Managing Dashboards

• 1: Create a New Dashboard
• 2: RBAC Rules for Dashboards
• 3: Set a Default Dashboard
• 4: Transfer Dashboard Ownership
• 5: Configure Dashboard Layout
• 6: Display Dashboard-Specific Events
• 7: Delete a Dashboard
• 8: Sharing New Dashboards
• 9: Define Minimum Interval for PromQL Queries

1 - Create a New Dashboard

Dashboards can be created from different locations:

• Using the Dashboards menu
• Using Dashboard Manager
• Copying from an existing dashboard from the Dashboard Library.

Create using the Dashboards menu

1. On the Dashboards tab, click Add Dashboard.
2. Specify a name for the dashboard, build a query, and save.

For information on configuring panels, see Create New Panel

The new dashboard will now be added to the side menu under My Dashboards and is ready for configuration.

2 - RBAC Rules for Dashboards

The table below summarizes the role-based permissions.

Owner Permissions

User Permissions

When a user decides to share a dashboard with a set of teams, they’ll only be able to pick teams that they are members of.

The table below summarizes what you can do with a shared dashboard.

3 - Set a Default Dashboard

A default dashboard can be configured by setting the default entry point for a team, unifying a team’s Sysdig Monitor experience, and allowing users to focus their immediate attention on the most relevant information for them. For more information on configuring a default entry point, refer to the Configure an Entry Page or Dashboard for a Team section of the Sysdig Platform documentation.

4 - Transfer Dashboard Ownership

Dashboards have a single owner. Sysdig Monitor allows administrators and dashboard owners with administrator permissions to transfer the ownership of a dashboard within the UI.

There are several reasons for assigning a new owner to dashboards.

• The dashboard owners are no longer in control of the dashboard data.

• Administrators require to update the dashboard settings or fix how data is displayed.

General Guidelines

• When a user is deleted, any shared dashboards they own or have created will be preserved by default.

• The administrator can transfer only the dashboards that are shared by other users. Private dashboards cannot be seen and therefore cannot be transferred.

• Transferring ownership can only happen one dashboard at a time.

• When editing a user, the administrator can specify to transfer dashboards to a new owner.

• Before changing the dashboard ownership,

  • It is a good practice to ensure that the new owner is part of the team the previous owner is part of. The administrator can preview the teams that will no longer be part of before confirming the transfer.

    The new owner need not be part of any teams the previous owner was part of. In this case, the dashboard will be transferred to the new owner but will no longer be shared with any team. The dashboard will become a private dashboard.

  • A shared dashboard will be visible only to the teams that the new owner is not part of.

Transfer Ownership as an Admin

1. Log in to the Monitor UI.

2. Select Settings > Users.

3. Select the user you want to change the ownership.

   

4. Select one or multiple Dashboards that you want to assign a new owner.

5. Click Transfer Ownership.

   The Transfer Dashboard Ownership page is displayed.

6. Select a new user from the drop-down.

   If the user that you selected is not part of the teams that the Dashboard is shared with, you will see a prompt stating the Dashboard will be unshared with the teams that the new owner is not part of.

7. If you are satisfied with the changes, click Transfer.

Transfer Ownership as a User

1. On the Dashboards tab, select the relevant dashboard from the left-hand panel.

2. Click the Settings (three dots) icon for the dashboard.

3. Select Transfer Ownership.

   

   The Transfer Dashboard Ownership page is displayed.

4. Select a new user from the drop-down.

5. If everything looks ok, click Transfer.

   The teams indicated with cross-out text are the ones that had access to the dashboard earlier and will lose access to it after the transfer.

   The dashboard will also be visible to all the teams that the new owner is part of. If you are not part of the teams that the new owner is a member of, you will no longer have the visibility to the dashboard.

5 - Configure Dashboard Layout

Configure Panel Size

Individual Panels

Individual panels can be resized by dragging their bottom right edge. Changes must be saved by clicking Save Layout.

All Panels

To configure the size of every panel in the dashboard:

1. On the Dashboards tab, select the relevant dashboard from the left-hand panel.
2. Click the Settings (three dots) icon for the dashboard.
3. Select Auto Layout to open the drop-down menu.
4. Select the desired panel layout.
5. If the new layou is correct, click the Save Layout link.

Move Panels

To move a panel to a new position in the dashboard, move the mouse cursor over the top of the panel, until the hand cursor appears. Press and hold the left mouse button, and move the panel by moving the cursor while pressing the button. The changes can be saved by clicking Save Layout.

6 - Display Dashboard-Specific Events

Sysdig Monitor allows users to configure dashboards to display infrastructure events relevant to a dashboard’s panels within the panels themselves. This allows users an even more in-depth view of the status of their environment.

