Director Dashboard & Reporting
Objective
Prove that Director’s global dashboards and reporting (on-demand + scheduled) accurately reflect the branch z40 and its traffic, and that exports/snapshots are usable as customer evidence.
Prerequisites
- z40 online, tunneling to cloud vGR (your standard POC setup).
- At least one active client on the z40 LAN.
- Admin (or reporting) access to Director.
- Some live traffic (browse/Teams, or iperf) while testing to make widgets move. You can confirm counters at device level in Edge Controllers → [z40] → Analytics → Statistics → Interfaces.
Test 1 — Open the Global Dashboards
Path: Analytics → Dashboards (left nav).
You’ll land on the global dashboard with top tabs:
- Overview · Top Apps/Domains · Threats · Geo IP · Traffic Details · Bandwidth · Custom Business Applications
For Bandwidth, sub-tabs appear:
- Edge Controller – bandwidth · Client/LAN PC bandwidth · Network overview
Filters on page:
- Select edge controller(s) · client hostname(s) · application name(s) · ingress interface(s) · egress interface(s)
Pass checks
- Page loads; no “no data” error.
- When you select your z40 in “edge controller(s)”, tiles/tables populate.
Evidence
- Screenshot showing the global path (left nav “Analytics → Dashboards”) and the tab bar across the top with at least one populated widget.
Test 2 — Time range + auto-refresh on Dashboards
At top-right: click the date/time selector to open the Quick select panel.
Verify:
- Quick select unit dropdown (seconds/minutes/hours/days/weeks/months/years).
- Commonly used presets: Today, This week, Last 15 minutes, Last 30 minutes, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Last 90 days, Last 1 year.
- Refresh every selector + Start button (auto-refresh).
Procedure
- Set Last 30 minutes → Apply.
- In Refresh every, choose e.g., 15 minutes, click Start (auto refresh enabled).
- Generate traffic and watch the dashboard update on its own interval.
Evidence
- Screenshot of the time panel visible on the dashboard with your chosen range and “Refresh every … Start” shown.
Test 3 — Validate “Edge Controller – bandwidth” vs device live counters
Path (global): Analytics → Dashboards → Bandwidth → Edge Controller – bandwidth.
Filters: pick your edge controller (z40).
Cross-check (device level): Edge Controllers → [z40] → Analytics → Statistics → Interfaces; you should see TX/RX and pps rise while driving traffic.
Pass checks
- Top talkers tables (Ingress/Egress client usage) show the active LAN client(s).
- The directionality (download/upload) on the dashboard aligns with device-level Interfaces counters during the same time window.
Evidence
- Two screenshots taken within ~1 min: (A) dashboard “Edge Controller – bandwidth”, (B) device Interfaces tab.
Test 4 — “Top Apps/Domains” widget (global and device dashboards)
Path: Analytics → Dashboards → Top Apps/Domains.
Filter to your z40 and (optionally) select an application name.
Pass checks
- Launch/quit a Teams call or YouTube stream and see the Top Apps list change within the chosen time range.
- (Optional) Cross-check at device level: Analytics → Statistics (Interfaces / Global Applications if present in your build) for the same interval; numbers should tell the same story.
Evidence
- Before/after screenshots showing the app you drove move up in the list.
Test 5 — Events drill-down (correlate dashboard to logs)
You can use a light “event” like a WAN flap or tunnel toggle during a quiet period.
Path (device): Edge Controllers → [z40] → Analytics → Statistics → Logs and Events.
Action: Flap WAN or toggle a gateway/tunnel briefly; the dashboard’s recent events panel should later reflect it; device Logs and Events shows the detailed entries you can time-correlate.
Pass checks
- Matching timestamps between dashboard view and device Logs and Events for WAN/Tunnel fault→recovered entries.
Evidence
- Screenshot of Logs and Events showing the event (with timestamps) + a dashboard capture from the same time window.
Test 6 — On-Demand reports (Interface/Application/Bandwidth/Logs/Tunnel)
Path: Analytics → Reporting → ON DEMAND.
Controls visible: Quick Select (range + period), GENERATE REPORT button, Commonly Used time presets.
Report types (from the Quick Select dropdown list in your build): System, Interface, TWAMP, Application, Firewall Log, Log, Bandwidth, Site Status, Tunnel Status.
Procedure (example: Interface report)
- Pick Interface in Quick Select.
- Range = 30, Period = Minutes (or use a preset like Last 30 minutes).
- GENERATE REPORT → confirm the report renders with data for your z40.
- Repeat for Application and Bandwidth.
- For Log/Firewall Log or Tunnel Status, pick a range that covers your Test 5 event.
Pass checks
- Each selected report generates without error and displays non-empty tables/graphs for the chosen window.
- Log/Tunnel Status reports include your induced event within the time window.
Evidence
- One screenshot per report type you intend to include in the customer evidence pack.
Test 7 — Scheduled reports
Path: Analytics → Reporting → SCHEDULED.
Create a daily or weekly schedule for a commonly requested report (e.g., Interface or Bandwidth).
Pass checks
- Schedule saves and appears in the Scheduled list with next run time.
- (If export/email is supported in your tenant) verify delivery or downloadable artifact after the first run.
Evidence
- Screenshot of the scheduled item details.
Validation criteria
- Global dashboards load (Analytics→Dashboards) and populate for your z40 when filtered.
- Time-range presets and auto-refresh function as shown.
- Bandwidth and Top Apps/Domains reflect live traffic and align with device-level Interfaces counters during the same window.
- Events shown on dashboards correlate with device Logs and Events entries.
- Reporting → ON DEMAND generates Interface/Application/Bandwidth/Logs/Tunnel reports for the selected time window (and SCHEDULED creates a recurring job where enabled).
Evidence bundle
- Global dashboard overview (with path + time range visible).
- “Edge Controller – bandwidth” + device Interfaces side-by-side for the same minute.
- Top Apps/Domains before/after while you start/stop a stream or call.
- Logs & Events around a small, controlled WAN/tunnel event.
- 3–5 on-demand report screenshots (Interface, Application, Bandwidth, Log, Tunnel).
- (If used) the Scheduled report entry.