Grouping of Computers

Owned by Martin Moghadam
Last updated: Oct 05, 2021 by Youssef Benarab
6 min read

In PerformanceGuard there are several ways in which you can group computers that have PerformanceGuard agents installed. When computers are grouped, it becomes easy to compare performance data between locations or other dimensions, for example departments or users of particular applications.
One way of grouping happens automatically (but you can configure how it should happen). The automatic grouping means that you don't need to create any groups yourself in order for PerformanceGuard to work—you can create your own groups if and when you need them.
The other ways to group computers are manual. This lets you tailor your computer group structures to match the exact needs of your organization.
Let's take a look at the different ways to group computers in PerformanceGuard:


Automatic Grouping Based on Networks


PerformanceGuard automatically groups computers that belong to the same IP subnet into the same group. PerformanceGuard does this based on each computer's IP address and subnet mask.
In PerformanceGuard such a group is called a network group, because only computers that belong on a certain part of a network can be members of this group. Only PerformanceGuard can place computers in network groups.
Network groups are dynamic: If a computer is moved to another subnet (that is the computer's IP address information changes), PerformanceGuard will automatically move the computer to the network group that matches. If there isn't already a network group that matches, PerformanceGuard will automatically create one.



 Can I control how PerformanceGuard places computers in network groups?

Yes, you can configure rules that'll determine how PerformanceGuard automatically places computers in network groups. With such rules you can split large networks into smaller ones, or you can join several small networks into a larger one (for example if you have a lot of VPN connections that you want to treat as a single network in PerformanceGuard). See Network Grouping.

 Will I get a lot of empty network groups over time?

No. Consider network groups as an automated, dynamic environment: PerformanceGuard automatically adds network groups, but it also automatically removes network groups that are not needed anymore. You'll, however, still be able to view information about individual computers' historical memberships of such groups.

 How do network groups work in a Citrix environment?

PerformanceGuard creates a special type of network group for Citrix servers. In Citrix environments, PerformanceGuard agents are installed on the Citrix servers rather than on individual computers, and PerformanceGuard will automatically create a network group for each of your Citrix servers. If your PerformanceGuard solution covers a mixed environment, you can have regular subnet-based network groups and Citrix server-based network groups side-by-side in the PerformanceGuard web interface.


To sum up the characteristics of network groups:

  • Automatic
  • Dynamic
  • Only PerformanceGuard can create them
  • Configurable rules if you want to control how PerformanceGuard automatically places computers in network groups
  • Special group variant for Citrix

Create Your Own Groups

You can only do this if you're a PerformanceGuard administrator.


Because PerformanceGuard automatically groups computers based on their network details, you don't need to set up groups yourself. However, it can sometimes be a good idea to create your own groups as a supplement to the automatically created network-based groups.

Example: Your organization consists of several regional offices. At each of the offices there are a few users who use a special finance application on their computers. You would like to be able to view performance data for users of this finance application. You create a group that contains the computers of those users. Now you can view performance data for that group, even though the computers are not on the same network.



You are able to do this because computers can be members of more than one group in PerformanceGuard. In other words, you can group your organization's computers by as many dimensions as you like. For example, you can group computers by user profiles. This can be useful because secretaries, accountants, salespeople and managing directors often use their computers differently. They may also have very different performance requirements, and you may want to measure their quality of experience separately.
In PerformanceGuard such a group that you create yourself is called a user-defined group.
User-defined groups are static: Computers will remain in user-defined groups until you remove them, even if computers are moved to another network. User-defined groups are completely independent of the automatically created network groups. This also means that—unlike the network groups—user-defined groups are not automatically removed if they become empty.

If you want to create a Citrix Server group, then the name should end with a _ctx to appear in the list of Citrix Servers. 


Frequently Asked Questions About Computer Grouping

 How are the groups described here different from agent configuration groups?

An agent configuration group is another type of group. Simply put, the groups described in the previous cover computers (that happen to have PerformanceGuard agents installed), whereas agent configuration groups cover the actual agents that are installed on the computers. Agent configuration groups control the configurations of the agents, that is which types of performance data that agents should collect, how often they should collect the data, etc. Each agent configuration group covers a number of agents, but an individual agent can only be a member of one agent configuration group so that it's always associated with exactly one configuration. This is different from the groups that contain computers, because a computer can be a member of multiple groups.

A computer can be a member of multiple groups, but the agent installed on the computer can only be a member of one agent configuration group

 I already have a group structure in Active Directory. Can I reuse that in PerformanceGuard?

You can't use Active Directory (AD) groups in place of network groups, user-defined groups, super groups or locations in PerformanceGuard. However, you can use your AD groups together with PerformanceGuard for two other purposes:

  1. You can use AD group memberships to log in to the PerformanceGuard web interface with your domain users' AD credentials; see Active Directory.
  2. You can automatically synchronize computers in AD groups to PerformanceGuard agent configuration groups; see Synchronize Computers in Active Directory Groups to Agent Configuration Groups.

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