How to use Simple Log Service dashboards - Simple Log Service

Simple Log Service visualization is the process of displaying raw log data that is generated by systems, applications, or services on graphical interfaces. This topic describes how to use dashboards to monitor and visualize data in real time.

View dashboards

In the Simple Log Service console, the icon indicates the Dashboard parameter, the icon indicates the Dashboards parameter, and the icon indicates the Dashboard Playlists parameter.

Dashboards

In the left-side navigation pane, choose Dashboard > Dashboards to view the dashboards in the current project.

Dashboard Playlists

In the left-side navigation pane, choose Dashboard > Dashboard Playlists to view the dashboard playlists in the current project.

Dashboard modes

Display mode

By default, the display mode is used when you view a dashboard. In display mode, you can view all charts of a dashboard. You can also perform operations on a dashboard. For example, you can refresh data on the dashboard, subscribe to the dashboard, and share the dashboard page.

Display mode description

Section	Supported operation
Dashboard list	In the left-side navigation pane, choose Dashboard > Dashboards to view the dashboards in the current project. You can also click a dashboard to enter the display mode.
Operation section	Select Time Range: Specify a query time range for the dashboard. For more information, see Specify a query time range for a dashboard. After you specify a query time range for the dashboard, all charts on the dashboard display the query and analysis results based on the same time range. SQL Enhancement: Use the SQL enhancement feature to optimize query statements. Refresh: Click Once or Automatic Refresh in the Refresh drop-down list to refresh data on the dashboard. For more information, see Manually or automatically refresh data on a dashboard. Reset: Reset the query time range of all charts on the dashboard to the default time range. Alerts: Create alert rules for charts on the dashboard. For more information, see Configure an alert rule in Simple Log Service. Subscribe: Subscribe to the dashboard. After you subscribe to the dashboard, you can render the dashboard as an image on a regular basis and send the image to specific personnel by email or DingTalk. For more information, see Subscribe to a dashboard. Save As: Save the settings on the dashboard to create another dashboard and refresh the current dashboard page. Then, you can view the new dashboard in the dashboard list. Share: Share the dashboard with other users in password-free mode. For more information, see Share dashboard pages in password-free mode. Full Screen: Click Full Screen or Windowed Full Screen in the full screen drop-down list to display the dashboard page in full screen mode. If the full screen mode is not required, you can press the Esc key to exit the mode. User Experience Survey on Dashboards: Provide your feedback. Your feedback is appreciated. Edit: Click Edit to enter the edit mode of the dashboard.
Filter	Add a filter. After you add a filter to the dashboard, the filter is displayed on the dashboard. For more information, see Add a filter.
Chart section	In the upper-right corner of a chart, click and select one of the following items: View, Create Password-free Share, Preview Query Statement, Select a time range, Save as Alert, Download Chart, and Download Chart Data. If you select Download Chart, the chart is downloaded in the PNG format. If you select Download Chart Data, the chart is downloaded in the CSV format.

Edit mode

You can click Edit on a dashboard to enter the edit mode. In edit mode, you can perform operations on a dashboard. For example, you can change the dashboard name, add a chart to the dashboard, switch the layout of the dashboard, edit existing charts, and import a chart to the dashboard.

Edit mode description

Section	Supported operation
Dashboard list	In the left-side navigation pane, choose Dashboard > Dashboards to view the dashboards in the current project. You can also click Edit on a dashboard to enter the edit mode.
Operation section	Cancel: Cancel the last modification on a chart and restore the chart to its original state. Redo: Restore the canceled modification. Move Layer to Top: Bring a chart to the front. Move Layer to Bottom: Send a chart to the back. Configure the alignment mode: Adjust the alignment of charts. Examples: Align Left and Align Right. Configure the position and size of the chart: Configure the L, T, W, and H parameters to adjust the position and size of a chart. Filter: Add a filter to filter data on the dashboard. For more information, see Add a filter. Delete: Delete one or more charts at a time. Add: You can add a chart, a connection line and a graphic to a dashboard. Chart: Click Add Chart to add a chart or a chart (Pro) to the dashboard. For more information, see Overview of charts (Pro) and Chart overview. Connection Line: Select a line type, a line style, a line width and a line color. You can add and configure a line to connect charts. Graphics: Add a rectangle, a rhombus, text, or a custom Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to the dashboard. Import Chart: Import charts to the dashboard. Switch Layout: Switch the layout of the dashboard. Simple Log Service provides two layout modes for dashboards: Grid Layout and Free Layout. Historical Versions: View the historical operations on the dashboard. If you accidentally perform operations on a dashboard, you can use the dashboard versioning feature to restore the dashboard to a previous version. Important Up to 20 versions can be saved for a dashboard. You cannot call API operations to manage the versions of a dashboard. If you perform the restore operation, the version that you use overwrites the settings of the current dashboard. Proceed with caution. Dashboard Settings: Configure settings for the dashboard. On the Dashboard Settings page of the dashboard, you can restore historical versions of the dashboard, modify the JSON script of the dashboard, and manage filters. Save: Save operations. If you perform operations in edit mode, you must save the operations to apply the operations. Cancel: Click Cancel to exit the edit mode.
Chart section	In the upper-right corner of a chart, click to edit, copy, or delete the chart.

