network map

[Howie]

Hi all,
I am using Howie's PHP Weathermap 0.6 and I have a problem with background image. The script only work with greyscale image, if I use a 256 or more colors image the result is bogus (yellow blocks for nodes and arrows).
Have you already seen this problem?

No, but I think it's related to a problem with transparent images too. The solution will be to switch to using truecolor PNGs internally, which I'm intending to look into.

You should be able to get good results with lower-colour PNGs (e.g. 32, 128). I've certainly got maps with coloured images as backgrounds!

[jpasquie]

Howie,
Thanks for your reply, it works with 128 colors...
Another subject : how do you modify arrows size?
regards,
Julien

Hi all,
I am using Howie's PHP Weathermap 0.6 and I have a problem with background image. The script only work with greyscale image, if I use a 256 or more colors image the result is bogus (yellow blocks for nodes and arrows).
Have you already seen this problem?

No, but I think it's related to a problem with transparent images too. The solution will be to switch to using truecolor PNGs internally, which I'm intending to look into.

You should be able to get good results with lower-colour PNGs (e.g. 32, 128). I've certainly got maps with coloured images as backgrounds!

[_JPL_]

Just wanted to drop a note to say how great the php-weathermap is. Now, if only overlib would work from a windows browser and there was some kind of map editor to drag around nodes and drop them where they need to be instead of all this messing around with co-ordinates manually.

[Howie]

Just wanted to drop a note to say how great the php-weathermap is. Now, if only overlib would work from a windows browser

I don't understand. I use it all day on Windows browsers - IE6 and Firefox 1.0 and 1.5RC. You do have to log in to Cacti before the floating images will appear - is that the problem? I can't really suggest a solution to that one, apart from allowing guest access, or using static graph generation.

and there was some kind of map editor to drag around nodes and drop them where they need to be instead of all this messing around with co-ordinates manually.

It's in the next release with about 80% of the features. It's not drag and drop but it *is* a pretty nice interactive editor. I'm trying to make time to finish off the changes I've made to get a stable 0.7 release soon. Weathermap won't pay any bills though.

There's also a couple of mailing lists now - info on my site (see below). Maybe this will stop being one of the huge threads on Ian's forum then.

[_JPL_]

heh, ya I got it working in windows. I think it wasn't working because I was previewing the files local (on my desktop) when I put them to the webserver the popups worked. Yippee.

Someone had made a tk/perl script for interactively placing icons on the status map for nagios. Nagiosmap.pl it's called (it would read in the config file with current co-ordinates and you could drag them around the canvas. When done, it saves the config with the new co-ords). I wonder how hard it would be to re-work it for php-weathermap? Thinking aloud.

[Howie]

heh, ya I got it working in windows. I think it wasn't working because I was previewing the files local (on my desktop) when I put them to the webserver the popups worked. Yippee.

Someone had made a tk/perl script for interactively placing icons on the status map for nagios. Nagiosmap.pl it's called (it would read in the config file with current co-ordinates and you could drag them around the canvas. When done, it saves the config with the new co-ords). I wonder how hard it would be to re-work it for php-weathermap? Thinking aloud.

Basically, to make an interactive editor that drew the arrows as you moved (which is really what you want), you'd have to re-implement the PHP code in some other language, and then keep the two version in sync. Moving nodes around isn't so much of a problem, but I decided that you couldn't get any more 'WYSIWYG' than using the real php-weathermap to draw the maps in the editor too. It's pretty nice still, trust me

It also means you can (just about) switch from hand-edited config, to the editor, and then hand-edit again afterwards, because there's no special knowledge in the editor.

[_JPL_]

I'm not so concerned about the arrows being drawn. That is not something I was thinking when I suggested a way to drag the nodes around would be great. All I would really want from something like that is a way to get the coordinates entered they way I like easily. Running weathermap itself will make the arrows and stuff, so I don't see a need for them to be drawn interactively in some kind of editor. Sure it might be nice, but I think the real crux of the problem is generating the co-ordinates more easily. The editor included in .6 doesn't even allow me to move existing nodes. I'm not complaining, I just think that ability is the most important functionality for an editor of this sort.

[Howie]

The editor included in .6 doesn't even allow me to move existing nodes. I'm not complaining, I just think that ability is the most important functionality for an editor of this sort.

The editor in 0.7 is nothing like the old one. It's a ground-up re-write, much nicer. I'll get it finished!

[mgb]

Howie,

Do you have a new version to start tinkering with. Curious about your progress.

Michael

[_JPL_]

The editor included in .6 doesn't even allow me to move existing nodes. I'm not complaining, I just think that ability is the most important functionality for an editor of this sort.

The editor in 0.7 is nothing like the old one. It's a ground-up re-write, much nicer. I'll get it finished!

Good to know and I look forward to trying it. Thanks for all your effort

[Howie]

Finally, version 0.7 sees the light of day... there are a lot of changes this time around, including an updated manual, new default structure, and the all-new editor.

http://wotsit.thingy.com/haj/cacti/php-weathermap/

[weathermap4rrd]

arg...I have to work on weathermap4rrd too to add new features !
I will test your new tool Howie. Good job for sure. See you and have an happy end of year !

bye

Alex
http://weathermap4rrd.tropicalex.net

[kurfuer]

Hi Howie,
I am successfully using your tool, and I really like it! Thanks for all the work you did!

I know that it is still in beta state, and I have some suggestions as well. It would be cool if you could take them into account:

- In the popup where you can choose the data source from cacti, I needed to insert mysql_select_db($db_default) (not sure right now about the variable name) in front of both SELECT statements to make everything work. could you do this in the next beta please?

- Can the file ending .conf be appended automatically when creating a new config file?

- You store configuration in configs/ - but the "weathermap" PHP script cannot take it into account. What do you think about taking the config file from $SERVER['argv'][1]? This would make it possible to supply it via the command line.

- It is currently not possible to create graphs and HTML files in a subdirectory. Well, it creates the image and the HTML file in the correct directory, however, the <img src="..."> link inside the HTML file is (of course) wrong. If this would be fixed, that'd be really cool.


I am eager to hear your comments,
and thanks for the great tool,
Sebastian

[Howie]

- In the popup where you can choose the data source from cacti, I needed to insert mysql_select_db($db_default) (not sure right now about the variable name) in front of both SELECT statements to make everything work. could you do this in the next beta please?

Yep - I already fixed this is my copy. I guess it's something to do with how people set up their cacti db user. Mine drops into the cacti db anyway.

- Can the file ending .conf be appended automatically when creating a new config file?

Fair enough. I'll make that change. I confused myself with this one last night while fixing some other things.

- You store configuration in configs/ - but the "weathermap" PHP script cannot take it into account. What do you think about taking the config file from $SERVER['argv'][1]? This would make it possible to supply it via the command line.

It works for me... ./weathermap --config configs/mymap.conf

- It is currently not possible to create graphs and HTML files in a subdirectory. Well, it creates the image and the HTML file in the correct directory, however, the <img src="..."> link inside the HTML file is (of course) wrong. If this would be fixed, that'd be really cool.

./weathermap --image-uri /blah/weathermap.png
adjusts what appears in the IMG SRC.

[knobdy]

Okay, so which should I use?

Are they both plugins?

Can both handle background images (I like the french example on weathermap4rrd site)?

Can you configure the arrows to be off different sizes/styles (weathermap4rrd arrows look cleaner, more professional - from what I've seen in examples anyway)?

Both look impressive.