Administer > Administer the NNM iSPI Performance for QA > Configure QA Groups

Configure QA Groups

This topic includes the following sections:

In a large enterprise network, you can have many elements of NNM iSPI Performance for QA. Without a grouping and filtering mechanism, managing and monitoring these elements can become time consuming and cumbersome. NNM iSPI Performance for QA enables you to group NNM iSPI Performance for QA elements based on a common feature. You can use the QA groups to perform the following tasks:

  • Configure entity thresholds as a group
  • View the entities based on the groups
  • Configure polling frequency

One NNM iSPI Performance for QA element can be part of multiple QA Groups.

You can group the NNM iSPI Performance for QA elements based on various attributes.

You cannot create a QA Group with more than nine attributes.

Group attributes for QA Probe Elements:

  • Probe Name
  • Probe Owner Name
  • Probe Type
  • Probe ToS
  • Source Host
  • Source Address
  • Target Address
  • Destination Host
  • VRF Name
  • Source Site
  • Destination Site
  • Node Group Name

After creating a new QA group using a newly created node group, wait for 30 minutes, and then click Apply Now in the QA Groups panel or run a discovery to ensure successful association of probes with the new QA group. For information about running an on-demand discovery, see .

Group attributes for QoS Elements:

  • Policy name (NNM iSPI Performance for QA includes the parent policy in the group, if the policy is a child policy)
  • Action Type
  • Node on which the policy is hosted
  • Policy Direction
  • Interface Name (ifName)
  • Interface Type (ifType)
  • Interface Alias (ifAlias)
  • Interface Description (ifDescr)
  • Traffic Class Name
  • Node group on which the policy is hosted

After creating a new QA group using a newly created node group, wait for 30 minutes, and then click Apply Now in the QA Groups panel or run a discovery to ensure successful association of QoS elements with the new QA group. For information about running an on-demand discovery, see .

Group attributes for Juniper CoS Elements:

  • Node on which the policy is hosted
  • Interface Name (ifName)
  • Interface Type (ifType)
  • Interface Alias (ifAlias)
  • Interface Description (ifDescr)
  • Forwarding Class Name
  • Classifier Name
  • Node group on which the policy is hosted
  • Drop Profile Name
  • Scheduler Map Name

Group attributes for Ping Latency Pair Elements:

  • Source Host Name
  • Destination Host Name
  • Source Interface Name (ifName)
  • Destination Interface Name (ifName)
  • Source Interface Type (ifType)
  • Destination Interface Type (ifType)
  • Source Interface Alias (ifAlias)
  • Destination Interface Alias (ifAlias)
  • Source Address
  • Destination Address
  • Source in Node Group

Add QA Groups

To add a new QA Group:

  1. Launch the QA Groups Configuration form.

    1. Select Configuration workspace > Quality Assurance Configuration Console. The configuration console opens.
    2. In the Configuration workspace, select Sites/QA Groups > QA Group. The QA Groups Configuration form opens.
  2. Click New in the Configured QA Groups tab. The Add QA Group form opens.

  3. Specify the following to configure the QA Group settings:

    Field Name Description
    Name The name of the QA Group. The name should be unique.
    Description

    A brief description of the QA Group. For example, you can mention "Probes for VoIP", if you want to group all VoIP probes.

    Do not use the & and < characters in the description.
    Type

    The type of the QA Group. The valid QA Group types are QA Probes, Ping Latency, Juniper CoS, and CBQoS.

    Select a type for the new QA group before you continue creating the QA group filters.
    Tenant

    The tenant name to which the QA group belongs to.

    If the value is left blank, NNMi assigns a tenant named Default Tenant. As an NNMi administrator, you can create new tenants and security groups.

    Polling Interval

    The applicable polling interval for all the members of the QA group, in seconds.

    For QoS entities and probes, you cannot use a polling interval that is less than 1 minute.
    • For QoS entities (interfaces/actions), if the value remains zero, the polling interval of the QA Group is the default value, which is 300 seconds.
    • For QA probes, if the value remains zero, the polling interval is the default frequency of the probe.

