History Widget

The History widget is used to compare details about the selected CIs between different points in time. The comparison is based on the UCMDB History storage, and can present the following information:

• Changes in attribute values.
• Changes in connectivity between the selected CI and related CIs (due either to addition or deletion of links between CIs).
• Creation of the CI in UCMDB.

The Selected tab displays historical changes for the selected CI only. The Model tab shows CIs related to the selected CI that have historical changes. Clicking one of the related CIs displays historical changes for that related CI.

User preferences are saved per user according to the last user's selection:

• The Compare mode (either Selected or Model mode, explained below)
• The latest From and To dates for comparison

CI Overview Mode

This mode displays a graph summarizing the historical changes that occurred in the selected CI (the default display option) or its model during the previous four weeks. The X axis lists five dates, from four weeks ago to the current date. The Y axis shows the number of changes in a single day.

Widget Details Mode

The following information is displayed in the widget details mode:

• Presents the Compare mode and the beginning and end dates used for comparison. The default end date is the current date and time. The default beginning date is the current end date minus the History Widget From Date setting that is set in UCMDB. The beginning date always starts from 12:00 AM. For example, if the History Widget From Date setting is 5, and the current date is Jan. 30, 2013, then the default beginning date is Jan. 25, 2013 at 12:00 AM. The default value for the History Widget From Date setting is 7, but this value can be changed by the UCMDB Administrator, as explained in Change the History Widget 'From Date'.
• If the Compare mode in the last user’s filter is Selected, the History Comparison View for the selected CI, according to the filter settings, is displayed.

• If the Compare mode in the last user’s filter is Model, the Model view, with all classifications and CI types according to the filter settings (either the last user selection or default values) is displayed.

The widget details are divided into the following sections:

• Filter section

  When the History widget is expanded, the Filter section is loaded with the latest user selections (as saved in the user preferences, if any). If there is no latest user selection, the default values are:

  • Compare mode – Selected

  • Last history comparison dates:

    • From date – this date is calculated as follows: current date minus the History Widget From Date setting that is set in UCMDB, starting from 12:00 AM.
    • To date – the current date

  Each time a filter field is changed, its data is saved in the user preferences.

  Use the following UI elements to configure the information displayed by the History widget:

  • The Compare mode tabs toggle between displaying the history comparison only on the selected CI, or in the wider context of the model (explained above). When you toggle between the two modes, the following changes occur:

    • If the value changes to Selected – the History Comparison view for the selected CI using the current filter is displayed (regardless of the previous view).
    • If the value changes to Model – the Model view, with all classifications and CITs resulting from the current filter (regardless of the previous view) is displayed.

  • The date pickers allow you to select From and To dates (defining the history comparison date boundaries). Any valid date can be selected. When you select dates, the history comparison is recalculated according to the new dates, resulted in the displayed view being refreshed (either history comparison or CI selection).

    Note If the To date is earlier than the From date, an error message is displayed.

• Model View

  The Model view displays all CIs contained in the selected CI’s model that match the current filter (that is, have at least one historical change during the selected time frame), divided by classification and CI type. This area is only visible when the Compare mode is set to Model, and it is divided into two panes:

  • Left pane

    The left pane summarizes the number of CIs that match the current filter, divided into an alphabetical list of classifications and CI types.

    • The first line (displaying the word All) shows the total number of CIs matching the current filter. Clicking this line displays, in the right pane, all CIs contained in the selected CI’s model and matching the current filter.
    • For each group with more than a single CI, the name and number of CIs in that group is displayed. Clicking a group displays, in the right pane, all CIs contained in that group and matching the current filter.
    • Following each group's name, an alphabetical list of all CI types in that group (with more than a single CI) is displayed. Clicking a CI type displays, in the right pane, all CIs of that CI type and matching the current filter.
    • The icon, name, and number of CIs in that group are displayed for each CI type.

  • Right pane

    The right pane displays the details of the data in left pane, divided into all relevant CI types. For each CI type, the following details are displayed.

    • The name of the CI type and the number of CIs contained in it.

    • The list of CIs contained in the CI type, including the icon, name, and type for each CI.

    In addition, hovering over a displayed CI shows a selection button. Clicking this button opens the History Comparison view for the selected CI.

    Ten CIs are displayed for each CI type. If there are more than ten CIs for a CI type, a link appears, enabling you to view all of the CIs.

    Clicking on a CI in this pane opens the History Comparison view for that CI.

    If the number of CIs matching the current filter is 0, the first line of the widget displays All 0, and the right pane is empty.

• History Comparison View

  The History Comparison view displays a list of the changes in a specific CI between two selected points in time. This view appears when:

  • The Compare mode is set to Selected – the selected CI is used for the historical comparison.
  • The Compare mode is set to Model and a CI is selected in the Model view – that CI is used for the historical comparison. In this case, a Back button also appears. Clicking the Back button switches back to the Model view.

  In the upper left corner of the History Comparison view, the following information is displayed for the CI used for comparison: CI icon, name, and CI type. Clicking on the CI name here takes you to the CI Overview for the CI under comparison.

  The History Comparison view has two sections: Changed Attributes and Changed Related CIs. These sections are described in detail below.

  Changed Attributes section

  The Change Attributes section displays the number of changes detected in the CI between the specified From and To dates, grouped by months and days.

  The date appearing in the header of the From column is the closest date to the current date from among:

  • the filter's From date
  • the date that the CI was created
  • the earliest date that has history events for the selected CI

  When clicking on a month in this section, it expands and shows the number of changes made in that month grouped by days, along with the date of the latest change made in a day and the user who caused that change.

  When clicking on a day, it expands and displays the changed attributes from that day, their old and new values, and also the date of the latest change and the user who caused that change. If the value of a byte type attribute does not fit entirely in the panel (it is displayed truncated), the indicator "..." appears next to the displayed text and a Show All link appears next to it. Clicking Show All displays the byte type attribute value entirely in a pop-up window.

  If no changes are detected during the selected time period, the message "There are no items to display" appears.

  Changed Related CIs section

  The Changed Related CIs section displays a list of all CIs that were either attached to (linked to) or detached from the selected CI between the From and To dates, grouped by months and days.

  This section does not load by default. Instead, a Load Changed CIs button is available, allowing you to load relationship changes only on demand by clicking the button.

  The button is also available in the Model view. Clicking this button in Selected view or Model view, displays the relationship changes in both Selected view and Model view.

  The following information is displayed for each CI listed in this section:

  • CI icon

  • name

  • CI type

  • linkage state, which is either Related or Not Related

  When clicking on a month in this section, it expands and shows the number of changes made in that month grouped by days, along with the date of the latest change made in a day and the user who caused that change.

  When clicking on a day, it expands and displays the changes from that day in the related CIs (due either to addition or deletion of links between the selected CI and related CIs), their old and new states, and also the date of the latest change and the user who caused that change. When expanded, if you click the CI type, icon, or name, the CI Overview for that CI is displayed.