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Backend Services
What Is Backend Services?
Backend Services lists in the Left Monitor Panel the Backend Services that are not a member of a group together with their health check statuses and the value of a selected metric. Every row is a Backend Service; the colored strip on the left of the row shows the health check status of the Backend Service and the column on the right shows the value of the selected metric. When a row is clicked, the Dashboard tab of that Backend Service opens on the main screen.
By default the category shows the average of the Health Check State metric over the last one day in the Avg. value column and refreshes the values every 5 seconds; the value is the ratio of the time the Backend Service has stayed up in this period (e.g. 100% Up). The Backend Services that are members of a Backend Group are listed not in this category but in the Backend Service Groups category. The list is filtered by name, by health status, by the SSL, maintenance and backup settings and by route table. The selected category, the filters and the view settings are stored per user; when the session is opened again, the panel comes in the same state.
Backend Services
Scope
The Backend Services that are not bound to a group are listed
5
Health Statuses
OK, Preparing, Error, HC disabled, No data
6
Filter Tabs
Name, Health, SSL service, Maintenance mode, Backup service, Route table
5s
Refresh
The default refresh interval; 10s, 30s and 60s are also selected
Accessing the Screen
- Left Monitor Panel is opened.
- Backend Services is selected from the category tabs at the top left.
- The Backend Services defined on TR7 that are not a member of a group are listed.
- The Backend Service to be monitored is clicked; the screen opens with the Dashboard tab that carries the Backend Service's name.
If Backend Services is not seen in the category list, the user has no Load Balancer authorization or the category has been removed with the Edit Tabs arrangement in the category list; a removed category is added again from the same arrangement.
The Backend Services Screen
The Backend Services Screen
At the top part of the screen there are the category selector and the toolbar, below them the status strip, the search box and the Backend Service table, and at the very bottom the metric information row and the total strip. By default the table opens with the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| The status strip | The colored strip on the left of the row shows the health check status of the Backend Service; the colors are the same as the colors in the status strip. When it is hovered over, the status name is displayed. |
| Backend Services | The name of the Backend Service. Long names are shortened; when they are hovered over, the full name is displayed. |
| Avg. value | The ratio of the time the Backend Service has passed the health check in the selected period (Health Check State, Avg. value), e.g. 100% Up. In the rows that have no data (e.g. in the Backend Services to which no health check has been assigned) - is displayed. |
The Avg. value column belongs to the default Primary Metric value; when another metric is selected in the View Settings window, the columns of that metric come in place of this column. When a metric cell is hovered over, the name of the Backend Service, the metric, the period and the value are displayed. When the value changes, an arrow of two seconds appears in the metric cell, and when the status changes, in the name cell.
By default the table is sorted by name from A to Z. The sorting is changed by clicking a column header: the first click on a column that is not sorted sorts the name and status strip columns from the smallest to the largest and the metric columns from the largest to the smallest; a second click on the same column reverses the order and a third click removes the sorting. In the table one navigates between the rows with the ↑ and ↓ keys; the selected row opens half a second later and the Enter key opens the row immediately. The ← and → keys pass to the previous or the next category.
When a row is clicked, the Dashboard tab that carries the name of the Backend Service opens on the main screen; the Dashboard comes with the Display Period value in the panel.
The Category Selector
Which object group the panel will list is selected. When the label or the arrow next to it is clicked, the category list opens; the default order is Load Balancer vServices, WAF-Protected vServices, AGS-Enabled vServices, Bot/DDoS Protected vServices, Backend Services, Backend Service Groups, GTM, Interfaces and Route Tables & L4 DDoS. The categories for which the user has no authorization are not displayed in the list.
With the Edit Tabs button in the list, the categories are reordered by dragging, are added with Add Tab and are edited or deleted with the buttons on the right of the row. The changes are saved with the check mark; Discard changes undoes the changes made and Reset to Defaults returns to the default category list.
Backend Services List
By clicking the Backend Services list button, the Backend Services listing screen opens on the main screen. While the listing screen is open, the button is displayed as active.
Search
The Search button shows or hides the search box above the table. The search is made only in the name of the Backend Service and the table is filtered as it is typed. The cross mark in the box clears the search; the Esc key or clicking the button again hides the box and clears the search. Whether the box is open or closed is stored per user; by default it is open.
Filter
By clicking the Filter button, the Filter window opens. While a filter is active, a dot appears on the button and the tooltip of the button writes how many Backend Services are shown in the form Showing X of Y.
View Settings
By clicking the Settings button, the View Settings window opens.
Collapse
The Collapse button collapses the panel. The collapsed panel turns into a narrow icon strip: every category is shown with an icon and the small status dots below it. When the icon is hovered over, the category name and the status distribution are displayed; when the icon is clicked, the panel expands again with that category. The width of the panel is changed by dragging its right edge and is stored per user.
The Metric Information Row
It shows the selected metric of the table, its calculation type and its period; by default it writes Health Check State — Avg. value, last 1 day(s). By clicking the row, the View Settings window opens. While the data is loading, the settings icon in the row turns; the ring around the icon shows the time remaining until the next refresh.
