Skip to content

Working with logical nodes

A logical node is a custom node that you create and add to dynamic services. Use logical nodes to represent infrastructure components that aren't modeled as standard entities in CZ, or to capture events from third-party monitoring systems that forward events to CZ. For example, if an external financial service forwards events to CZ using a consistent naming prefix, you can create a logical node that matches those events and includes them in a dynamic service. A logical node can be a child of a service model member, but no other type.

Create a logical node

To create a logical node, you add it to an existing folder or at the top level of the Logical Nodes list. The new node is added to whichever item is currently selected in the Services panel.

  1. In the Services panel, select LOGICAL NODES.
  2. Select the folder where you want to add the new node, or select Logical Nodes to add it at the top level.
  3. Click + NEW NODE. The ADD NEW LOGICAL NODE dialog box opens.
  4. In the Logical node name field, enter a name for the node.
  5. Click ADD. The new logical node appears in the Services panel.

After you create a logical node, configure its details. See Edit, clone, or delete a logical node.

Note

Logical nodes must be created on the Logical Nodes page before they can be added to a dynamic service. To add a logical node to a service, go to DYNAMIC SERVICES, select the service, and click + ADD MEMBER. In the search field, enter "logical node" to display a list of available logical nodes.

Edit, clone, or delete a logical node

You can edit a logical node's details from the Services canvas. You can clone or delete an individual node, or add a subfolder, edit, or delete a folder from the Services panel.

Edit a logical node

To edit a logical node, select it in the Services panel and open the edit panel. The following sections describe the available fields.

  1. In the Services panel, select LOGICAL NODES and select the node you want to edit.
  2. Click EDIT NODE in the upper right. The EDIT LOGICAL NODE panel opens.
  3. Update the fields for Logical node details, Criteria, State classifications, and Configure a custom state provider as needed.
  4. Click SAVE.

Logical node details

A logical node consists of a name, an optional description, a production state, criteria for matching events, and state classifications.

Field Description
Name The display name of the logical node. Required.
Description An optional description of the node.
Production State The production state of the node. Defaults to Production. For a description of available production states, see About production states.

Criteria

Use the Criteria section to define the conditions used to match events to this node. Select All or Any from the matching mode dropdown menu to control whether all or any of the criteria must be met. Use the + button to add a criterion row. Each row consists of a field (such as Severity or Event class), an operator (such as "equal to" or "contains"), and a value.

Note

Using criteria rules that include numeric comparisons -- in particular, greater than and less than comparisons -- requires a clear understanding of the values in source events. For example, severity values sent by syslog use a scale of 0 to 7, with 7 being the least severe. This is the reverse of the scale that Collection Zone events use.

For detailed information about using the criteria builder, see Criteria builder.

State classifications

The State classifications section maps event severities to service states for both availability and performance. Each section has an Events for this node in this event class field where you enter the event class path to monitor.

In the Events for this node in this event class field, enter the event class or subclass to monitor. The following examples show valid event class formats:

Format Matches
/Status Only the /Status class.
/Status/Web Only the Web subclass of /Status.
/Status/ The /Status class and all of its subclasses.

AVAILABILITY State

The following table shows the default mapping of event severities to availability states. Use the dropdown menus to change the state assigned to each severity level.

Event severity Maps to availability state
Critical Down (default)
Error Degraded (default)
Warning At risk (default)
Info Up (default)
Debug Up (default)
Clear Up (default)

PERFORMANCE State

The following table shows the default mapping of event severities to performance states. Use the dropdown menus to change the state assigned to each severity level.

Event severity Maps to performance state
Critical Unacceptable (default)
Error Unacceptable (default)
Warning Unacceptable (default)
Info Degraded (default)
Debug Acceptable (default)
Clear Acceptable (default)

Configure a custom state provider

Use a custom state provider to define state triggers for this logical node based on a specific event class. This is useful when the node needs to capture state data from events that belong to classes other than the defaults.

To configure a custom state provider, open the EDIT LOGICAL NODE panel and update the fields described in the following table.

Field Description
Event Class The event class to monitor for this node. You can configure one event class per node.
Critical The state to assign to this node when a Critical severity event occurs.
Error The state to assign to this node when an Error severity event occurs.
Warning The state to assign to this node when a Warning severity event occurs.
Info The state to assign to this node when an Info severity event occurs.
Default The state to assign to this node when a Default severity event occurs.
Clear The state to assign to this node when a Clear severity event occurs.
Apply to The scope of nodes to which the state override applies. Options are: This node only; Nodes of the same type on the same device; Nodes of the same type in the same device class; Nodes of the same type system-wide.

Clone or delete a logical node

To clone or delete a logical node, use the vertical ellipsis (⋮) menu next to the node in the Services panel.

  1. In the Services panel, select LOGICAL NODES.
  2. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) next to the node you want to manage. A menu appears with the following options: Clone and Delete.

  3. Select one of the following options:

    • To clone the node, select Clone. A copy of the node is created in the Services panel.

    • To delete the node, select Delete. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Add a subfolder, edit, or delete a folder

To manage folders in the Logical Nodes list, use the vertical ellipsis (⋮) menu next to the folder in the Services panel.

  1. In the Services panel, select LOGICAL NODES.
  2. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) next to the folder you want to manage. A menu appears with the following options: Add new folder, Edit, and Delete.

  3. Select one of the following options:

    • To add a subfolder, select Add new folder. Enter a name for the folder and click ADD.

    • To edit the folder, select Edit. Make your changes, then click SAVE.

    • To delete the folder, select Delete. Confirm the deletion when prompted.