4.4 Customizing the Navigation Tree
The first time you run the web interface using your profile, only one entry appears in the navigation tree: the node name for the Default Group. Ordinarily, this is the machine that you logged into.
You can customize the navigation tree display by creating new groups, adding nodes to groups, and selecting log files.
After you submit changes to the navigation tree, SEA refreshes the display. The refresh process may take a few seconds.
4.4.1 Groups
From the navigation tree, you can create new groups and remove existing groups.
4.4.1.1 Adding Groups
To add new groups follow these steps:
- The "Group Maintenance For System Event Analyzer" screen appears in the display frame (Figure 4–7). The Add Groups tab is already selected.
Figure 4–7 Add Group
- The location and placement options determine where you would like the new group to appear in the navigation tree relative to existing groups. By default, new groups are added after the selected group.
- Select an existing group from the list.
- Select a placement option from the radio buttons.
- Enter the name for the new group in the text field. Be sure to follow these rules for naming groups:
- Group names should be unique. If you enter a group name that is already in the navigation tree at the same level, SEA will not create the new group.
- Group names should not use punctuation characters. These characters can cause JavaScript errors in the web interface.
- Group names should be descriptive. If you leave this field blank, the group is named "newGroup" by default.
- The new group appears in the navigation tree.
4.4.1.2 Removing Groups
Removing a group removes all the nodes and files contained in the group as well as all of the lower level groups nested under it.
To remove existing groups, follow these steps:
- Click the System Event Analyzer link at the top to the navigation tree.
- Select the Remove Groups tab at the bottom of the "Group Maintenance..." screen (Figure 4–8).
Figure 4–8 Remove Group
- To select multiple groups, press CTRL and click on each group. If the groups are consecutive, press SHIFT and click on the first and last group names.
- The groups disappear from the navigation tree.
4.4.2 Nodes
Expanding a group in the navigation tree displays the nodes contained in that group. Nodes can be expanded by clicking on the expansion symbol next to their name to reveal the log file types included in that node. You can add and remove nodes from the groups in the navigation tree.
4.4.2.1 Adding Nodes
Any computer where the Director is running can be added to your web interface navigation tree as a node. To add additional nodes follow these steps:
- The "Node Maintenance" screen appears in the display frame (Figure 4–9). The Add Nodes tab is already selected.
Figure 4–9 Add Node
- The location and placement options determine where you would like the new node to appear in the navigation tree relative to existing nodes. By default, new nodes are added after the selected node.
- If no nodes currently exist for the group, skip steps 2 and 3.
- Select an existing node from the list.
- Select a placement option from the radio buttons.
- Enter the name for the new node in text field. Be sure to follow these rules:
- Node names should be valid hostnames or IP addresses. Hostnames must be accessible through the nameserver to be valid. For example, the hostname of a Windows machine using DHCP is not listed with the nameserver. In this instance, you would need to enter the IP address.
- Node names should be unique. Entering the name of a node you are already connected to will overwrite the existing node and any Other Logs settings associated with it.
- The new node appears under its group in the navigation tree.
4.4.2.2 Removing Nodes
Removing a node removes all the additional binary event log files contained in the node from the navigation tree.
To remove existing nodes, follow these steps:
- Select the group you want to remove nodes from in the navigation tree.
- Select the Remove Nodes tab at the bottom of the screen (Figure 4–10).
Figure 4–10 Remove Node
- To select multiple nodes, press CTRL and click on each node. If the nodes are consecutive, press SHIFT and click on the first and last node names.
- The nodes disappear from the navigation tree. If the selected node is contained in multiple groups, removing it from one group will not affect its presence in other groups.
4.4.2.3 Activating Nodes
Nodes are either active or inactive and by default when you connect to a node or load a profile that connects to other nodes, all the nodes are active. A node is only classified as inactive if SEA cannot connect to it. Inactive nodes appear in the navigation tree with a red "X" through their icon.
If a node is inactive, you can try to connect to it manually. To connect to a inactive node, follow these steps:
- The only available option is "Activate this node" (Figure 4–11).
Figure 4–11 Activate Node
- If the Director on the remote node is accessible, a message appears in the display frame (Figure 4–12) and the navigation tree is updated to show the new status.
Figure 4–12 Activating Node Message
- If the Director is not accessible, a message appears in the display frame (Figure 4–13) and the navigation tree is not changed.
Figure 4–13 Unable to Activate Node Message
4.4.3 Categories
Categories are an optional feature that is disabled by default. If you want to use categories, you must enable the feature using the User Settings tab on the Settings screen (see Section 4.8).
Categories provide a method for grouping the log files listed under the Other Logs folder. If you use categories, SEA provides another layer of folders under the Other Logs folder. This feature may be useful if you monitor numerous log files.