The total strip below it summarizes the value of the rows that are visible in the table at that moment (with the filter and the search applied). Since Health Check State is a ratio that cannot be added up, on the strip the average (x̄ Avg. value) is shown instead of the total, e.g. 87.5% Up; the rows in which - is displayed are not included in the average; in the metrics that can be added up the total (Σ) is shown.
The Status Strip
The strip below the toolbar counts the Backend Services in the list by their health check statuses; there is a box for every status that has a Backend Service at that moment. The boxes are counted according to the other filters; the search and the Health filter do not change the numbers, so all the statuses continue to be seen on the strip.
| Status | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| OK | Green | The health check is successful. |
| Preparing | Yellow | The health check has been started, no result has been received yet. |
| Error | Red | The health check has failed. |
| HC disabled | Gray | No health check has been assigned. |
| No data | Gray | A health check is defined but its result cannot be received; the first result is being waited for or the check service cannot be reached. |
For the details of the health check statuses see Health Checks.
When a box is clicked, that status is added to the Health filter in the Filter window and the table shows only the Backend Services in that status; when it is clicked again, the status is removed from the filter. More than one box can be selected and the selected boxes are displayed highlighted. The strip is hidden with the Show status bar option in the View Settings window.
The Filter Window
In the window that opens by clicking the Filter button, the Backend Services in the table are filtered according to the values in the tabs.
The Filter Window
In the header of every tab the number of values in that tab is written, and next to every value the number of Backend Services that have that value. When no value is selected in a tab, that tab does not filter the list. When more than one value is selected in a tab, the Backend Services that match any one of them are listed, and when a selection is made in different tabs, the Backend Services that match the condition of all the tabs are listed.
Tabs
INFO
Name Default: All
The names of the Backend Services are listed; the selected Backend Services are shown in the table.
INFO
Health Default: All
It is filtered by health check status; the statuses that are in the list are listed as labels with the colors in the status strip. Clicking a box in the status strip also changes the selection in this tab.
INFO
SSL service Default: All
It is filtered by the SSL service setting of the Backend Service: Enabled, Disabled.
INFO
Maintenance mode Default: All
It is filtered by the Maintenance mode setting of the Backend Service: Enabled, Disabled.
INFO
Backup service Default: All
It is filtered by the Backup service setting of the Backend Service: Enabled, Disabled.
INFO
Route table Default: All
It is filtered by the route table the Backend Service is bound to; only the route tables that have at least one Backend Service are listed.
Window Controls
INFO
Select All
The Select all button selects all the values displayed in the tab; while all the values are selected, the button becomes Deselect all and removes the selection.
INFO
Search
In the Name and Route table tabs the values are filtered according to the text typed in the search box; Select all is applied only to the filtered values. In the other tabs there is no search box.
INFO
Save
By clicking the Save button, the selected filters are applied and stored per user. If the window is closed without the Save button being clicked, the selections made are not applied.
The View Settings Window
In the window that opens by clicking the Settings button or the metric information row, which metric the table will show, its sorting and its refresh period are set.
The View Settings Window
The settings are stored per category and per user; a setting made for Backend Services does not affect the other categories.
Metrics
INFO
View Type Default: Basic
The view of the list is selected:
- Basic: the Backend Services are listed as a table with the columns of the selected metric.
- Advanced: every Backend Service is shown as a card; on the card there are at most five additional metrics together with the Primary Metric. In this view the Additional Metrics field in which the additional metrics are selected is added to the window.
INFO
Primary Metric Default: Health Check State, Avg. value
The metric to be shown in the table and the calculation type are selected. In the first box the health check metrics (Health Check State, Health Check Time) and the metrics that combine the traffic of the Backend Service on all the vServices (HTTP Requests, Response Time, Bandwidth, Current Sessions, Queue Depth, Connect Time, Connections, HTTP Response Codes) are listed. The Static group contains the information that does not depend on time:
- Address: the IP address and the port of the Backend Service.
- Weight: its weight in the load balancing.
- Health: the name of the assigned health check.
- Route table: the route table it is bound to.
- Status: the SSL service, Maintenance mode and Backup service settings that are on, with icons.
In the second box it is selected how the selected metric will be calculated; for Health Check State the default is Avg. value and it gives the ratio of the time the health check has been passed in the selected period.
Sorting & Appearance
INFO
Sort By Default: Name
The sorting criterion of the table is selected: Default Order, Name, Status or one of the columns of the selected metric.
INFO
Ascending Default: Checked
While it is checked, the sorting is made from the smallest to the largest (from A to Z), and while it is not checked, from the largest to the smallest.
INFO
Group by Status Default: Not checked
When it is selected, the Backend Services are grouped by their health check statuses; the groups are arranged in the order No data, HC disabled, Error, Preparing and OK. At the beginning of every group the status name and the number of Backend Services are written; by clicking the group header, the group is opened or closed.
Data Refresh
INFO
Display Period Default: Last 1 day(s)
The period over which the metric value will be calculated is selected. The ready options are 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 1 year; the period is also entered manually. The field is not displayed when no time-dependent metric is selected in the saved setting and in the window (e.g. when a metric is selected only from the Static group). The Dashboard that opens when a row is clicked comes with this period.
INFO
Refresh Interval Default: 5s
The refresh interval of the values in the table is selected: 5s, 10s, 30s, 60s.
INFO
Accept
By clicking the Accept button, the settings are saved and the table is refreshed with the new settings.
