Active Visibility

Active visibility is a framework that allows your visibility network to adapt to dynamic events. The framework is designed to react to evenfts and take actions in response to events in your visibility network.

An active visibility policy defines conditions and actions. When conditions are met, actions are executed. The policy specifies both the conditions and the actions and ties them together.

The conditions and actions are pre-defined. Conditions are events that are used to trigger changes to configuration. Actions can notify users of certain events and/or modify the configuration in response to certain events. Conditions can be port-based or time-based.

For example, if a tool port is overloaded, you might want to reduce the traffic sent to the tool. You can configure two maps, one targeted for your high priority traffic and the other targeted for your low priority traffic. Then you can specify conditions to monitor tool port utilization. When traffic is below a threshold, both maps can be enabled, thus all traffic will be sent to the tools. But when traffic is above the threshold, you can specify an action so that only the map targeted for the high priority traffic is enabled and thus only that traffic will be sent to the tool.

Another example is that you might want to use a different set of maps and map rules to provide visibility during different times, such as during working hours, or on weekends. If there is going to be a backup on the weekend, you can specify a policy to disable a map at a specific time or day.

Note:  GigaVUE-FM GUI for Active Visibility is available only until software version 5.4.00. Refer to the “Configuring Active Visibility” section in the GigaVUE-OS CLI Reference Guide for details on further software enhancements of this feature.

Keep in mind the following rules and notes when working with Active Visibility:

  • A policy must have at least one condition. An action is not required.
  • Up to five (5) conditions can be specified in a policy. The parameters and values that are specified in the condition depends on the condition. The policy is executed only when all conditions are met.
  • Up to five (5) actions can be specified in a policy. The parameters and values that are specified in the action depends on the action.
  • Within a policy, there is one unique condition. For example, there can only be one PortUp condition, not multiple PortUp conditions within a policy.
  • Within a policy, there can be multiple actions, including the same action. For example, there can be multiple PortEnable actions within a policy.
  • A policy is triggered if all the conditions are met. Then all the actions are executed. If there are five conditions in the policy, they all have to be met before the action or actions are executed. If there are multiple actions, they are executed in sequence, as specified in the policy. The policy specifies the priority of the actions.
  • When there are multiple actions, they will continue to be executed even if there is an error. For example, if there are three actions and there is an error with the second action, the first and third actions will be executed. When the policy executes, each action will have their status reported (success or failure).
  • Multiple policies can be in effect at the same time. The policies can monitor different conditions and take different actions. Up to 100 policies can be defined for a cluster.
  • A policy must be enabled for it to become active. However, when you first create a policy, you might want to disable it so that it does not become active right away.
  • When a policy is triggered, an SNMP event and email notification (policytrigger) can optionally be generated.
  • When you want to delete a map that is attached to a policy, you must first delete the policy and then delete the map. If you delete the map without deleting the policy, there will be configuration synchronization issues in GigaVUE‑FM. In such a case, delete the policy using GigaVUE‑OS CLI. Refer to the "policy" command in the GigaVUE-OS CLI Reference Guide.

To configure a policy:

  1. On the left navigation pane, click on
  2. On the left navigation pane, go to Physical > Active Visibility, and then select the required cluster or node ID.
  3. In the Policies page, click New.
  4. Enter an alias and description for the policy.
  5. When you first define a policy, you will probably want the policy to be disabled, so clear the Enable check box.
  6. Select the required condition(s) from the drop-down list. The parameters and values are populated based on the condition(s) you select. For example, if you select the condition, PortTxUtilLow, there is an Any checkbox and fields for Port ID, Threshold (%), and Period (seconds). To view the list of pre-defined conditions along with their descriptions and comments, refer to View List of Conditions and Actions.
  7. Select the required action(s) from the drop-down list. The parameters and values are populated based on the action(s) you select. For example, if you select the action, Port Disable, there is a Porting checkbox and a field for Port ID. To view the list of pre-defined actions along with their descriptions and comments, refer to View List of Conditions and Actions.
  8. When you have added the required conditions and actions, click OK.

The newly configured policy is displayed in the Policies page. When a policy has not been executed, it will show a status of NOT EXECUTED. When a policy has been executed, it will show a status of SUCCESS or FAILURE.

Following are the additional actions that you can perform in the Policies page:

  • Enable a policy—When you are ready to enable a policy, select the policy, and then go to Actions > Enable.
  • Edit a policy—Select the policy and then click Edit. Make the required changes, and click OK.
  • Clone a policy—Select the policy and click Clone. Change the policy alias, make any changes to conditions or actions, and click OK.
  • Delete a policy—Select the policy and click Delete. A confirmation displays. To confirm, click OK.
  • View policy details—Click the policy alias to view the details.
  • View policy report—To view information on a policy that has been executed, click Report History. The policy report history is displayed.

To view the list of pre-defined conditions and actions along with their descriptions and comments:

  1. On the left navigation pane, click on
  2. On the left navigation pane, go to Physical > Active Visibility, and then select the required cluster or node ID.
  3. On the left navigation pane, click Conditions to view the list of pre-defined conditions or click Actions to view the list of pre-defined actions.