Overview

Important

The functions and features included in the Classic UI’s Maps tab have been reworked and optimized in more recent releases of Plixer Scrutinizer. They can now be accessed by navigating to Monitor > Network Maps in the new UI. To learn more about upgrading to the latest version of Plixer Scrutinizer, see the Updates and upgrades section of this documentation.

Network maps provide a quick visual of the overall network health. They can be added to dashboards for display on a big screen in the network operations center to help identify issues.

Maps are made up of three major parts:

Types of maps

Plixer Maps are used to completely design a topology by arranging the flow sending exporters and other types of network devices in a desired format. Adding custom background images, custom objects and text boxes is also possible. These maps can reflect exactly how the network is laid out by including an image of the wiring closet as a background and then overlaying the flow exporting devices. Connections that represent utilization between the devices can be added.

The feature allows for multiple maps with links between them. Hierarchies can also be established which allows alerts to roll up to the top map.

Google Maps provide a geographical representation of the network. By adding physical addresses to the objects, Google maps will automatically perform a GPS lookup of longitude and latitude coordinates, then place the devices on the map based on those coordinates.

Google maps come especially handy when multiple network topologies are locationed within a single city, state or country. This type of map not only allows users to see at a glance what network device is having issues, but also where in the world it is located.

Map settings

The Map settings are used to set defaults for all maps:

  • Google maps:

    • Zoom level: set when using the option “Save Zoom & Position” in a Google map. By default, Google maps auto scale to fit all icons on the map. This option overrides Auto with a favorite position on the map. To undo the Save Level, select ‘Auto’ and click ‘Save’.

  • Plixer maps: Map settings are available in Admin > Settings > Map & Device Groups by clicking on a map name, or by right-clicking in the background of a map view and selecting Map settings option.

Note

Learn how the map configuration process works in just a few minutes by watching this video on YouTube