Network Information Table Overview

Network information is displayed in the pane at the bottom of the Topology view, below the topology map. An example of the table is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Network Information Table Screenshot of a network tool showing links between nodes with details like name, status, interfaces, IPs, bandwidth, and utilization.

Screenshot of a network tool showing links between nodes with details like name, status, interfaces, IPs, bandwidth, and utilization.

Tabs appear across the top of the network information table. The columns of information change according to the tab you select (Node, Link, Tunnel, Demand, Interface, Anycast Group, Container LSP, IPE Policy, Maintenance, P2MP Group, Service, SRLG/Facility).

The Node, Link, and Tunnel tabs are always displayed. The other tabs are optionally displayed. Click the + sign in the tabs heading bar to add a tab as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Adding a Tab to the Network Information Table Network management tool interface showing a table with Node, Link, and Tunnel columns, plus a dropdown for adding configurations like Demand and Interface.

Network management tool interface showing a table with Node, Link, and Tunnel columns, plus a dropdown for adding configurations like Demand and Interface.

Click the X beside any optionally displayed tab heading to remove the tab from the display.

Note:

The Service tab (for VPNs found in the network) is not populated until you enable collection of VPN data:

Use a text editing tool such as vi to modify the northstar.cfg file, adding the northstar_vpn parameter with the value of true.

Restart the northstar_pcs process group:

Run device collection from Administration > Task Scheduler.
Log out of NorthStar Controller and then log back in.

Within the tables, each row represents an element. The element information can be rearranged and, in some cases, added to, filtered, modified, or deleted. When you select an element in the network information table, the corresponding element is selected in the topology map.

On any element, you can right-click for options relevant to that element. For example, if you right-click a tunnel, you have the options shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Right-Click Options Example (Tunnel) Dropdown menu with options for network management: Reprovision, Return Delegation to PCC, Set Current Path as Explicit Path, Set Preferred Path, Trigger LSP Optimization, Diagnostics, Run Device Collection, View Events, View LSP Traffic, View Total LSP Traffic, View Delay, Force Delete, and Reload.

Dropdown menu with options for network management: Reprovision, Return Delegation to PCC, Set Current Path as Explicit Path, Set Preferred Path, Trigger LSP Optimization, Diagnostics, Run Device Collection, View Events, View LSP Traffic, View Total LSP Traffic, View Delay, Force Delete, and Reload.

If you select View Events, for example, you are first prompted to select a time range and click Submit, after which a window similar to the example shown in Figure 4 is displayed.

Figure 4: View Events Example Network event log interface showing events for test-_vmx102_vmx105, with columns for Action, Bandwidth, Current Path, PCS Event, Type, and Timestamp. Buttons: Animate Path Changes, Change Range, Export to CSV.

Network event log interface showing events for test-_vmx102_vmx105, with columns for Action, Bandwidth, Current Path, PCS Event, Type, and Timestamp. Buttons: Animate Path Changes, Change Range, Export to CSV.

Note:

The events included in the View Events window are restricted to external communication to and from NorthStar. Most of the communications internal to NorthStar are captured only in the log files. This allows you to focus on the information most likely to be useful to you as a NorthStar operator.

Special purpose network information table tabs are added in response to right-clicking on certain network information table elements to display more specific data such as various kinds of traffic, interface delay, packet loss, or sub-LSPs.

On any element, you can double click for detailed information about that specific element. For example, if you double click a node, you see information similar to that shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Example of Information Displayed by Double Clicking a Node Network node details with node label vmx104. Tree structure lists protocols and configurations like ISIS and SR. Table shows attributes: ASno 65011, canFail true, hostName vmx104, id 0110.0000.0104, ipv4 10.0.0.104.

Network node details with node label vmx104. Tree structure lists protocols and configurations like ISIS and SR. Table shows attributes: ASno 65011, canFail true, hostName vmx104, id 0110.0000.0104, ipv4 10.0.0.104.

The teardrop-shaped icon in the upper right corner of the details window controls the pin behavior described in Table 1.

Table 1: Pin Behavior in Network Element Detail Windows
Pin State	Behavior
Unpinned	When unpinned, double clicking a second element in the network information table replaces the contents of the first details window with the details of the second element. In this scenario, there is only one details window open at a time.
Pinned	When pinned, double clicking a second element in the network information table opens a new details window, leaving the first window intact. Tip: If you double click a second element, but you still only see one details window, try moving the window to the side by clicking-and-dragging the window heading. The windows might be stacked.

Network Information Table Overview

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