Manage a dashboard

Refresh data on a dashboard

You can manually refresh data on a dashboard or specify an interval at which the data on the dashboard is automatically refreshed.

In the upper-right corner of the dashboard page, choose Refresh > Once. The data on the dashboard is immediately refreshed.
In the upper-right corner of the dashboard page, choose Refresh > Automatic Refresh. The data on the dashboard is automatically refreshed based on the interval that you specify. You can specify 15 seconds, 60 seconds, 5 minutes, or 15 minutes as the interval.

Query data on a dashboard

You can specify a query time range for a dashboard. After you specify the query time range, all charts on the dashboard display the query and analysis results based on the same time range.

Important

The specified query time range is only for temporary use. Simple Log Service does not save the settings. The next time you open the dashboard, Simple Log Service displays query and analysis results based on the default time range.

Specify a query time range

In the top navigation bar of the dashboard page, click Select Time Range to specify a query time range. After you specify the query time range, you can move the pointer over the time that is displayed to view the specific time range.

Time range	Description
Relative time range	Queries log data generated in a time range that ends with the current time, such as the previous 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 15 minutes. For example, if the current time is 19:20:31 and 1 Hour is selected as the relative time range, the charts on the dashboard display the log data that is generated from 18:20:31 to 19:20:31.
Time frame	Queries log data generated in a time range that starts and ends on the minute or hour. For example, if the current time is 19:20:31 and 1 Hour is selected as the time frame, the charts on the dashboard display the log data that is generated from 18:00:00 to 19:00:00.
Custom time range	Queries log data that is generated within a time range that you specify.

View data that meets filter conditions on a dashboard
In the top navigation bar of the dashboard page, click Select Time Range to specify a query time range. Then, click the Filter icon of the dashboard to add filter conditions. This way, the system queries the log data that is generated within the specified time range and meets the specified filter conditions. For example, the current date is September 6, 2024, Yesterday(Relative) is specified for the Select Time Range parameter, GET is selected for the method filter, and 200 is selected for the status filter. The system queries the log data that meets the following conditions: The log data is generated from 00:00:00 on September 5, 2024 to 00:00:00 on September 6, 2024. The method field is GET. The status field is 200.

Share a dashboard

After you create a dashboard, you can share the dashboard page by using a DingTalk account, a WeCom account, or an Alibaba Cloud account. You can also embed the dashboard page into a DingTalk documentation. For more information, see Share and integrate dashboard pages in password-free mode.

Subscribe to a dashboard

After you create a dashboard, you can render the dashboard as an image on a regular basis and send the image to specific personnel by email or DingTalk.

Important

Take note of the following limits when you subscribe to a dashboard:

You cannot subscribe to charts (Pro).
You can create only one subscription task for a dashboard.
Simple Log Service can send up to 50 emails to each mailbox per day.
You can create a total of 100 subscription tasks and alert tasks in a project. To increase the quota, submit a ticket.
If a table is displayed across multiple pages, Simple Log Service sends only a snapshot of the first page to recipients.

Parameter description

Parameter	Description
Subscription Name	The name of the subscription task.
Frequency	The frequency at which notifications are sent after you subscribe to the dashboard. Valid values: Hourly: A notification is sent every hour. Daily: A notification is sent at a fixed point in time every day. Weekly: A notification is sent at a fixed point in time on a specified day each week. Fixed Interval: A notification is sent at a fixed interval. Unit: days. Cron: A notification is sent at an interval that is specified by a cron expression. A cron expression can specify an interval that is accurate to the minute. We recommend that you specify an interval of more than 1 hour. For example, * 0/1 * * * indicates that a notification is sent at an interval of 1 hour starting from 00:00.
Global Time	Default: The default query time range of the dashboard is used in notifications. The time range is the same as the query time range of the charts on the dashboard. Note On a dashboard in display mode, you can specify a query time range for a chart. However, this query time range is only for temporary use. On a dashboard in edit mode, you can double-click a chart. On the Edit Chart page, you can modify the query time range of the chart. Simple Log Service saves the query time range. The next time you open the chart, the chart is displayed based on the saved query time range. Custom: The query time range that you specify is used in notifications.
Add Watermark	Specifies whether to add a watermark to the generated images. The watermark content is the address of a notification method, such as an email address.
Notifications	The supported notification methods. Valid values: Email, Webhook - DingTalk ChatBot, WebHook-Feishu Chat Bot, Webhook-WeCom Bot, and Custom Webhook. Email Enter email addresses in the Recipient field. Separate multiple email addresses with commas (,). Specify a subject for emails in the Subject field. If you do not enter a subject, Simple Log Service uses the default subject, which is Simple Log Service Report. Webhook Enter the webhook URL of the required chatbot in the Request URL field. For more information about how to obtain the webhook URL of a DingTalk chatbot, see Notification methods. Specify a title for notifications in the Title field.