    If a QoS entity is a member of multiple QA groups, then it's polling frequency is that of the QA group with the lowest polling interval.

    If a QA probe is a member of multiple QA groups, then the polling frequency of the probe is that of the QA group which has the lowest polling interval. The probe-specific frequency overrides the QA group polling frequency only if the probe-specific frequency is higher than the QA group polling frequency.

    To configure the polling frequency of the QA Probes/QoS entities that are not part of any QA group, see Configure Polling .
    Filter Editor

    You can create a QA group based on the Filter Editor expression created with different attributes of the NNM iSPI Performance for QA Elements. Note that the attributes listed for the Filter Editor differ based on the type of the QA group selected. You can define the Filter Editor expression with a single condition or combine multiple conditions using the Boolean Operators, AND and OR.

    To define the Filter Editor expression, you must first add the Boolean operators and then add the conditions.

    To add the Boolean operators: Use the Mapping buttons to insert, append, and replace Boolean Operators based on the rule that you want to create.

    Button Description
    AND

    Inserts the AND Boolean Operator at the selected cursor location.

    OR

    Inserts the OR Boolean Operator at the current cursor location.

    DELETE Deletes the selected Boolean Operator. If the Boolean Operator is selected, all the conditions associated with the Boolean Operator are deleted.

    See the condition expression displayed under Filter string to see the logic of the expression as it is created.

    Click here for more information about using the Boolean Operators.

    • Add your highest level Boolean operator first.

    • The AND and OR Boolean Operators must contain at least two conditions.

    • Add each additional Boolean Operator before adding the condition to which it applies.

    • Place the cursor on the Boolean Operator that you want to append to or replace.

    To add a condition: Use the rule components to insert, append, and replace a condition.

    Component Description
    Attribute

    The attribute on which you want NNM iSPI Performance for QA to filter the probes. The listed attributes depend on the type of the QA Group selected.

    You cannot create a QA Group with more than nine attributes.
    Operator

    The operator that establishes the relationship between the Attribute and Value.
    Value The value that completes the criteria required to define the condition.

It is recommended to group the QA probes with millisecond precision value and microsecond precision value into separate QA groups.

Click here for an example for defining the condition expression.

((Probe owner name = Admin1 OR Probe owner name = Admin2) AND Node group name = Router)

To add the Filter Editor expression above, after you are in the Filter Editor section, follow these steps:

  1. Click AND.
  2. Click OR.
  3. Select the OR you just added to the expression.
  4. In the Attribute field, select Probe owner name.
  5. In the Operator field, select =.
  6. In the Value field, enter Admin1.
  7. Click Insert.
  8. In the Attribute field, select Probe owner name.
  9. In the Operator field, select =.
  10. In the Value field, enter Admin2.
  11. Click Append/Insert.
  12. Select the AND that you added previously to the expression.
  13. In the Attribute field, select Node group name.
  14. In the Operator field, select =.
  15. In the Value field, enter Router.
  16. Click Append.
  17. Click Save or Save and Close.

After you configure the QA Group, you can view the configured QA group details in the QA Groups panel.

The configured QA Group is discovered in the inventory view by clicking Apply Now in the QA Groups panel, or during the next discovery cycle of the nodes.

Edit QA Groups

To edit the existing QA Groups:

  1. Launch the QA Groups Configuration form.

    1. Select Configuration workspace > Quality Assurance Configuration Console. The configuration console opens.
    2. In the Configuration workspace, select Sites/QA Groups > QA Group. The QA Groups Configuration form opens.
  2. Select a configured QA Group you want to modify, and Click Edit in the Configured QA Groups tab. The Edit QA Group form opens.

  3. You can update one or more fields in the QA Group settings:

    Field Name Description
    Name The name of the QA Group. The name should be unique.
    Description

    A brief description for the QA Group.

    Do not use the & and < characters in the description.
    Tenant

    The tenant name to which the QA group belongs to.

    If the value is left blank, NNMi assigns 'Default Tenant' as the tenant name. As an NNMi administrator, you can create new tenants and security groups.
    Polling Interval

    The applicable polling interval for all the members of the QA group, in seconds.

