PCM 2.2 Custom Groups

[Paulen]

All,

I haven't used groups much since upgrading to 2.2, but I want to have a switch belonging to >1 group - is that possible?

I use one group for all switches belonging to one customer, and I have another for "cleanup config". Thus, I want to clean up the config on one of the switches belonging to this customer. Do I have to remove it from one group and then add it to the other, and then back again?

Or have I defined my groups erroneously?

[Steve Britt]

Paulen,

A single device interface can belong to only one custom group at a time. It is thus possible to "divide" the interfaces or ports of a device across custom groups, but you cannot place all of the ports from one device in more than one group (which is what it sounds like you're trying to do).

This limitation was put into place because permitting a port to have membership in multiple groups can result in confusion when data is rolled up across the custom groups and then presented at an aggregated level, since one could see the data from such a port represented more than once in the rollups.

Regards,

SVB

[Paulen]

Hi,

I tried to add a switch to a group, from within another group. That didn't work. But to add it to another group from Interconnect Devices list did in fact work.

[Steve Britt]

Paulen,

I want to clarify my earlier response a bit. You can have multiple sets of custom groups in the tree that is rooted in PCM's "Custom Groups" folder. Let's call the first level of custom groups that stem from this "Custom Groups" folder as being the "root" custom groups.

You are forbidden from placing a port/interface in more than one subgroup under a single "root" custom group. But you can place the same port/interface in more than one "root" custom group since data is rolled up only within each "root" group and not across them. Within a single "root" custom group you would indeed have to remove and re-add a port/interface that you wished to move from one of its subgroups to the other.

But in your case then you can have a "root" custom group for all switches belonging to a given customer, but also add the switches that need to have configs cleaned up to a separate "root" custom group that can be separately manipulated and viewed. As you mention you cannot add the ports/interfaces that belong to a custom group to other custom groups from within that context - the "Add to Group" function available when you're in a custom group context with a device selected only allows other ports of the same device to be added to the selected custom group. So to add the same device to a different "root" custom group you must go back to the Interconnect Devices context and add the device from there.

Regards,

SVB