Customizing the content in your Network Inventory Workspace widgets

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 6 minutes to read
  • The Network Inventory Workspace is delivered in the base system with a standard set of information in each landing page widget. You can easily customize this content to include other Telecommunications Network Inventory data.

    Standard CMDB groups and naming conventions for Network Inventory Workspace widget data

    The data collection process for the Network Inventory Workspace landing page uses a standard CMDB group structure to retrieve data that appears in its widgets, including:
    • Network sites overview
    • Network entities by category
    • Network equipment by manufacturer
    • Network equipment by states

    For example, the following shows a listing of some of the CMDB groups that are used for the Network Inventory Workspace data collection:

    Figure 1. Standard CMDB groups for the Network Inventory Workspace
    CMDB groups view for the Network Inventory Workspace with the list of standard CMDB groups.
    Note:
    To learn how the data collection process operates, see Data collection and refresh for the Network Inventory Workspace widgets.
    These CMDB groups follow the following standard naming convention:
    1. The first segment represents the assigned domain for the network sites and entities. You use the Network domain selector in the Network Inventory Workspace to filter the data that appears by selecting one of the following types of network domains:
      Core
      Network domain for the core telecom equipment.
      Mobility
      Network domain for the mobile telecom equipment.
      Telco
      Network domain for the telecom equipment in general.
      All
      All equipment network domains that are combined into a single one for reporting purposes.
    2. The remaining segments represent a specific type of field data. For example:
      Available Status Equipment
      Reports the Available status for the equipment.
      Pending Repair Status Equipment
      Reports the Pending Repair status for the equipment.
      Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment
      Reports the percentage of the total equipment that is supplied by Ericsson.
      Nokia Manufacturer Equipment
      Reports the percentage of the total equipment that is supplied by Nokia.
    The following examples show how the name segments are combined in the CMDB groups to report the data that appears in the widgets in the Network Inventory Workspace:
    All Available Status Equipment
    CMDB group data that is used in the Network equipment by states widget to report the percentage of equipment that is in the Available status in all network domains.
    Core Available Status Equipment
    CMDB group data used in the Network equipment by states widget to report the percentage of equipment that is in an Available status in the Core network domain.
    Mobility Pending Repair Status Equipment
    CMDB group data used in the Network equipment by states widget to report the percentage of equipment that is in a Pending Repair status in the Mobility network domain.
    All Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment
    CMDB group data that is used in the Network equipment by manufacturer widget to report the total piece count for the equipment that is supplied by Ericsson in all network domains.
    Telecom Nokia Manufacturer Equipment
    CMDB group data that is used in the Network equipment by manufacturer widget to report the total piece count for the equipment that is supplied by Nokia in the Telecom network domain.

    Modifying the Network equipment by manufacturer widget

    This widget contains a pie chart with a standard set of the five most recognizable telecommunications equipment manufacturers.
    Figure 2. Network equipment by manufacturer widget
    Donut chart for the five most recognizable telecommunications equipment manufacturers.
    A pre-defined CMDB group structure supports retrieval of the data that appears in the widget pie chart. The following example shows the standard CMDB groups that are used to retrieve the manufacturer data for the Network Inventory Workspace.
    Figure 3. Standard CMDB groups used for the Network equipment by manufacturer widget
    CMDB groups view for the Network Inventory Workspace with the list of standard CMDB groups.
    To add or change the data in a widget, use the CMDB Groups function to create CMDB group codes or modify the accompanying query conditions for existing ones. To update any of the existing CMDB groups, you must follow the standard CMDB group naming convention used for the Network Inventory Workspace widgets.
    Note:
    To learn more about creating, updating, or naming CMDB groups, see CMDB groups.

    For example, let's say that you want to add another equipment manufacturer to the widget. To accomplish this task, you can use existing CMDB groups for a manufacturer, for each of the network domains, as the base for the new manufacturer. In this example, you use the existing CMDB groups for Ericsson as the base for the CMDB groups that you create for the new manufacturer.

    This table shows what the existing CMDB group codes look like for Ericsson, and what they look like when you create the CMDB group codes for Dell.
    Table 1. CMDB group example
    Existing CMDB Group Existing CMDB Group
    All Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment All Dell Manufacturer Equipment
    Core Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment Core Dell Manufacturer Equipment
    Mobility Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment Mobility Dell Manufacturer Equipment
    Telco Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment Telco Dell Manufacturer Equipment

    Update CMDB groups for use in the data collection process

    Add or change the data that you see in a Network Inventory Workspace widget by using the CMDB Groups function. You create CMDB group codes as needed or modify the query conditions for existing ones. By changing the CMDB groups, you affect what data the collection process retrieves for the widgets on the Network Inventory Workspace landing page.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin, cmdb_query_builder, itil, sn_cmdb_editor

    About this task

    You must follow the standard CMDB group naming convention that is used for the Network Inventory Workspace widgets. To learn more, see the section called Standard CMDB groups and naming conventions for the Network Inventory Workspace widget data. To learn more about creating, updating, or naming CMDB groups, see CMDB groups.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Configuration > CMDB Groups.
    2. To view the listings of the CMDB groups that are associated with the Network Inventory Workspace widgets, see the following table.
      Type of CMDB GroupDescription
      All CMDB groups created for Network Inventory Workspace widgets In the Description field, enter *tni.
      Only CMDB groups created for the Network equipment by manufacturer widget In the Group Name field, enter *manufact.
    3. In the Group Naming listing, select a CMDB group for an existing manufacturer in the All domain.
      For example, select All Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment. The CMDB Group form appears.
    4. In the Name field, overwrite Ericsson with the name of the manufacturer that you want to add.
      For example, change All Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment to All Dell Manufacturer Equipment.
    5. Click the CMDB Group Contains Encoded Queries (n) tab, where (n) represents the number of encoded queries for the CMDB group.
    6. In the CMDB Group Contains Encoded Queries (n) tab, in the Class field, select cmdb_ci_ni_telco_equipment.
      After you select the CMDB group, the encoded query detail for the selected CMDB group class appears.
    7. In the Condition field, overwrite Ericsson with the name of the manufacturer that you want to add.
      For example, overwrite Ericsson with Dell.
    8. Click Update.
    9. Repeat these steps for each of the remaining network domains for the new manufacturer.
      In the following table, you would create the following CMDB groups for the remaining network domains. These groups are based on the CMDB codes for Ericsson.
      Table 2. CMDB group example
      Existing CMDB Group Existing CMDB Group
      Core Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment Core Dell Manufacturer Equipment
      Mobility Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment Mobility Dell Manufacturer Equipment
      Telco Ericsson Manufacturer Equipment Telco Dell Manufacturer Equipment

    Result

    After the data collection process runs for the Network Inventory Workspace, the new network manufacturer appears in the pie chart in the Network Equipment by manufacturer widget. The new CMDB group includes the network equipment records that are assigned to your new manufacturer.