Configure Event Display

To configure how events are displayed:

1. From the Dashboard menu, select the relevant dashboard from the dashboard list.

2. Click the Dashboard Settings (three dots) icon and select Events Display:

   
   
   

3. Enable the Show Events slider to show events in the dashboard panels.

   
   
   

4. Configure the following parameters, and click the Save.

Event Overlay

You can inspect the events directly in dashboard panels and correlate anomalies and issues using the events displayed on the event overlay.

Each rectangular box (event bucket) represents events collected in a specified time interval. The height of the event bucket is proportional to the number of events and the color indicates the highest severity of the event present.

Click an event bucket to interact with the events. You can:

• View event details.
• Filter the events by severity.
• Create an alert from event.
• Edit an existing event.
• Take an action:
  • Acknowledge
  • Create Silence from Event
  • Explore
  • See the dashboard (if specified while configuring the alert)
  • See the runbook (if specified while configuring the alert)

7 - Delete a Dashboard

The owner or the administrator of a shared dashboard can delete it. If users duplicate that dashboard, they become the owner of the new one and are allowed to freely delete it.

For information on access rights, see Access Levels in Dashboard.

To delete an existing dashboard:

1. On the Dashboard tab, select the relevant dashboard from the left-hand panel.

2. Click the Settings (three dots) icon for the dashboard.

3. Select Delete Dashboard.

4. Click the Yes, Delete the Dashboard button to confirm the change.

8 - Sharing New Dashboards

Dashboards can be shared internally among team members, with other teams, within the wider organization, or publicly, by configuring a public URL for the dashboard.

As an owner of a dashboard, you can share the dashboard with any team and provide the Viewer or Collaborator access permission.

Access Levels in Dashboard

The RBAC-based permissions determine how users can interact with Dashboards. They establish what capabilities are allowed or denied for a user or a team. For more information on RBAC rules, see RBAC Rules for Dashboards.

The table below summarizes the various ways a dashboard can be shared and effective permissions for users.

Share a Dashboard with Teams

Dashboards can be shared across a user’s current team or a selected set of teams, allowing other team members to view the dashboard, as well as edit the panels if they have edit permissions within the team.

If a dashboard has been shared with another team, a user within that team can then copy it to make it their own if they wish.

To share a dashboard:

1. Select the dashboard you want to share.

2. Click the Dashboard Settings (three dots) icon and select Dashboard Settings.

3. In the Dashboard Settings page, use the Shared With drop-down.

   

4. Select one of the three options:

   • Not Shared: If selected, the specified Dashboard cannot be shared with a team or selected team the owner is a member of.

   • All Teams: If selected, the owners of the Dashboard can share with all the teams that they are part of.

   • Selected Teams: If selected, the owner of the Dashboard can share with a selected list of teams. You can select one of the available teams in the drop-down, and select member permission:

     • View Only: This permission allows members to view the Dashboard.

     • Collaborator: A collaborator can edit the Dashboard.

Enable Public Sharing

Dashboards can be shared outside of the internal team by using public URLs. This allows external users to review the dashboard metrics while restricting access to changing panels and configurations.

The scope parameters, including scope variables, are included in the Dashboard URL. External users with a valid link can change the scope parameters without having to sign in. They can edit either on the UI or in the URL. The scope parameters are passed to the standard request header, consisting of a question mark, followed by the parameter name, an equal sign, and the parameter value. To edit a parameter in the URL, simply replace it with the desired one.

1. Select the dashboard you want to share.

2. Click the Dashboard Settings (three dots) icon and select Dashboard Settings.

   

3. In the Dashboard Settings page, enable the Public Sharing slider.

   

4. Copy the public sharing URL for sharing.

9 - Define Minimum Interval for PromQL Queries

When working with PromQL queries you can use the $__interval variable and Sysdig will apply the most appropriate sampling corresponding to the time range you have selected. Sometimes you might have some metrics that report data with a coarser granularity and you want to apply an interval that is higher than the proposed.

For example, if you have a metric that reports data every 3m, and you have selected the 1h preset in the time navigation, the $__interval will be replaced with a time duration of 10s. This will result in time charts with isolated data points instead of lines.

You can resolve this by setting the Default PromQL Query Min Interval option to 3m on the Dashboard Settings page.

The value must be expressed as a time duration, for example: 10s, 1m, 1h, and must be between 10s and 1d.

Note: if the proposed interval is greater than the minimum interval, the minimum interval will be ignored.

The setting will be applied to all the PromQL queries in the dashboard and it can be overridden by specifying a different value in the query options.