Mastering NetScaler Console: Zero to hero in 31days - Day 11

Hello, my name is Andrew and I tend to get a lot of questions about NetScaler Console. The purpose of this series is to offer some pointers on what it is, what it can offer and why you should take some notice. This is the eleventh and a bit post in a set which is designed to cover the top topics that will get you trained up.

Knowledge is power, right? ????????

31 days seems an arbitrary number. Today is all about NetScaler Console Service Graph.

How does this normally come up?

I spoke with Customer X, we talked at length about the various NetScaler’s they will be deploying. During the discussion, I typically ask something like this:

As you have a Kubernetes setup, it can sometimes be challenging to get a clear view of where there might be a performance bottleneck(s) in the mix of services and elements of the application infrastructure. Would it be handy to have that broken out?

The answer is of course yes, that would be very handy.

NetScaler Console can offer that. The next question is what kinds are the mixes of applications that you have? This piece will show you how that can be achieved with NetScaler Console and the Service based Console( on-premises or service).

Who would be interested in this?

Any Network Admin with multiple NetScaler’s deployed, or any customer looking at the new Universal hybrid Multi-cloud (UHMC from now on) offering from Cloud Software Group.

UHMC needs NetScaler Console to provide the licensing function to the NetScaler appliances. It is not optional, it's a requirement. One of the big benefits of UHMC is that customers can take a look outside the Citrix bubble and maybe look at new use cases for NetScaler.

Mastering sounds 'heavy'?

Ultimately, this is Linkedin, who would be crazy enough to write technical content on this platform??

What kind of thing can NetScaler Console offer in the Service Graph view?

It maps out the application(s) and shows you what is happening right now. This gives an infrastructure overview that is valuable, where you see the big picture. You can see one of the views here:

In my Asia Pacific DC there is a HA pair doing something, floating over the pair tells me:

• Instance score, so it is possible to see if there are events or configuration that have contributed to a sub-standard performance.
• There is a warning for high memory usage, so that could be due to a number of issues.
• I can see that the state is ‘UP”.
• I can also see that there are two ‘SSL issues’.

Using the select on my mouse, I can drill into the ‘SSL Issues’ and I get this:

Here Console breaks out all the SSL certificates that are in use on that HA pair, I can see that ‘not recommended’ is in red. Oh dear. Obviously, the Console can offer different context aware SSL Dashboards depending on which view you switch to.

What about a Application view?

The main Graph, can also short list what applications have issues, allowing the admin to see a short list of those in the different categories, as shown here:

If the admin needs a view that takes out all the clutter and just shows an application that she/he needs to work on, it is possible to get that also.

The other option, is to go to the Service graph module via the application dashboard view, it is in the top right of this view from the application dashboard.

Clicking on the service graph offers this view

Not many issues, it seems!

If it is not clear, here is a scenario.

Bob and Alice have been using NetScaler Console Service in the scenarios for the last few days.?

Alice and Bob have been using NetScaler Console for the management of their estate. Stan and Bridget are more application focused. They use Service graph to map out their web applications and drill down to see when issues need more details.

This also helps Bob and Alice, as they are not ‘checking’ things for the App team. They are delegated to get on and manage the application servers themselves.

Happy days, as this allows Bob and Alice to focus time on other tasks that are important to Acme.

The Call to Action

Let me know if this piece raises any questions/comments, drop them into the space below. I will endeavour to answer directly or update the post to better address the question(s).

Summary

Buckle up. The NetScaler Console is the best tool for many different jobs when working in conjunction with the NetScaler Appliance. They are the perfect tag team. ??. The NetScaler Console can offer a one-stop shop to see all your appliances from one place, and deploy and update them and track those applications that your business needs in a consistent way

Let me show you how to make the most of it!

Have a good one.