Introduction

Create and manage custom attributes on the managed resources in your IT environment.

You can define custom attributes according to your requirements and add values to them. Assign the attribute values to resources for better resource management. You can make informed decisions based on the resource data available.

Prerequisites

You must have the necessary permissions to access and manage the features. Following are the permissions required:

PermissionDescription
Custom Attributes CreateTo create custom attribute type and values.
Custom Attributes ManageTo edit and delete the custom attribute type and values.
Custom Attributes ViewTo view the custom attribute type and values.
Custom attribute create and
Device Create		To assign entities to custom attribute.
Custom attribute manage and Device ManageTo unassign and reassign entities from custom attribute.
Custom attribute view and
Device View		To view tagged entities.

Manage custom attributes

The following sections describe how to create, view, edit, delete custom attributes and custom attribute values. You will also learn how to assign entity objects to custom attributes.

Create custom attributes

Custom attributes can be created at Service Provider, Partner and Client levels.

The custom attribute types are case-sensitive. For example, you can create two different custom attribute types - APPLICATIONID and applicationid.

Following are the step-by-step instructions to create a custom attribute.

  1. To select your client, click the Client/Partner dropdown from the top-left corner of the My Dashboards screen. Either type your client’s name in the search bar or select your client from the list.
  2. Click Setup > Account.
  3. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
    Custom attribute screen
  4. From the sidebar, click +.
  5. Enter the following information in the ADD CUSTOM ATTRIBUTE dialog box:
Add custom attribute
Field NameDescription
Custom Attribute NameEnter a name for the custom attribute.
Note: The following regular expressions are supported for the custom attribute name (or tag name):
[a-zA-Z_:][a-zA-Z0-9_:]*
DescriptionProvide a description for the custom attribute.
  1. Click ADD. The sidebar displays the custom attribute and custom attribute value associated with the tag.

Note: You can add a website URL (prefixed with ‘http’ or ‘https’) as a custom attribute. The website URL, when clicked, will redirect to the specific website in a new tab.

Add custom attribute values

Once you create a custom attribute, the next step is to assign values to the custom attribute and then assign the entity to the resources.

Note: You can add multiple values for a selected custom attribute.

Follow these steps to add a custom attribute value:

  1. Click Setup > Account.

  2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.

  3. Search for the custom attribute using the search box available in the sidebar.

  4. Click +ADD. The ADD CUSTOM ATTRIBUTE VALUE dialog box is displayed.

    Add custom attribute value dialog box

  5. Enter the following information:

    Field NameDescription
    ValueEnter a custom attribute value.
    Metric valueSelect the Metric value checkbox to add this custom attribute as a label to your resource metrics, that can be queried in dashboards and other product areas.
    • Metric value enabled custom attributes have limits. A maximum of 5 metric values can be enabled per device.
    • While editing the custom attribute value, if the custom attribute value assigned to resources having metric value enabled exceeds the limit of 5 metric values, then the Metric value option will not be available on the Edit Custom Attribute Value dialog box.
      Note: If a resource already has 5 metric values enabled for the custom attributes, and if you want to enable another metric value for another custom attribute, then you need to unassign a custom attribute from the resource which has a metric value.
    • The metric value enabled custom attributes are displayed in the Attributes section of the resource details page. This will allow you to decide which of the custom attributes you can consider as a label for the metrics.
      Note: It takes 24 hours for the custom attribute values to be displayed on the metric series.
    DescriptionProvide a description for the custom attribute.
    1. Click ADD to add the value to the custom attribute.

      The table displays Value, Description, Metric Label, Resources, Service Groups, and Adapter Configurations columns.

    Assign entity objects

    You can assign entity objects like resources and service groups to a selected custom attribute.

    • You cannot assign entities to more than one custom attribute value.

    To assign entity objects:

    1. Search for the custom attribute value using the search box.

    2. Mouse over the value and click the action (three dots) icon.

      Assign entities

    3. Click Assign entities. The ASSIGN ENTITIES screen is displayed.

      Assign entities screen

    4. Enter the following information:

      Field NameDescription
      ResourcesSelect resources from the drop-down list or use the ADVANCED SEARCH option available in the drop-down list to search for resources and assign them to the custom attribute.
      To search for resources using ADVANCED SEARCH:
      1. Click ADVANCED SEARCH. The RESOURCE FILTER window is displayed.
        2. 2
      2. Click +QUERY and build an OpsQL query. Select the resources and click APPLY.
      Service GroupsSelect service group(s) from the drop-down list.
      5. Click ASSIGN ENTITIES to assign entities to custom attribute.
      The custom attribute screen displays the resource count and service group count.
      Assigned entities screen

      For partner users:

      You can assign resources, service groups, and clients to custom attributes.

