It
is a good idea to schedule
reports to be run at non-peak traffic hours since generation of reports
is a resource hungry process especially for large interface numbers. A
Scheduler is configured to set the parameters for automating the
generation of reports. The parameters to be set for creating a
Scheduler are:
Netflow Analyzer calculates the bandwidth utilization on the
specified interfaces / IP Groups every minute. Based on the schedule
opted for, reports are generated at various time intrevals.The Schedule
Reports feature lets you Create new
Schedules and
Delete existing ones. The
Scheduler List page lists all existing schedules , along with the
Schedule details,Status, Report types,and the Last Report Generated
time.
The various columns displayed in the Scheduler List page are
described in the table below:
Column | Description |
---|---|
Name | The name of the Schedule when it was created. Click on the Schedule's name to see more information about the schedule's configuration |
Schedule Details |
Information on when the schedule will run |
Status | By default all schedules are Enabled, which means they
are active. Click the ![]() ![]() |
Report Type | Whether it is a consolidated report are user-defined Custom report |
Last Report Time | This column lists the last time when this schedule was run and a report created |
Generated Reports | By clicking on View Reports it is possible to view all the previous reports that have been generated. The number of reports that are stored is based on the user definition in the Schedule Setting page. (By enabling the item "Enable older reports to be accessed from UI" it is possible to retrieve even older reports.) For Daily Schedule up to 90 reports can be stored. For Weekly Schedule up to 104 reports can be stored. For Monthly Schedule up to 60 reports can be stored. |
You can create new schedules or delete existing ones from the Schedule List page.
The steps to configure a Schedule are:
Field | Description |
---|---|
Scheduler Name | Enter a unique name to identify this scheduler. |
Description |
Enter descriptive information for this scheduler profile to help other operators understand why it was created. |
Select Source |
By default all managed interfaces sending NetFlow exports are selected. If you want this schedule configuration to apply to certain interfaces only, click the Modify Selection link. In the pop-up window, select the required devices and interfaces and click Update to save your changes. |
By default all IP Groups are selected. If you
want
this schedule configuration to apply to certain IP Groups only, click
the Modify Selection link. In the pop-up window,
select the required devices and IP Groups and click Update
to save your changes. |
|
Report Type |
Select whether the reports that need to be generated is consolidated or a customized one .The default setting is Consolidated Report.To opt for Custom Report click on the radio button in front of custom report. |
If you want a customized report then click on
the
radio button in front of custom report. Opting for Custom
report lets you set criteria by using the "Add Criteria" option.Any
number of criterion can be set and the rule set to match all the
criteria or anyone. |
|
Schedule Report Generation | Select the report generation frequency as one from : Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Only Once. Depending on this the report will be generated at the appropriate time intervals. |
Email Address to Send Reports | Enter the email address to which the generated reports have to be emailed. You can enter multiple email addresses separated by a comma. |
Opting for custom report lets you set criteria on the basis of which the report will be generated. By clicking on the "Add Criteria" button one can set a matching condition on "Source Address, Source Network, Source Nodes, Destination Address, Destination Network, Destination Nodes and Application". To add more criteria click on "Add Criteria" again. Having created all the criterions you can decide whether to make the generated report to match all of the criterions created or any of them.
The report generation schedule can be chosen from one of the following:
When you opt for the last 24 hours then the report is generated for the flow in the intervening 24 hours (from the time at which the report is to be generated today). The 30 most recent reports for this schedule can be accessible from the Schedule List page
Exclude weekends:
When you choose the Exclude Weekend option with "Previous day", reports will be generated on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. These will be reports pertaining to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively.
When you choose the Exclude Weekend option with "Last 24 hours", reports will be generated on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The previous week option would generate the report for the time period Sunday 00:00 hours till Saturday 23:59 hours. When"Exclude Weekends" is enabled the report will be generated for the time period Monday 00:00 hours till Friday 23:59 hours.
The"Last 7 Days" option would generate the report for the last 7 days from the time at which the report is to be generated. Again, the exclude weekend option would generate for the last 7 days with the data for the weekend (saturday,sunday) excluded. For instance if the report is to be generated at Monday 10:00 am, with the rules set as "last 7 days" and "Exclude weekend" enabled, then the report will be generated for the time period last week's Monday 10:00 hours to Friday 23:59 hours and from this week Monday's 00:00 hours till 10:00 hours. The 52 most recent reports for this schedule can be accessible from the Schedule List page
When "Previous Month" option is enabled and the report generation date is set to 5-th of every month at 10:00 hours, then the report will be generated for the whole of last month ( first to the last day of the month). When "Exclude weekend" option is enabled then the generated report will exclude all the intervening weekends (saturday & sunday).
When "Last 30 Days" option is enabled and the report generation date is set to 5-th of every month at 10:00 hours, then the report will be generated from last month's 5-th 10:00 hours till this month 5-th's 10:00 hours. When"Exclude Weekend" option is enabled then the generated report will exclude all the intervening weekends(saturday & sunday). The 12 most recent reports for this schedule can be accessible from the Schedule List page.
Customizing from address:
You can customize the "From Address" from the mail server settings in settings.
A note on emailed reports:
A report is generated for each interface / IP Group - 50 such reports are zipped in a single email and mailed. In case of more than 50 interface/ IP Groups selected the report will be sent in multiple emails. The last generated reports for all schedules will be under the folder NetFlow -> Reports.
Select a schedule from the Schedule List and click on Delete to delete the schedule. Once a schedule is deleted no longer reports are generated at the stipulated intervals. Deleting a schedule also deletes the corresponding folder.
In addition, there is the Schedule Settings link in the Schedule List Page. This link lets you set parameters that could be applied across all the generated reports. The parameters include: