Creating a New Link

Use the link wizard to define a link from a Navigator item, graphic view, or query-based view that opens the targeted workspace in the same or new windows.

The workspace link feature in the Marvel Enterprise Portal enables you to create simple links or advanced links. A simple link can originate from a Navigator item or from a data series in a chart or table. Context information is passed from the source workspace to determine which target workspace to open.

Complete these steps to create a new workspace link.

  1. Create a new link:
    1. Open the source workspace.
    2. Right-click one of the following possible link source locations:

      The highlighted Navigator item for this workspace.

      An icon in a graphic view.

      An object in a Marvel Management Services Infrastructure view.

      A row in a table view or situation event console view.

      A data point in a chart view.

    3. Click Link To > Link Wizard.
    4. Select Create a new link and click Next>.
    5. Type a Name and Description to identify the link, then click Next.
  2. Select the link type and target:
    1. Select one of the following link types and click Next to open the Workspace Link Wizard - Target Workspace window.
      Dynamic The dynamic link method offers flexibility in your choice of workspace targets. A dynamic link is similar to a relative link and, with some link definitions, behaves in the same way. What is different is that the path to the target workspace uses a system identifier passed by the source query-based view. The identifier can be managed system name, IP address, host name, Systems Management Facilities ID, or Product Code.
      Absolute An absolute link stores the managed system name of the chosen target, and goes only there. For example, if you target the Databases Information workspace on the MS SQL Server branch for the Paris computer, that is the workspace that will open. The Database Information workspace for the Geneva computer is not considered.
      Relative A relative link stores the type of source workspace and target workspace. The resulting link is available from any workspace that is of the same type. If more than one workspace fits the definition of the target, you are presented with a list of workspaces to choose from. For example, a link built from the Paris computer's Windows OS workspace to its Memory workspace will also be available from the Geneva computer's Windows OS workspace and link to its Memory workspace.If you are linking between Navigator views, relative linking is not recommended. Instead, use the absolute or dynamic method for links to the Navigator Logical view and other custom Navigator views.
    2. If you are targeting a workspace in a different Navigator view, select the view from the Navigator View list.
    3. In the Navigator tree, expand the branches and select the Navigator item for the workspace you want to target. The Navigator view is presented in the left frame. As you open branches and select Navigator items, the right frame show their workspaces. With an absolute link, the path you select to the target is interpreted as an exact match, whereas, with a relative or dynamic link the path is interpreted as the pattern to follow from the link source to the target workspace.
    4. In the Workspace pane, select the workspace to target; or, if this is a dynamic link and you want to more generally classify the link, select This link does not target a specific workspace.
    5. If you would like the workspace to open in a new window instead of replacing the current workspace, select Always open target workspace in new window. If you are running the browser client and your browser supports tabbed pages, the workspace will open in a new tab.
    6. Click Next or, if this is an absolute or relative link and you are finished defining the link target, click Next twice to see the the summary.
  3. If this is an absolute or relative link and you want to refine the link definition, click Next and add the expressions.
  4. If this is a dynamic link, the Target Filters window is displayed for you to select the type of identifier for the target and specify the value to use:
    1. Click the identifier to use: Managed system name, Hostname (distributed systems only), IP address (distributed systems only), or SMFID (z/OS-based systems only) If you are not sure which one to choose, click Managed System name.
    2. Click Modify Expression to open the Expression Editor, then click Symbol. The list is a reverse hierarchy of available symbols starting from the source context and the current Navigator item and ending at the root Navigator item.
    3. Select a symbol that provides the value for the system identifier. For example, Server Name will provide the value needed for Managed system name when the link is launched. You might need to open different branches to locate a symbol for the type of target filter chosen.

    4. Click OK add the detailed name for the attribute to the Expression Editor. $kfw.TableRow:ATTRIBUTE.NTLOGINFO.ORIGINNODE$
    5. Click Evaluate to verify that the variable resolves correctly. The Value shown must be valid for the identifier type you specified. For example, for a computer named MARVELUSER, Primary:MARVELUSER:NT is a valid Windows OS managed system name and MARVELUSER is a valid host name.
    6. If no value is displayed or you get a syntax error or a value that does not identify the system, click Clear and select a different symbol or try another identifier.
    7. In addition to Symbol, you can click Operator and Function to find and select other elements to complete the expression. When you are finished with the expression, click OK to insert the expression in the current target filter row. Note that expressions can evaluate to patterns using the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) wildcard characters. This allows for pattern matching filters.
    8. If the target workspace was updated or is new for the latest version of your monitoring product and your environment has a mix of versions, you can disable Allow this link to target any version of the target workspace or leave it enabled: Enabled is the default setting. The target workspace can be chosen for any version of the monitoring agent. If the query for a view specifies attributes that are available only in the newer version and the target workspace is for an older version of the monitoring agent, no values will be returned for those attributes. Disable the option if you want the link not to be offered for target workspaces on earlier versions of the monitoring agent.
    9. Click Next and refine the link definition; or click Next twice and review the summary.
  5. In the Workspace Link Wizard - Summary page, review the summary, then click Finish to save the link definition, Back to return to a previous window to make additional changes, or Cancel to close the Link Wizard without saving your changes.
If the target workspace is dependent on information that is passed from the source workspace (users will get an error message if they attempt to open the workspace from the list of available workspace), then edit the workspace properties to hide the workspace unless it is targeted by a link definition.