Thresholds on Widgets

Owned by Martin Moghadam
Last updated: Dec 03, 2019 by Youssef Benarab
3 min read

Thresholds

Display of thresholds is by default on. When you view a graph, you can toggle threshold display off by selecting  Hide thresholds. This can be useful, for example if you think that a threshold blocks your view of the graph's data points.

If no event threshold is available, the toggle button will be inactive or hidden.

Thresholds are only relevant for certain types of data e.g. Response time (ms).

For such data, a threshold i.e. a baseline that the displayed values must ideally be below — can be displayed as a red horizontal line in the graph when:

  • Your PerformanceGuard administrator has predefined such thresholds i.e. select ADMINISTRATION > Event Management > Event Rules (or create a new event rule).
  • You have selected location, one server group and one agent group. You can also create new location from ADMINISTRATION > Computer Grouping > Locations.
In order to have thresholds displayed on the graph, both the above mentioned conditions must be applied i.e. an event rule must be created with a selection of a matching set of parameters.

An event is a threshold violation on an individual computer or server e.g. a response time that isn't acceptable. The event rules define the nature of the triggered event, and the parameters for capturing event-related information in an application. These events are categorized by severity levels.

After creating an event rule you can view these threshold lines on the graph. They work as an indicator on the graph providing you with target context and allowing you to identify application when the response time becomes higher or lower than the threshold's set level. On the graph each threshold has a name with its location, so it is easy for you to see what the threshold is about.

Example: In this example administrator has set the Lower Threshold as 20.0 ms for the DNS application for the IP Service - Response Time event. You can see in the following image where Response Time for DNS application has exceeded the limit than the level set in event rule. This threshold indication is concerning and alarming for the administrator / user. Click thumbnail to view image in full size. 

When you select different locations or computers on your widget - threshold display might not be available, depending on how the thresholds have been defined i.e. which locations were selected when the event rules were created by the administrator.

 Why do I see more than one threshold on a graph?

This is because your PerformanceGuard administrator is able to set up multiple thresholds for the same type of data. This can be useful in order to indicate different levels of severity, for example if values above 80 are acceptable for short periods of time, whereas values above 90 require immediate attention.

Threshold becomes invisible if you click all the legends to make the series hidden i.e. it will stay visible if there is even one legend visible. If a graph has thresholds, the thresholds will also appear if you use the graph in a report, except when they're hidden.

You can also enable Adaptive Baselining on this widget, read more about Adaptive Baselining.

Widgets supporting Threshold functionality

The following are the widgets that support Threshold functionality:

Application Performance Overview Widget

A threshold for the metric Response Times can be set in Event Management using the Event Rule 'IP Service - Response Time'

Computer Usage Widget

Only computer metrics, NOT process metrics.

A threshold for the metric Response Times can be set in Event Management using the Event Rules:

  • CPU Usage (%) = Computer - Machine Resource Usage
  • Memory Usage = Computer - Machine Resource Usage
  • Context Switches /s = Computer - Machine Resource Usage

AutoSteps Chart Widget

A threshold for the metric Response Times can be set using the Event Rule "Business Transaction - Response Time".

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