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diff --git a/docs/dashboard/dimensions-contexts-families.md b/docs/dashboard/dimensions-contexts-families.md deleted file mode 100644 index 41e839c85..000000000 --- a/docs/dashboard/dimensions-contexts-families.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,69 +0,0 @@ -# Chart dimensions, contexts, and families - -While Netdata's charts require no configuration and are [easy to interact with](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/cloud/visualize/interact-new-charts.md), -they have a lot of underlying complexity. To meaningfully organize charts out of the box based on what's happening in -your nodes, Netdata uses the concepts of **dimensions**, **contexts**, and **families**. - -Understanding how these work will help you more easily navigate the dashboard, -[write new alarms](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/REFERENCE.md), or play around -with the [API](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/web/api/README.md). - -## Dimension - -A **dimension** is a value that gets shown on a chart. The value can be raw data or calculated values, such as the -average (the default), minimum, or maximum. These values can then be given any type of unit. For example, CPU -utilization is represented as a percentage, disk I/O as `MiB/s`, and available RAM as an absolute value in `MiB` or -`GiB`. - -Beneath every chart (or on the right-side if you configure the dashboard) is a legend of dimensions. When there are -multiple dimensions, you'll see a different entry in the legend for each dimension. - -The **Apps CPU Time** chart (with the [context](#context) `apps.cpu`), which visualizes CPU utilization of -different types of processes/services/applications on your node, always provides a vibrant example of a chart with -multiple dimensions. - - - -The chart shows 13 unique dimensions, such as `httpd` for the CPU utilization for web servers, `kernel` for anything -related to the Linux kernel, and so on. In your dashboard, these specific dimensions will almost certainly be different. - -Dimensions can be [hidden](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/docs/cloud/visualize/interact-new-charts.md#show-and-hide-dimensions) to help you focus your -attention. - -## Context - -A **context** is a way of grouping charts by the types of metrics collected and dimensions displayed. It's kind of like -a machine-readable naming and organization scheme. - -For example, the **Apps CPU Time** has the context `apps.cpu`. A little further down on the dashboard is a similar -chart, **Apps Real Memory (w/o shared)** with the context `apps.mem`. The `apps` portion of the context is the **type**, -whereas anything after the `.` is specified either by the chart's developer or by the [**family**](#family). - -By default, a chart's type affects where it fits in the menu, while its family creates submenus. - -Netdata also relies on contexts for [alarm configuration](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/REFERENCE.md) (the [`on` -line](https://github.com/netdata/netdata/blob/master/health/REFERENCE.md#alarm-line-on)). - -## Family - -**Families** are a _single instance_ of a hardware or software resource that needs to be displayed separately from -similar instances. - -For example, let's look at the **Disks** section, which contains a number of charts with contexts like `disk.io`, -`disk.ops`, `disk.backlog`, and `disk.util`. If your node has multiple disk drives at `sda` and `sdb`, Netdata creates -a separate family for each. - -Netdata now merges the contexts and families to create charts that are grouped by family, following a -`[context].[family]` naming scheme, so that you can see the `disk.io` and `disk.ops` charts for `sda` right next to each -other. - -Given the four example contexts, and two families of `sda` and `sdb`, Netdata will create the following charts and their -names: - -| Context | `sda` family | `sdb` family | -| :------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | -| `disk.io` | `disk_io.sda` | `disk_io.sdb` | -| `disk.ops` | `disk_ops.sda` | `disk_ops.sdb` | -| `disk.backlog` | `disk_backlog.sda` | `disk_backlog.sdb` | -| `disk.util` | `disk_util.sda` | `disk_util.sdb` | |