NAME
snm_gr - Site/SunNet/Domain Manager results grapher
SYNOPSIS
snm_gr [ -b ]
DESCRIPTION
snm_gr is an OPEN LOOK application that allows the display of information sent to it by snm(1), the Site/SunNet/Domain Manager console, and by snm_br(1), the Site/SunNet/Domain Manager browser. The grapher aids in the visual analysis of information collected in Site/SunNet/Domain Manager data and event reports.
You must explicitly start snm_gr from the command line or from the snm Tools menu before it can receive any data from snm or snm_br.
If the -b switch is given, backgrounds will appear White rather than Black. You might want to use this option if you intend to print the graphs.
Data Sets
Each snm_gr graph consists of one or more data sets, with each data set representing a series of values for a single attribute received from an agent. Two types of data sets are supported: dynamic and static.
Dynamic data sets are initially empty but receive updates during the lifetime of the graph. The resulting graphs are similar to "perfmeter" graphs. Dynamic data sets only retain the 180 most recent update value.
Static data sets are initially filled with values but cannot receive updates. Static data sets may contain an unlimited number of values.
USAGE
Sending data from snm
When preparing a data report within the Site/SunNet/Domain Manager console, you may specify that received report information be passed to the results grapher program. Do this by selecting the Graph Tool option in the data report's attribute specification pane. When that data report is launched, the snm program contacts the results grapher and tells it to prepare a dynamic graph. This causes a graph window to appear, which initially contains no information. As snm receives periodic updates from that data report, it forwards these results to snm_gr, which then displays them.
Sending data from snm_br
Data streams within snm_br can be sent to the results grapher. See the snm_br(1) man page for more information on how this is done.
Results Grapher Main Window
When snm_gr is started, a single window entitled Results Grapher appears. This indicates that the grapher is now ready to receive graphs sent to it by snm and snm_br. When these graphs arrive, a separate Graph Window is displayed, and the name of the graph is added to the scrolling list in the Results Grapher window. You may then select one or more of the items in the scrolling list, and manipulate them using the View, Properties, Remove, and Merge buttons, as explained below:
It is possible to manipulate some aspects of the displayed graph by selecting from the Graph Menu, which is obtained by pressing the MENU mouse button while within a graph window.
Graph Menu entries include:
If Relative data scale is chosen, each data set is drawn using its own scale. This scale forces the maximum and minimum values of the data set to be displayed over the full height of the graph. Use Relative data scale when displaying multiple data sets whose data values are of different units (for example, cpu%, interrupts, and collisions for a single system).
Graph Rotation Angles
The Rotation Angles window allows you to change the default viewing angles in the graph using the following controls:
NOTES
To help keep graphs reasonable, a maximum of four lines of attribute names are displayed in the legend. Increasing the width of the graph window allows more attribute names to be displayed.
No timestamps or legends are displayed when the graph window size is shrunk to less than 250x250 pixels. The display of dynamic data sets from snm data reports is both extremely CPU-intensive and consumes large amounts of memory. Starting multiple data reports with low report intervals is not recommended. Your results may vary. If a console data report (which contains a "Graph Tool" attribute request) is started when snm_gr is not running, a dynamic graph is not created and no updates are processed. Thus, if the runtime database contains any restartable data requests, snm_gr should be started before snm, so that any graphs will be automatically created during the snm initialization. When displaying dynamic graphs, snm_gr attempts to use X11 server pixmaps for double-buffering. X11 pixmaps are a limited server resource that may not be available on all servers. If snm_gr is unable to acquire a pixmap, it will instead perform dynamic update redisplays directly to the screen. The resulting flicker may make the graph hard to read.
The maximum value snm_gr can handle is limited to 2^31 - 1.