Add a filter to a dashboard

In edit mode, you can click the icon to add a filter. In the Filter panel, configure the parameters and click OK. The following table describes the parameters.

Parameter description

Parameter	Description
Name	The name of the filter.
Display Configuration	The pattern settings of the filter. Valid values: Display Title: adds a title to the filter. Display Border: adds borders to the filter. Display Background: adds a white background to the filter.
Type	The type of the filter. Valid values: Filter: filters data based on key-value pairs that you specify. When the system filters data, it adds the specified key-value pairs before a query statement by using the AND or NOT operator. By default, the AND operator is used. AND: Value AND [search query] \| [sql query] NOT: Value NOT [search query] \| [sql query] You can specify multiple values in the Static List Items field. Variable Replacement: filters data based on a variable and the value of the variable that you specify. If the dashboard contains a chart for which the same variable is configured, the variable in the query statement of the chart is replaced with the value that you specify. You can specify multiple values in the Static List Items field. Metric Filter: filters data based on the labels and values that are dynamically added. After a filter of this type is added, you can filter data of a Metricstore by using labels and values.
Key Value	If you set the Type parameter to Filter, enter the name of the field that you want to use to filter data in the Key Value field. If you set the Type parameter to Variable Replacement, enter the variable that you want to use to filter data in the Key Value field. If you set the Type parameter to Metric Filter, enter the unique identifier of the filter in the Key Value field. Note If you set the Type parameter to Variable Replacement, make sure that a placeholder variable is configured for the related charts. The placeholder variable must be the same as the variable that you specify in the Key Value field.
Alias	The alias of the key.
Global Filtering	This parameter is required only when you set the Type parameter to Filter. If you want to filter all fields by value, turn on Global Filtering. If you want to filter specific fields by value, turn off Global Filtering.
Automatic Filtering	If you turn on Automatic Filtering, values that do not exist in the data source are automatically filtered out. This parameter is required only when you set the Type parameter to Filter.
Query Method	The operator that you want to use to add key-value pairs before a query statement. Valid values: AND Operator and NOT Operator. This parameter is required only when you set the Type parameter to Filter.
Show Component Types	This parameter is required only when you set the Type parameter to Variable Replacement. Valid values: Enter a value Drop-down List
Select Project	The project that you want to query. This parameter is required only when you set the Type parameter to Metric Filter.
Select Metricstore	The Metricstore that you want to query. This parameter is required only when you set the Type parameter to Metric Filter.
Static List Items	The value for the key specified in the Key Value field. You can click the plus sign (+) to add more values for the specified key. If you turn on Select by Default for a value, the value is used to filter data each time you open a dashboard.
Add Dynamic List Item	If you turn on Add Dynamic List Item, values are dynamically retrieved for the key specified in the Key Value field. Dynamic list items are the results of the query statement that you specify. The results vary based on the time range that you specify. If you turn on Add Dynamic List Item, you must configure the following parameters: Select Project: Select the project that you want to query. Select Logstore: Select the Logstore that you want to query. Inherit Filter Condition: If you turn on Inherit Filter Condition, existing filter conditions on the dashboard are used for filtering. Search & Analysis: Enter a query statement and specify a query time range. Dynamic List Item Preview: Preview query and analysis results.

Play dashboards

Create a dashboard playlist: If no dashboard playlists are available in the current project, you can create a dashboard playlist from two entry points.

In the Create Dashboard Playlist dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK. The following table describes the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Playlist Name	The name of the playlist.
Play Interval	The interval at which dashboards are played.
Name of Dashboard to Play	The dashboards that you want to play. You can add dashboards that belongs to different projects from the current project.

Play dashboards: Click the playlist that you created. In the upper-right corner of the playlist page, click Play. Then, the system plays the specified dashboards at the specified interval. You can also click Previous Page or Next page to manually play the specified dashboards.

Perform drill-down analysis

When an error is detected on a dashboard, you can configure an interaction occurrence to perform drill-down analysis in an efficient manner. For more information, see Interaction occurrences. For example, you can configure an interaction occurrence to query and analyze logs in a related Logstore, perform trace analysis, or access a related dashboard to troubleshoot the error. For more information, see Perform drill-down analysis on dashboards to troubleshoot errors.

