS. Table with columns for Add, Name, Node A, Node Z, IP A, IP Z, and Bandwidth. Controls for adding or removing delegations, bulk selection, and submitting changes. Features for downloading, searching, and settings configuration.
Figure 10: Device ConfigurationDevice Configuration interface with options to Add, Modify, or Delete configurations, an empty table with Name and View Mode columns, and a Provision button at the bottom.
Figure 11: Work OrdersWorkorders interface displaying a table with columns for Action, ID, Type, Status, Submitter, Submitted Time, Submitter Comment, Approver, Approved Time, and Approver Comment. Below, LSP Details section shows additional info like Request, Name, LspIndex, IP A, IP Z, Bandwidth, Setup, Hold, and Planned Metric. Includes navigation, search, and export options for managing network provisioning tasks.

The Administration menu contains the following items:

Note:

The “Admin only” functions can only be accessed by the Admin.

  • Admin Group

  • Authentication (Admin only)

  • Device Profile

  • License (Admin only)

  • Logs

  • Subscribers (Admin only)

  • System Health

  • System Settings (Admin only)

  • Task Scheduler

  • Transport Controller

  • Topology Filter

  • Users (Admin only)

Additionally, you can access user and help functions in the top right corner of the window.

  • User Options (user icon)

    • Account Settings

    • Log Out

  • Help Options (help icon)

    • Documentation (link to NorthStar customer documentation)

    • About (version and license information)

Switching Between the Classic and New UI

When you log in to the Northstar Controller for the first time after installing or upgrading, you are placed in the Classic UI.

When you subsequently log in to the Northstar Controller, you are placed in the UI that you last used. Your last selection is saved per user per browser.

To switch from the Classic UI to the New UI, click the hamburger icon in the top right corner and select New UI.

To switch from the New UI to the Classic UI, click the four-square icon in the top right corner and select Ext UI.

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