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This documentation does not apply to the most recent version of uberAgent. Click here for the latest version.

Recommendations for Custom Dashboards (Splunk)

Why Create Custom Dashboards?

uberAgent ships with more than 60 dashboards that visualize every metric uberAgent collects. So why create custom dashboards?

uberAgent’s dashboards need to work for all customers. They must be generic and cannot have dependencies on other apps.

The needs of our customers are as diverse as their networks. Custom dashboards meet the most specific requirements. They provide KPIs and views tailored to a customer’s needs. And custom dashboards can bring data from multiple sources together: uberAgent + X + Y. That is what Splunk calls operational intelligence.

Where to Create Custom Dashboards?

Dashboards need to “live” somewhere. In Splunk, a dashboard’s natural habitat is an app. Apps are containers for dashboards and files. Apps allow you to:

  • Keep related items in one place
  • Add a corporate logo
  • Assign permissions
  • Publish to Splunkbase

Dashboard Authoring Recommendations

Create Your Own App

At first, people are often tempted to store their custom dashboard files in the uberAgent app directory. That seems to be the easiest way, but it breaks easily when the uberAgent Splunk apps are updated. We recommend hosting custom dashboards in your own app, independent of uberAgent.

Do Not Hard-Code Things

Networks are dynamic, as is uberAgent. New versions may bring new sourcetypes, data models, and fields.

uberAgent provides macros to simplify future upgrades. uberAgent’s macros can be used globally (e.g., in other apps, too). The use of the following macros is highly recommended:

  • uberAgent_index: stores the name of the uberAgent Splunk index
  • uA_DM_dataset: stores the name of the data model that contains a given dataset

All macros are defined in the file macros.conf of the uberAgent Splunk dashboard app.

Copy From Us

The best way to get to know the data collected and visualized by uberAgent is to look at the source code of the dashboards that ship with the product. We understand that practical examples can be very helpful and we explicitly recommend to reuse parts of the product’s default dashboards in your custom dashboards.

Professional Services

Help and support services for custom dashboard creation are available through our network of solution partners and consultants. Our partners are competent both with uberAgent and with Splunk. They are able to assist you with PoCs, architecture, customizations as well as quotes and pricing.

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