      Follow these steps to assign entities:

      1. Mouse over the custom attribute value and click the action (three dots) icon.

      2. Click Assign entities. The ASSIGN ENTITIES screen is displayed.

        Partner - Assign entities screen
        • To assign resources, click +ADD CLIENT RESOURCES and select the client and the resources.
        • To assign service groups, click +ADD CLIENT SERVICEGROUPS and select the client and the service groups.
        • To assign clients to the custom attribute, select client(s) from the Clients drop-down list.

      3. Click ASSIGN ENTITIES to assign the entities.

      View custom attributes and values

      Follow these steps to view the created attributes and corresponding values.

      1. Click Setup > Account.
      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
      3. The sidebar displays the list of custom attributes. The total number of custom attributes is displayed at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
      4. Use the search box to search for the custom attribute.
      5. Click the custom attribute.
        The custom attribute details like Value, Description, Metric Label, Resources, Service Groups, Adapter Configurations are displayed on the right side of the screen.
      View Custom Attribute details

      Edit custom attributes

      You can change the description of a custom attribute, but cannot change the custom attribute name.

      Follow these steps to edit custom attribute:

      1. Click Setup > Account.

      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.

      3. From the sidebar, search for the custom attribute.

      4. Mouse over the custom attribute and click action (three dots) icon.
        Alternatively, click the action (three dots) icon available at the top-right corner of the screen.

      5. Select Edit. The EDIT CUSTOM ATTRIBUTE dialog box is displayed.

        Edit Custom Attribute

      6. Enter the following information:

        Field NameDescription
        Custom Attribute NameThis field is read-only (not editable).
        DescriptionUpdate the description for the custom attribute.

      7. Click SAVE to update the custom attribute. A confirmation message appears.

      Edit custom attribute values

      You can edit an existing custom attribute value.

      Follow these steps to edit a custom attribute value:

      1. Click Setup > Account.
      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
      3. From the sidebar, search for the custom attribute and click on it. The custom attribute values are displayed on the right side of the screen.
      4. Use the search icon to search for the custom attribute value.
      5. Mouse over the value and click the action (three dots) icon.
      6. Select Edit. The EDIT CUSTOM ATTRIBUTE VALUE dialog box is displayed.
        Edit Custom Attribute Value
      7. Enter the following information:
        Field NameDescription
        Custom AttributeThis field is read-only (not editable).
        ValueThis field is read-only (not editable).
        Metric valueSelect or clear the checkbox as needed.
        DescriptionUpdate the description for the custom attribute value.
      8. Click SAVE to update the custom attribute value details. A confirmation message appears.

      Reassign and unassign custom attribute values

      You can reassign and unassign custom attribute values from the entity objects.

      Note: The Assign, Unassign, and Reassign functionality is not available at Service Provider level.

      Follow these steps to reassign custom attribute values:

      1. Click Setup > Account.
      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
      3. From the sidebar, search for the custom attribute and click it. The custom attribute values are displayed.
        Alternatively, you can search for the custom attribute values from the right side of the screen.
      4. Click the resource count in the Resource column. The ASSIGNED RESOURCES window is displayed.

      Assigned resource screen
      5. Select the resource and click ACTIONS > Reassign. The REASSIGN CUSTOM ATTRIBUTE VALUE dialog box is displayed.

      Reassign value

      Enter the following information:

      Field NameDescription
      Custom AttributeThis field is read-only (not editable).
      ValueSelect a value from the drop-down list.
      Metric valueThis field is read-only (not editable).
      DescriptionThis field is read-only (not editable).
      1. Click REASSIGN. The custom attribute value is reassigned and a confirmation message appears.

      You can remove a custom attribute value from any selected entity using the Unassign functionality.

      Follow these steps to unassign custom attribute values:

      1. Click Setup > Account.
      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
      3. From the sidebar, search for the custom attribute and click it. The custom attribute values are displayed.
        Alternatively, you can search for the custom attribute values from the right side of the screen.
      4. Click the resource count in the Resource column. The ASSIGNED RESOURCES window is displayed.
      5. Select the resource and click ACTIONS > Unassign.
      6. A confirmation dialog box is displayed.
      7. Click UNASSIGN. A confirmation message appears.

