Precise for Microsoft .NET basics

This section includes the following topics:

• About Precise for Microsoft .NET tabs
• How most tabs are structured
• About drilling down in context
• About configuring Precise for Microsoft .NET settings
• Tasks common to most tabs

About Precise for Microsoft .NET tabs

The Precise for Microsoft .NET user interface is made up of three tabs. Each tab has a different focus and provides a different view into the performance of your .NET applications. You can easily move between these tabs to examine the information necessary to successfully track your system's performance and identify patterns in resource consumption.

The table below describes the various tabs available in Precise for Microsoft .NET.

Table 1 Microsoft .NET tabs

How most tabs are structured

Though each tab is structured differently, most tabs consist of two different areas. Each area can include different control elements, such as tabs and view controls, and displays information in various formats, such as tables, graphs, or charts. The various areas are related to each other in that performing an action in one area affects the information displayed in other areas on the page.

The entities displayed in the Association area are associated with the selected entity or related application displayed in the Main area. At times, the relationship between the entity displayed in the Main area and those displayed in the Association area is that of parent to child, and sometimes it merely represents that there is a relationship between the selected entity and the entities displayed in the Association area (such as when a statement is the selected entity displayed in the Main area and the list of programs associated with the selected statement is displayed in the Association area).

About the Precise bar

The Precise bar enables you to keep track of where you have been and provides various controls. The following table describes the function of each of the toolbar buttons.

Table 2 Precise bar functions

About the Main area

In most workspaces, the left or top area is the Main area. This area displays an overview of all instances monitored by your Precise product. This information can be displayed in either graph, table, or tree format. The time frame that the information is displayed for can be seen in the workspace toolbar, alongside the selected instance name (and drop-down menu) and auto-refresh status. The times displayed are the local times on the FocalPoint server where the page was generated.

About the Association area

The Association area displays in-depth information for the entity selected in the Main area. Each workspace has analysis tabs specific for that workspace. As you navigate through Precise for Microsoft .NET, the analysis tabs change to enable you to view specific information relevant to the selected workspace and entity.

For example, the following analysis tabs are available in the Dashboard workspace:

• Overview
• Memory & CPU

About the Findings area

For selected workspaces in Precise products, the association area includes the Findings area, displaying problematic findings for the application. The findings feature is a high level tool, designed to provide the user with an overview of performance issues within the monitored application and enable quick and efficient navigation to the relevant tab for further analysis and handling. The displayed performance findings may indicate performance deteriorations as well as incorrect methods usage. Each finding appears as a row in the displayed table of findings. Hover the mouse indicator over the single-line displayed finding to expand the finding. When expanded, the finding details area provides important guidelines as to what may be the root cause for the reported problem, and what the recommended steps are to resolve this problem.

The table below describes the information that is displayed in the Findings area.

Table 3 Information displayed in the Findings area

Investigating a finding

Perform the following steps to investigate a finding.

To investigate a finding

1. In the Time Frame list, select the period of time you want to analyze.
2. In the All .NET Instances table, select the instance you want to investigate.
3. In the Finding area, review the top Findings for the selected instance displayed in the Findings table. The findings displayed in this table are sorted by severity.
4. In the Findings table, select the finding you want to analyze further.
5. In the selected finding (the expanded view), read the data displayed for the finding and follow any links provided to view additional information (advice) or next steps (bullets) to resolve the problem.

For more information, see “Examining findings” on page 37.

About drilling down in context

The term 'in-context' means that you can display additional information on a selected item by drilling down to another tab or view. The filter settings you defined (for example, the selected time frame you chose) and the entity you selected are carried over to the other view or tab, to allow you to continue analyzing your subject from a different perspective. This concept takes on slightly different meanings depending upon where you are attempting to drill down in context from.

For example, when viewing information on an instance in the Dashboard tab, you can click a link in the Details area (right pane) to view additional information on the related tab, in context of your original selection.

Or, when viewing a list of alerts for your product in Alerts, you can open your product in context and continue investigating the factors that led the system to issue that alert.

In short, the information displayed when drilling down in context is always related to your original selection’s settings.

About configuring Precise for Microsoft .NET settings

The Settings menu on the Precise bar allows you to control the appearance and behavior of the user interface. The following settings can be configured through this menu:

• Collection
• Display
• Instrumentation
• Time Frame
• Tree View

About Collection settings

The Collection settings dialog lets you select which instances you want to monitor.

About Display settings

The Display Settings dialog allows you to retain the selected view or tab, if applicable, when you drill down on an entity or when selecting a different entity. This is sometimes referred to as sticky tabs. For example, if you have chosen the Scalability view in the Activity tab, this will become the default view for all entities, where applicable.

About Instrumentation settings

The Instrumentation Settings dialog lets you select an instance and either add or delete a DLL file location for instrumentation.

The Automatic Detection agent can be used to detect all DLLs that are in use in the .NET application.

About Time Frame settings

You can determine the resolution of the data that is displayed in the overtime graphs using the Time Frame Settings dialog box. By using this dialog box you can define the default time frame to display.

About Tree View settings

The Tree View Settings dialog allows you to define the parameters controlling the Tree View display. You can select:

• The field to sort Tree View entries by:
  
  • Response time (average)
  • Response time (summary)
  • Work time (average)
  • Work time (summary)
  • Executions
• The maximum number of results to be returned by a Tree View search.
• The display mode for the Method name (short name=class name+Method name or long name=namespace+class name+Method name). 