4.4.3.1 Adding Categories
Once you have enabled the categories feature, you can add categories to the navigation tree. To add categories, follow these steps:
- The Category Maintenance screen appears in the display frame (Figure 4–14). The Add Categories tab is already selected.
Figure 4–14 Add Category
- The location and placement options determine where you would like the new category to appear in the navigation tree relative to existing categories. By default, new categories are added after the selected category.
- If no categories currently exist for the group, skip steps 2 and 3.
- Select an existing category from the list.
- Select a placement option from the radio buttons.
- Enter the name for the new category in the text field. Be sure to follow these rules for naming categories:
- Category names should be unique. If you enter the name of an existing category, SEA will not create the new category.
- Category names should not use punctuation characters. These characters can cause JavaScript errors in the web interface.
- Category names should be descriptives. If you leave this field blank, the category is named "newCat" by default.
- The new category appears in the navigation tree.
4.4.3.2 Removing Categories
Removing a category removes all the binary event log files contained in the category from the navigation tree.
To remove existing categories, follow these steps:
- Select the Other Logs folder for the node you want to remove categories from in the navigation tree.
- Select the Remove Category tab at the bottom of the screen (Figure 4–15).
Figure 4–15 Remove Category
- To select multiple categories, press CTRL and click on each category. If the categories are consecutive, press SHIFT and click on the first and last category names.
- The categories disappear from the navigation tree. If a log file is contained in multiple categories, removing it from one of the categories will not affect its presence in the others.
4.4.4 Log Files
Each node contains binary event log files. Log files are separated into two different types: the binary system event log and all other binary event logs.
4.4.4.1 System Log
The system log is the binary event log file where system events are written. You cannot change this log file. Click the expansion symbol to view the analysis options for the system log in the navigation tree.
- Real Time Monitoring – shows the results of automatic analysis in the display frame.
- Full View – manually analyzes the system event log and processes all the events in the file.
See Sections 4.1.2 and 4.5 for more information on analysis.
4.4.4.2 Other Logs
The Other Logs folder in the navigation tree contains entries for binary event log files other than the system event log. These can include the example binary log files included with SEA, or any other binary event log file located on the node. Initially, there are no sub-entries under Other Logs in the navigation tree.
If you are using categories, the Other Logs entry contains the categories you have created and the category folders contain entries for binary event log files.
In order to add saved log files to the navigation tree, they must be viewable in the Add Log Files list. For a file to be viewable, it must meet both of these criteria:
- The log file must have a .sys, .evt, .zpd, or .errlog extension. If you wish to add a file with a different extension, you will need to rename the file so it uses an acceptable file extension.
- The log file must be saved in the svctools directory (created during installation), one of its subdirectories, or one of the directories you configured in the CA.WUI.OLDirs key in the DESTA registry. Files that are stored in these locations are automatically displayed in the list. For more information, see section 7.7.2.
The best place to store log files (as well as other user data) is in one of the userdata subdirectories:
svctools\specific\ca\userdata svctools\common\ca\userdataFiles stored in these subdirectories are automatically backed up and saved if you uninstall, reinstall, or upgrade WEBES. For more information on storing user data, see the WEBES Installation Guide.
If you want to store files elsewhere, you can configure WEBES by adding a comma separated list of file paths to the CA.WUI.OLDirs key in the DESTA registry. For more information, see section 7.7.2.
You can also enable a text entry field for specific users. The text field allows users to add log files to the Other Logs list by entering the path and filename of an event log located anywhere in the file system. For more information, see section 7.7.3.
Follow these steps to add other log files:
- If you are using categories, click on the category name for the node. Otherwise, click on the Other Logs link for the node.
- The Other Logs screen opens in the display frame (Figure 4–16). The Add Files tab is already selected.
Figure 4–16 Add Log Files Tab
- Click the Select All button to select all the listed log files.
- Click the check box for each file. You can select multiple check boxes.
- Click the Clear All button or uncheck a selected check box to deselect files.
- (Optional) If enabled, enter the path and filename in the text field (see section 7.7.3 for more information).
- Click the Add button.
- The binary event log file is added to the navigation tree under the Other Logs entry or appropriate category for the node.
To remove binary event log files from the navigation tree, follow these steps:
- If you are using categories, click on the category name for the node. Otherwise, click on the Other Logs link for the node.
- Select the Remove Files tab from the bottom of the screen (Figure 4–17).
Figure 4–17 Remove Log File Tab
- To select multiple files, press CTRL and click on each file name. If the files are consecutive, press SHIFT and click on the first and last file names.
- The navigation tree is refreshed to reflect your changes.