      To reassign and unassign the custom attribute values from Service Groups:

      1. Click the Service Groups count in the Service Groups column. The ASSIGNED SERVICES window is displayed. Follow the above steps to reassign and unassign the custom attribute values from Service Groups.

      Delete custom attributes

      You can delete custom attributes. The custom attribute and the associated value(s) are removed.

      Note: Custom attributes cannot be removed if there are any entities assigned to them. First unassign the custom attribute(s) from the entities and then remove the custom attribute(s).

      Follow these steps to delete custom attributes:

      1. Click Setup > Account.
      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
      3. From the sidebar, search for the custom attribute.
      4. Mouse over the attribute and click the action (three dots) icon.
        Alternatively, click the action (three dots) icon available at the top-right corner of the screen.
      5. Select Remove. A warning message, “Deleting this custom attribute may affect associated Alert Correlation Policies, Services and Monitoring” is displayed.
      6. Click REMOVE to remove the custom attribute. A message appears if there are any entities assigned to the custom attribute.
      7. Unassign the custom attribute(s) from the entities and then remove the custom attribute(s). A confirmation message appears.

      Delete custom attribute values

      You can permanently remove a custom attribute value.

      Follow these steps to delete custom attribute values:

      1. Click Setup > Account.
      2. Select the Custom Attributes tile. The CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES screen is displayed.
      3. From the sidebar, search for the custom attribute and click on it. The custom attribute values are displayed on the right side of the screen.
        You can directly search for the value using the search box.
      4. Search for the custom attribute value using the search box.
      5. Mouse over the value and click the action (three dots) icon.
      6. Select Remove. A warning message, “Deleting this custom attribute value may affect associated Alert Correlation Policies, Services and Monitoring” is displayed.
      7. Click REMOVE to remove the custom attribute value. A confirmation message appears.

      Alternatively, you can delete multiple custom attribute values at a time.

      1. Select the checkboxes next to attribute values and click Remove.
        If you want to delete all the values, select the checkbox next to Value and click Remove.
        Edit Custom Attribute Value

      Custom attributes in Dashboards

      The custom attributes can be used for querying in the dashboard tiles - Metric, Alert, and Resource.

      Metric tile:

      To use a custom attribute for querying in a metric tile:

      From the Add Metric Tile window:

      1. Add a custom attribute as a label to the resource metrics.
        See Add custom attribute values for more information.
      2. Select the metric and filter like any predefined attribute.

      Example:

      • Metric is acs_rds_MySQL_ActiveSessions
      • Custom attribute is db_instance_class
      • Attribute value is mysql.n1.micro.1
      metric tile custom-attribute

      The above screen shows the metric series for all the resources that are filtered using the custom attribute.


      Resource tile:

      Use the custom attributes for querying, in the resource tile.

      From the Add Resource Tile window:

      1. Select the attribute, operator and the value.
      2. Select a filter from the Group By option.

      Example: Resources are filtered using the custom attribute. The Group By attribute groups the resources based on the Group By filter selected.

      • Attribute is tags.name
      • Operator is =
      • Attribute value is Root Resource IPAddress (the custom attribute you created from the Custom attributes page: Setup > Custom Attributes > Custom Attributes).
        See Create custom attributes for more information on how to create a custom attribute.
      • Group By filter is availabilityState.
      Resource tile custom attribute

      The above screen shows the resources filtered using the custom attribute and grouped according to the availability state.

      • Click the links on the tile to navigate to the Infrastructure search page, which shows all the information related to the resources.
        Example: If you click DOWN, it will navigate to the infrastructure search page, which shows all the resources that are in the DOWN availability state.

      Alert tile:

      Use the custom attributes for querying, in the alert tile.

      From the Add Alert Tile window:

      1. Select the attribute, operator and the value.
      2. Select a filter from the Group By option, and select All Alerts (you can select other options like Alert created time and Alert updated time based on your requirement).

      Example: Alerts are filtered using the custom attribute. The Group By attribute groups the alerts based on the Group By filter selected.

      • Attribute is resource.tags.name
      • Operator is =
      • Attribute value is vmware_tag (the custom attribute you created from the Custom attributes page: Setup > Custom Attributes > Custom Attributes).
        See Create custom attributes for more information on how to create a custom attribute.
      • Group By filter is alertType and metric.
      Alert tile custom attribute

      The above screen shows the alerts that are filtered using the custom attribute and grouped according to the alert type and metric.

      • Click the links on the tile to navigate to the Alerts page, which shows all the information related to the alerts.
        Example: Clicking on Monitoring will navigate to the Alerts listing page with all the information about the alerts.