Supported chart types

Table (Pro)

A table (Pro) consists of one or more groups of cells. The cells are organized into rows and columns. The first row of a table (Pro) is called the header of the table (Pro), which specifies the content and meaning of each column in the table (Pro). In the following example, the query statement queries the number of bytes in the body of each response by the http_referer field. The number is specified by the body_bytes_sent field, and the values of this field are displayed in a line chart.

(*)| SELECT http_referer, array_agg(body_bytes_sent) as body_bytes_sent GROUP BY  http_referer

Scenarios: You can use tables (Pro) to display the value of each data item in an accurate manner. For more information, see Table (Pro). Tables (Pro) are suitable for scenarios such as data analysis, financial statements, and scientific experiment records.

Line chart (Pro)

A line chart (Pro) is used to analyze the value changes of a categorical variable over a continuous time range. In most cases, the analysis is based on a specified time range. You can intuitively view value trends. For example, you can query the page views (PVs) of each point in time and display the trend of PVs in a line chart (Pro).

(*)| select __time__ - __time__ % 60 as time, COUNT(*) as pv, COUNT(*) + 50 as pv2, COUNT(*) - 50 as pv3 GROUP BY time order by time

Scenarios: You can use line charts (Pro) to display the trend of data based on the time or other continuous variables. For more information, see Line chart (Pro). Line charts (Pro) are suitable for analyzing time series data, such as stock prices, temperature changes, and sales data. In a line chart (Pro), you can view the following change characteristics of values over a specific time range:

Increment or decrement
Increment or decrement rate
Increment or decrement pattern, such as periodicity
Peak value and bottom value

Column chart (Pro)

A column chart (Pro) uses vertical bars to display the values of different categories. You can use a column chart (Pro) to display the number of values in each category. For example, you can use a column chart (Pro) to display the top 5 hosts that have the largest number of unique visitors (UVs) and display the PVs of the hosts.

(*)| select host, COUNT(*) as pv, approx_distinct(remote_addr) as uv GROUP BY host ORDER BY uv desc LIMIT 5

Scenarios: You can use column charts (Pro) to compare the size of data in different categories or at different points in time. For more information, see Column chart (Pro). Column charts (Pro) are suitable for displaying categorized data, such as the sales volume of different products and the population in different regions.

Single value chart (Pro)

A single value chart (Pro) contains one or more single value charts. You can use a single value chart to display a single numeric value. For example, you can use a single value chart (Pro) to display the PVs within the previous 15 minutes.

(*)| select COUNT(*) as PV

Scenarios: You can use single value charts (Pro) to display the value and trend of a key metric. Single value charts (Pro) are suitable for scenarios in which you want to monitor the service status and exceptions. For more information, see Single value chart (Pro).

Pie chart (Pro)

A pie chart (Pro) is divided into multiple slices based on the percentages of categories. Each slice shows the percentage of a category of data. The sum of all percentages is equal to 100%. A slice is an arc. For example, you can use a pie chart (Pro) to display the number of times that a request method is used. The request_method field specifies the request method that is used. Examples: GET and POST.

(*)| SELECT request_method, arbitrary(request_length) as len, COUNT(*) as c  group by request_method

Scenarios: You can use pie charts (Pro) to display the proportions of all categories. For more information, see Pie chart (Pro). Pie charts (Pro) are suitable for displaying the proportion of each category to the whole, such as the market share of each product and the budget proportion of each department.

Map (Pro)

You can color and mark a map to display geographic data. For example, you can use a map (Pro) to display the number of records for each country.

(*)| select  ip_to_country(remote_addr) as address, count(1) as count group by address order by count desc limit 10

Scenarios: You can use maps (Pro) to display geospatial data. For more information, see Maps (Pro). Maps (Pro) are suitable for analyzing geographical data, such as population distribution, urban expansion, and traffic flow.

For more information, see Flow chart (Pro), Bar gauge (Pro), Histogram, Radar chart, Cross table, Scatter chart, Topology chart, Flame graph, Markdown chart, Timeline chart, Word cloud, Sankey diagram, Trail map, Treemap chart, State timeline chart, and Funnel chart.

References

For more information about how to create a dashboard, see Create a dashboard. For more information about how to share a dashboard page, see Share and integrate dashboard pages in password-free mode.
For more information about how to identify abnormal metrics by using dashboards, see Use dashboards to identify abnormal metrics. For more information about how to troubleshoot errors, see Perform drill-down analysis on dashboards to troubleshoot errors.
Simple Log Service can render query and analysis results into charts. For more information, see Chart overview and Overview of charts (Pro).
Simple Log Service allows you to save query and analysis results as charts to a dashboard. For more information, see Add a chart to a dashboard and Add a chart (Pro) to a dashboard.
For more information about the filters of the Filter type, see Add a filter of the Filter type. For more information about the filters of the Replace Variable type, see Add a filter of the Replace Variable type.