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As with other functionality present in the Symantec Management Console, IT Analytics includes the ability to leverage previously created right-click actions to make IT systems management easier and more effective. Through performing ad-hoc analysis within a pivot table view, users with the proper security level can perform the default right-click actions on specific computers or groups of machines, as well as execute custom actions such as launching a previously developed workflow. This example shows how users can very easily turn pivot tables views within IT Analytics into actionable information.

Launching a Right-Click Action from an IT Analytics Pivot Table View

This example shows how to launch a right-click action from within the Computers Cube of IT Analytics. In this case we will create a new filter for all Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard computers, however this process can be used to create a filter for any operating system of your choice.

1. In the Symantec Management Platform console, select: Reports > All Reports
2. Open the IT Analytics folder and then expand the Cubes folder
3. Select the Computers Cube.
4. Click anywhere inside the cube to display the Field List.
5. Drag and drop the Computer Count totals into the “Drop Totals or Details Fields Here” data pane. 

6. Drag and drop the Computer – OS Type attribute into the “Drop Totals or Details Fields Here” data pane. 

7. Find the row for Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard computers and right-click on the cell in the Computer Count column, then select Display Resource List. 

8. This will display all the computers that apply to the value selected.

9. Select all computers and right-click to display the available options. Select Add to Filter to create a separate grouping for these machines.

10. Click the  in the upper-left corner to create  a new filter.

11. Rename the new filter “All Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Computers” and click Save Changes, then click Close.

12. Click OK in the Add to Filter window and close the Resource List window.
13. In the Symantec Management Platform console, navigate to: Manage > Filters and then click on the All Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Computers filter you created in the previous steps to see the filter membership displayed.

Launching a Workflow from an IT Analytics Pivot Table View

This example shows how to launch a previously developed Workflow from within the Computers Cube in IT Analytics. Here, the workflow we have previously created will run a vulnerability scan against a computer when executed. Note that this example will vary based on the workflow in your environment.

1. To create a new right-click action in the Symantec Management Platform console, navigate to: Settings > All Settings > Notification Server > Right Click Menu
2. Right-click on the User Defined folder and select New > Right-Click Action

3. Name the right-click action specific to your workflow. In our example we have named the action Workflow Targeted Vulnerability Scan. Select Computer for the Resource type and configure the URL action specific to the base URL location of the workflow in your environment.

4. Click Save to complete the creation of the user defined right-click action.
5. In the IT Analytics Computers cube, re-create the same cube view from the previous example, find the row for Windwos Server 2008 R2 Enterprise computers and right-click on the cell in the Computer Count column, then select Display Resource List. 

6. This will display all the computers that apply to the value selected.

7. Right-click on the computer desired to display the list of available actions and select the user defined right-click action that was previously created. In this example, our workflow right-click action is under: User Defined > Workflow Targeted Vulnerability Scan.

8. This will then link to the workflow front-end and pass along the relevant computer information derived from the pivot table view in IT Analytics. From here we can execute the workflow against the computers selected.

Conclusion

IT Analytics gives users the ability to not only easily conduct ad-hoc analysis of their environment but also enables them to act on given data once a specific report has been authored. This highlights the flexibility of IT Analytics and identifies methods of leveraging additional functionality to more effectively manage your environment.

As with other functionality present in the Symantec Management Console, IT Analytics includes the ability to leverage previously created right-click actions to make IT systems management easier and more effective. Through performing ad-hoc analysis within a pivot table view, users with the proper security level can perform the default right-click actions on specific computers or groups of machines, as well as execute custom actions such as launching a previously developed workflow. This example shows how users can very easily turn pivot tables views within IT Analytics into actionable information.