    For QA probes:

    • If the value remains zero, the polling interval is the probe-specific frequency.
    • If a QA probe is a member of multiple QA groups, then the polling frequency of the probe is that of the QA group which has the lowest polling interval. The probe-specific frequency overrides the QA group polling frequency only if the probe-specific frequency is higher than the QA group polling frequency.

    For QoS interfaces/actions:

    • If the value remains zero, the polling interval of the QA Group is the default value, which is 300 seconds.
    • If a QoS entity is a member of multiple QA groups, then it's polling frequency is that of the QA group with the lowest polling interval.

    To configure the polling frequency of the QA Probes/QoS entities that are not part of any QA group, see Configure Polling .

    The Type of the QA Group cannot be changed.

    To edit the boolean operators: Use the mapping buttons to insert, append, and replace boolean operators based on the rule that you want to create.

    Button Description
    AND

    Inserts the AND Boolean Operator at the selected cursor location.

    OR

    Inserts the OR Boolean Operator at the current cursor location.

    DELETE Deletes the selected Boolean Operator. If the Boolean Operator is selected, all the conditions associated with the Boolean Operator are deleted.

    See the condition expression displayed under Filter string to see the logic of the expression as it is modified.

    Click here for more information about using the Boolean Operators.

    • Add your highest level Boolean operator first.

    • The AND and OR Boolean Operators must contain at least two conditions.

    • Add each additional Boolean Operator before adding the condition to which it applies.

    • Place the cursor on the Boolean Operator that you want to append to or replace.

    To edit a condition: Use the rule components to insert, append, and replace a condition.

    Component Description
    Attribute

    The attribute on which you want NNM iSPI Performance for QA to filter the probes. The listed attributes depend on the type of the QA Group selected.
    Operator

    The operator that establishes the relationship between the Attribute and Value.
    Value The value that completes the criteria required to define the condition.

    It is recommended to group the QA probes with millisecond precision value and microsecond precision value into separate QA groups.

  4. Click Save or Save and close.

    Ensure you click the Save or Save and Close in the Edit QA Groups form, after you edit to save the changes you made.

  5. Click Refresh in the QA Groups panel.
  6. Click Apply Now.

Delete QA Groups

To delete an existing QA Group:

  1. Launch the QA Groups Configuration form.

    1. Select Configuration workspace > Quality Assurance Configuration Console. The configuration console opens.
    2. In the Configuration workspace, select Sites/QA Groups > QA Group. The QA Groups Configuration form opens.
  2. Select the QA Group that you want to delete, and click Delete in the Configured QA Groups tab.
    or
    Click Delete All to delete all the QA Groups.
  3. Click Refresh in the Configured QA Groups tab to view the changes.

Alternatively, you can use the following command to delete the selected QA groups:

Linux:$NnmInstallDir/bin/ nmsqacustomgrouputil.ovpl -u <username> -p <password> -delete -g <QA group name>

Windows:%NnmInstallDir%\bin\nmsqacustomgrouputil.ovpl -u <username> -p <password> -delete -g <QA group name>

If you delete a QA Group, the QA Group information is deleted from the QA Groups Inventory View. However, deleting a QA group does not delete the QA probes associated with the group.

-u <username> -p <password> are optional parameters.

Export QA Group Configurations

To export the QA probes associated with a QA group to an XML file:

  1. Launch the QA Groups Configuration form.

    1. Select Configuration workspace > Quality Assurance Configuration Console. The configuration console opens.
    2. In the Configuration workspace, select Sites/QA Groups > QA Group. The QA Groups Configuration form opens.
  2. Click Export.

  3. In the user prompt dialog box, enter the file name where you want to export the configurations for the existing QA groups.

    You must enter the file name with full path information. For example, C:\temp\QAGroup_conf.xml

  4. Click OK.

You can also export QA group configurations using the following command line utilities:

QA Group Command Command Behavior
nmsqacustomgrouputil.ovpl -u <username> -p <password> -export <filename to export the QA group configurations>

Exports the QA group configurations to the specified XML file.

Provide absolute path for the file where you want to export the QA group configurations.

