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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 MenusMenu interface with options: Favorites with star icon; Dashboard with speedometer icon; Network Management with dropdown; Applications with dropdown; Administration with dropdown.
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 dashboard showing device count by vendor with Juniper, ios-xr, and Unknown, top LSP sources and destinations, LSP summary with 42 primary LSPs all up, top 10 traffic devices and interfaces over 1 hour.

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 Screenshot of a network management interface showing a network topology view with active paths, links, PCC stats, a color-coded topology map, node details, and a toolbar for settings.

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 details for vmx101 with IP 10.0.0.101 and AS 11. Tunnels tab displays tunnel names, destination nodes, bandwidth, control type, path type, and operational status. Refresh Node List button and pagination controls visible.

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 Label Switched Paths with graphs for path types, traffic, metrics, delay, and a tunnel table.

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 and grid for configuring values from bit0 to bit31. Save button at bottom right.
Figure 7: Provision Diverse LSPConfiguration interface for provisioning diverse Label Switched Paths in a network management system with tunnels settings and NETCONF protocol.
Figure 8: Provision Multiple LSPsScreenshot of a network management interface for provisioning LSPs with tabs for Properties, Advanced, Design, Scheduling, and User Properties. Fields for ID Prefix, Count, Provisioning Method as NETCONF, Provisioning Type as RSVP, Planned Bandwidth, Setup, Hold, and Delimiter. Node A and Node Z placement with action buttons for Submit and Cancel.
Figure 9: Configure LSP DelegationLSP Delegation interface for configuring MPLS paths, featuring table with LSP names, starting and ending nodes, IPs, and bandwidth. Includes controls for adding/removing delegations and pagination.
Figure 10: Device ConfigurationDevice Configuration interface with options to Add, Modify, Delete configurations, an empty table with Name and View Mode columns, and a Provision button.
Figure 11: Work OrdersWorkorders interface screenshot displaying work order details like Action, ID, Type, Status, Submitter, and Submitted Time. Includes LSP Details section with Request, Name, LspIndex, IP A, IP Z, Bandwidth, Setup, Hold, and Planned Metric.

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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