Bulk Moves for Graphs Within The Tree Structure

[davekoko]

I have only been using Cacti for a few days now, and I have to say that its is a really great program with huge potential. So, cudo's to the programers that create and maintain such a great piece of open source software.

Ok,

So here's one thing thing I am finding as I set things up - I create a tree structure which works well until I start adding more and more graphs for additional statistics - other than just network traffic. As I do this my tree structure becomes more and more complex in order to maintain a logical scheme for presenting and separating different graph types / hosts.

I need to move graphs from one tree / sub tree to another as a result of ongoing tree modifications. I have been able to accomplish this by simply slecting the appropriate graphs and placing them in the new tree / sub tree. However this operation actualy copies these graphs to the new location - leaving graphs in the former location. Being able to have graphs located in more than one location is a great feature, so I am not complaining about this. However if I want move graphs instead of copying them, I have to go back and specifically delete them from the old location. I have only been able to do this operation one graph at a time - so when moving a lot of graphs to a new location, cleaning up the old location becomes a lot of work. Would it be possible to add a 'Move' action to the drop down box on the graph management screen that would make this type of operation easier ? Maybe I have missed the boat completely and there already is already a way to do this, and if so I appologize for making you read such a lengthy, rambling request....

Thanks in advance for any info / comments

Dave K.

[gandalf]

Yes, you're correct. Moving Graph Tree Items is not that easy. I've already tried to improve this, but the result was not that good. Still "wanted feature" request.
But if you could explain your ideas in more detail? Perhpas we'll find a way
Reinhard

[davekoko]

Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to read a bunch of 'management' speak indicating that I would really like a 'move' feature.

Thanks for the reply and your interest in user requested features. As an "end-user" I'm looking to improve the scalability of the front-end user interface by requesting a move feature that would allow for easier long term managemnet of the tree items based on the assumption of constantly growing infrastructure complexity. Creating and maintaining an organized view of detailed network data for multiple devices and multiple users is a very powerfull feature of this product that very quickly allows long time MRTG users to make that next step into a more scalable environment. Heck - its one of the biggest reasons I am now moving to this product. So, the ability to add, delete, and move any / all objects within the user defined directory structure is a very important part of the end user interface. These operations currently do exist, in one form or another, but it would be nicer if the 'move' operation in particular was made more intuitive.

It seems as though the necessary components for adding this type of operation are already in place. I.E a move = 1 copy + 1 delete. I admit that I have not exactly gotten into the coding of the Cacti program itself, but being a very basic code hack I may take a quick look So, I guess my general psuedo code algorithm would look something like :

if operation = 'move' then
for all graph [id's] [locations]
copy old graph [id] [old location] to new graph [id] [new location]
delete old graph [id] [old location]

I realize that this is hardly even start at regular coding for this operation, but as a very novice programmer, I guess I would hope that whatever code was written could be modular enough to call these operrations (copy / delete) independently in order to form the move command. I admit to not having even looked at the code or the way program variables and functions have been implimented, but it seems that the majority of the functionality for this operation relies on the allready written delete and copy code. Again in no way do I even consider myself on par with any of the programmers involved with this project and I have no problem admitting that "their kung-fu is way better than mine."

[rony]

The whole graph tree managment needs a revamp. As it stands, as your installation grows, it become increasingly cumbersome to manage the graph trees.

I'm open to suggestions on how to fix this interface.

[waveguy]

I am trying to use the tree to describe the physical location of a server, like row, column, rack, level, position, etc.... it would be great if there is a way to do a search for a particular node within a tree and once finding it, Cacti will display the node plus all of its parents all the way to the root of the tree.

[gandalf]

I am trying to use the tree to describe the physical location of a server, like row, column, rack, level, position, etc.... it would be great if there is a way to do a search for a particular node within a tree and once finding it, Cacti will display the node plus all of its parents all the way to the root of the tree.

I've already done sth like this but I'm nor very fond of this. I suppose more care has to be taken to change this to better usability.
But I'd LOVE to hear all approaches (our own trees already span "some" pages)
Reinhard

[rmolinger]

I also have some complex, and growing, graph trees. For the most part I think the graph tree interface is OK, but not being able to re-parent a 2nd level item to a different 1st level item is a pain. As far as how the UI would look, I think the simplest thing is to mimic the functionality already in place, just add the top level graph tree items in the drop down in the properties for a Header.

One thing I do a lot is use the "Graph Management" screen to add graphs to trees. I can use the filter to get a screen full of graphs by filtering on things like server name or graph name (for instance SERV%CPU for all the servers that match SERV and I want all the CPU graphs). Then I check the boxes for the graphs I want, and then at the bottom I select "Add to graph tree xxx". This makes building trees fast.

One drawback is that if you make a mistake and add 30 graphs to the wrong tree, you have to delete them one at a time. I'd like to request replacing the red X on teh right side of the graph tree screen with a check box, similar to the Devices and Graph Management screens. Then at the bottom have a DropDown that allows mass deletion. (with a warning, of course...)

Thanks for listening, this is a great product!

[rbecker]

One approach which I think I'd find useful; extend the "host" tree item to be a bit more like a "Header". By default it contains all the graphs associated with the host. Those graphs can be moved to subtrees on the host.

This would let you set up a host with basic graphs on the host page, then drill into sub-areas for details.

The other feature I'd love to see would be dynamic graph sorting. If I've got a graph page open, I'd love to be able to sort the graphs a few different ways:
1. alphabetically/numerically
2. Largest "last" value
3. Largest change over the displayed period.


The data based graph sorting is probably difficult to implement, seeing as the front end probably knows nothing of the data, but it would be incredibly useful since it could allow you to look for trouble spots more quickly. The only way I can think of to make it work would be to add some fields to graph templates which specified "sortable" information for the graph type.

Cheers
Ross