Tasks common to most tabs

The following tasks are commonly performed in most tabs:

• Selecting a time frame
• Focusing on information in overtime graphs
• Sending an email message
• Adding, viewing, and deleting Favorites
• Determining which table columns to display
• Exporting to the Precise Custom Portal

Selecting a time frame

You can configure Precise for Microsoft .NET to display transaction performance data for a specific time frame using the predefined time frame options or calendar icons.

Selecting a predefined time frame from the toolbar displays transaction performance data for the selected time period up to the current time.

See “Selecting a predefined time frame from the Precise for Microsoft .NET toolbar” on page 14.

Selecting the time frame using the calendar icon, you can choose to define a time range independent of the current time, or to define a time range up to the current time.

See “Selecting a time frame using the calendar icon” on page 14. The predefined time frame options are:

• Last 20 minutes (20m)
• Last 8 hours (8h) (default)
• Last 1 day (1d)
• Last 2 weeks (2w)
• Last 5 weeks (5w)

The time frame selected affects all information displayed in Precise for Microsoft .NET. Only data that falls within the selected time frame is shown in these areas.

Selecting a predefined time frame from the Precise for Microsoft .NET toolbar

To select a predefined time frame, from the Precise for Microsoft .NET toolbar, select one of the predefined time frames.

Selecting a time frame using the calendar icon

To select a time frame

1. Click the calendar icon. In the dialog box that is displayed perform one of the following:
   1. To define a time frame independent from the current time, select the ‘Time Range’ option and select the Start and End dates and times.
   2. To define a time frame up to the current time, select the ‘Last’ option and enter the desired time frame.
   3. To use one of the three previously used time frames, select the ‘Recently used’ option and from the drop- down menu select the desired time frame.
   4. To use a previously saved time frame, select Use a previously saved time frame and from the drop-down menu select the desired time frame.
2. To save your settings for future access, select Save these definitions for future use as: and enter a name in the corresponding field.
3. Click OK.

Focusing on information in overtime graphs

Some entities display an overtime graph. The overtime graph displays entity statistics over a specified time period. Depending on the number of points displayed in the graph, you may need to zoom in or out. The text displayed on the x-axis varies according to the time frame. If there is a year or day change, x-axis labels will display accordingly.

Use the vertical or horizontal scroll bars (if displayed) to view additional information on the graph. Click the double-arrow (>>) icon to either hide or show the overtime graph legend.

Use the small zoom (spyglass) icon, displayed on the upper right of a time range and above the overtime graph legend, to select a desired time frame that you wish to focus. To select an area on the graph, first click and drag the mouse pointer and then click the spyglass icon.

Sending an email message

You can send an email message to one or more recipients from the Precise toolbar. The default subject for the message will be “Link to a Precise application”.

The email will include a link to the Precise product in the current context (time frame and selected entries). To send an email message

1. Click the email icon on the Precise toolbar. The default email program opens.
2. Fill in the required fields and click Send.

Adding, viewing, and deleting Favorites

The Favorites feature enables you to save a specific location in your application and to retrieve the same location later without having to navigate to it.

About the Favorites feature

The new Favorites feature includes the following options:

• Relative Time Frame. Saving relative time frame instead of static date. For example, saving the last 7 days will always display the last 7 days, depending on the day entered.
• One click to specific location. Once you open Precise by opening a saved Favorite item, you will not have to enter a login credential nor click the login button.
• IE Favorites support. Adding a new Favorite item in Precise will also add it to the IE Favorites menu.
• Auto Complete. The Favorites dialog includes a new combo box which supports Auto Complete.
• Auto Naming. The Favorites dialog generates item names based on the current location.

UI description

An Add/Delete Favorites option under the Favorites menu allows you to save the current location or delete an existing one.

To add a new Favorite location

1. On the Add/Delete Favorites dialog box, enter the name of the new Favorites entry.
2. Click Add. The dialog box is closed and the new Favorite is added to the list.

To view a Favorites location

1. On the Precise bar, click Favorites.
2. Select the Favorites location you want to view.

To delete an existing Favorite location

1. On the Add/Delete Favorites dialog box, select the Favorite location to be deleted.
2. Click Delete. The dialog box closes and the selected Favorite is deleted from the list.

Determining which table columns to display

Tables are used to display information about a set of related entities in the Main and Association areas. It is possible to determine which columns to display in the Association area tables.

To determine which columns to display in the Association area

1. Click the Table icon on the upper right-hand side of a table and select Column Chooser.
2. In the Table columns dialog box, click the arrows to move the names of the columns that you want to display to the Visible box and the ones that you do not want to display to the Invisible box.
3. Click OK.

Exporting to the Precise Custom Portal

The Export to the Precise Custom Portal Portlet feature enables you to export the view of the chosen table or graph and generate a portlet with that view in the Precise Custom Portal, so that it will provide you with another way of monitoring your application.

Prerequisites

To be able to use this feature, you need to have the following rights in Precise:

• View permissions to all Tiers in the application

If you do not have sufficient rights, you will get an error message when trying to execute this feature.

Exporting the information

You can either export a table view or a graph view.

To export a table view

1. Click the Column Chooser icon.
2. Select Export to the Precise Custom Portal Portlet.
3. Insert a name in the name field that clearly describes the table view.
4. Click OK.

To export a graph view

1. Right-click the graph.
2. Select Export to the Precise Custom Portal Portlet.
3. Insert a name in the name field that clearly describes the graph view.
4. Click OK.

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