If the QA group export fails, check the following log files:

Linux:$NnmDataDir/log/qa/qa.log

Windows:%NnmDataDir%\log\qa\qa.log

You can export QA group configurations for local and remote QA groups.

-u <username> -p <password> are optional parameters.

Import QA Group Configurations

To import QA group configurations from an XML file:

  1. Launch the QA Groups Configuration form.

    1. Select Configuration workspace > Quality Assurance Configuration Console. The configuration console opens.
    2. In the Configuration workspace, select Sites/QA Groups > QA Group. The QA Groups Configuration form opens.
  2. Click Import.

  3. In the user prompt dialog box, enter the file name from where you want to import the QA group configuration information.

    You must enter the file name with full path information. For example, C:\temp\QAGroup_conf.xml

  4. Click OK.

    If a QA group is already defined and displayed in the Configured QA group panel, the import utility does not import the configuration information for that group from the XML file.

You can also import QA group configuration information using the following command line utility:

Linux:$NnmInstallDir/bin/nmsqacustomgrouputil.ovpl -u <username> -p <password> -import <filename to import the QA group configurations>

Windows:%NnmInstallDir%\bin\nmsqacustomgrouputil.ovpl -u <username> -p <password> -import – <filename to import the QA group configurations>

If the QA group import fails, check the following log files:

Linux:$NnmDataDir/log/qa/qa.log

Windows:%NnmDataDir%\log\qa\qa.log

-u <username> -p <password> are optional parameters.

Operators Used in Defining QA Group Filter

The various operators that are used with the attributes in defining the QA Group filters are given below:

Operator Description
= Finds all values equal to the value specified. For example, Node Group = Cisco finds all the node groups with the name Cisco.
!= Finds all values not equal to the value specified. For example, Node Group != Cisco finds all the node groups other than Cisco.
like Finds matches using wild card characters. For example, Interface Description (ifDescr) like Fa 0/1 finds all interface names that begin with Fa 0/1.
Not like Finds all that do not have the values specified (using wild card strings). For example, Interface Description (ifDescr) not like Fa 0/1 finds all interface names that do not begin with Fa 0/1.
In

Finds a match to at least one of the values specified. For example:

Attribute Value
Policy Name

P1

P2

Finds all policy names that are P1 or P2.

You must enter each value in a separate line.

Not in

Finds all values except those included in the list of values. For example:

Attribute Value
Policy Name

P1

P2

finds all policy names other than P1 and P2.

You must enter each value in a separate line.
Between Finds all values equal to and between the two values specified. Use this operator only on attributes that have numeric values.
Not between Finds all values except those between the two values specified. Use this operator only on attributes that have numeric values.
Range

Finds all values within the specified IP address range. You can specify the range in one of the following formats:

  • Wild card characters in place of octets

    For example:

    • 192.168.*.*

  • Ranges of numbers in place of octets

    For example:

    • 192.168.10-20.2

    • 192.168.10-25.5-25

  • Subnet address

    For example, 192.168.0.0/8
< Finds all values less than the value specified. For example, Target address < 192.168.215.215 finds all the IP addresses less than 192.168.215.215
<= Finds all values less than or equal to the value specified. For example, Target address <= 192.168.215.215 finds all the IP addresses less or equal to 192.168.215.215
> Finds all values greater than the value specified. For example, Target address > 192.168.215.215 finds all the IP addresses greater than 192.168.215.215
>= Finds all values greater than or equal to the value specified. For example, Target address >= 192.168.215.215 finds all the IP address greater than or equal to 192.168.215.215

Values Used in Defining QA Group Filter

A list of values is available for some of the attributes when defining a QA group filter. The following table lists those attributes and the values you can choose for them:

Group Type Attribute Value
QA Probes Probe Type

ICMP Echo

UDP Echo

UDP

TCP connect

VOIP

HTTP

HTTPS

Oracle

DNS

DHCP

ICMP Jitter
CBQoS Action Type

Queuing

RED

Shaping

Policing

Packet Marking
Policy Direction

Ingress

Egress

Both

Not Applied

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