Data Source Settings

The setting of data sources (e.g. devices or clouds) for queries in Data Explorer and dashboard panels is covered in the following topics:

• About Data Sources
• Data Sources Pane
• Data Sources Dialog
• Data Sources Dialog
• Selected Devices Dialog
• Add Data Sources
• Remove Data Sources

Data sources are the devices and cloud resources from which Kentik receives network data (e.g. NetFlow, sFlow, BGP, SNMP, flow logs, etc.). Devices fall into two broad categories — routers and hosts — each of which includes many types of devices, such as routers, firewalls, and hosts. For further detail, see Supported Device Types.

The Data Sources pane is found in the Query sidebar in Data Explorer and on the Query tab of the settings dialogs for panels in dashboards (see View Panel Query Tab). The pane includes the following UI elements:

• Data sources list: A list of the data sources that are currently included in the query:
  - The list defaults to All Data Sources. To change this setting, click to open the Data Sources dialog.
  - An individual item in the list (except All Data Sources) can be removed by clicking the X at right.
• Edit Data Sources: A button that opens the Data Sources Dialog.

Kentik currently includes two dialogs that enable you to choose the data sources whose network data will be included in a query. While similar, each version has distinct layout and controls. The dialog presented in a given situation depends on your current location in the Kentik portal.

Note: The Selected Devices dialog is being phased out.

For data source selection from the following portal locations, see Data Sources Dialog:

• Library » Dashboards:
  - Add/Edit Dashboard dialog » Default Query Options » Edit Data Sources button
  - Add/Edit View Panel dialog » Query tab » Data Sources pane » Edit Data Sources button
  - Add/Edit View Panel dialog » Navigate To tab» Data Sources setting » Use Custom Data Source List » Edit Data Sources button
• Data Explorer: Data Sources pane in Query sidebar.
• Insights & Alerting » Alert Policies: Add/Edit Alert Policy dialog » Dataset tab » Edit Devices button (the dialog in this location is called Devices).
• Settings » My Kentik Portal: Add/Edit Tenant dialog » Edit Devices button (the dialog in this location is called Devices).

For data source selection from the following portal locations, see Selected Devices Dialog:

• Alerting » Platforms: Add/Edit Mitigation Platform dialog » Devices (when Platform = RTBH or Flowspec).
  Note: Only devices that are directly BGP peered with Kentik (see Device BGP Settings) will be available in the Selected Devices dialog.

The Data Sources dialog is covered in the following topics:

• Data Sources Dialog UI
• Available Data Sources List

This dialog includes the following settings and controls:

• Filter field: Filters the list of available data sources to show only data sources whose name, label, or site contains the entered string.
• Available data sources: A list of available data sources and logical data source groups from which you can choose data sources to add to the Selected Data Sources list; see Available Data Sources List.
• Selected Data Sources list: A list of the data sources and logical data source groups that have been chosen from the sidebar for inclusion in the query. An “X” at the right of each item allows you to remove an item from the list.
• Cancel button: Exit the dialog without saving changes.
• Save button: Save changes to the list of selected data sources and exit the dialog.

The list of available data sources and logical data source groups, which is displayed in the sidebar of the Data Sources dialog, is categorized as follows:

• Use All Data Sources: Select all of your organization's Kentik-registered data sources.
• Types: Select all data sources of a given type: routers, hosts, clouds, etc. (see Supported Device Types).
• Labels: Custom free-form groupings of data sources (see About Labels).
• Sites: Sites represent user-defined physical locations, such as a data center (see About Sites).
• Data sources: Individual data sources that are registered with Kentik.
  Note: If an individual data source is part of a group (e.g. label or site) that has already been selected then the data source will not appear in the Available Devices list.

The following additional functionality is supported for the Labels and Sites categories of the Available Devices list:

• Clear button (shown only when the Filter field is empty): Removes all items of the category (Labels or Sites) from the Selected Devices list.
• Add All button (shown only when the Filter field is not empty): Adds all items of the category (Labels or Sites) that are currently shown in the Available Devices list to the Selected Devices list.

The Selected Devices dialog is covered in the following topics:

• Selected Devices Dialog UI
• Device Type Selector

The Selected Devices dialog includes the following settings and controls:

• Close button: Click the X in the upper right corner to close the dialog without saving changes to the device settings.
• Device type selector: Populates the Selected Devices list with different types of devices (see Device Type Selector).
• Filter field: Filters the Device List to show only devices whose name or site contains the entered text.
• Selected Devices list: Lists all of the devices whose traffic will be included in the current query. To remove an individual device, click the X at the right of that device's row.
• Device List: Lists all of your organization's devices in alphabetical order of the sites to which those devices have been assigned (See About Sites).
  - Use the checkbox for an individual device to add that device to the Selected Devices list.
  - Use the Select All button for a given site to select all of the devices for that site.
  Note: Devices that haven't been assigned to a site are grouped under Unassigned.
• Cancel button: Close the dialog without saving changes.
• Save button: Save changes to device settings and exit the dialog.

The device type selector adds an entire category of devices to the Selected Devices list. The following categories can be added:

• All: Selects all Kentik-registered devices in your organization.
• None: Clears the selection of all devices in your organization.
• kprobe: Selects host devices in your organization that represent kprobe host agents, which enable Kentik to derive DNS/WWW dimensions and NPM metrics (see About kprobe).
• Routers: Selects all routers, switches, and other network infrastructure devices in your organization.

The method used to specify data sources for a query depends on the dialog used for data source selection in your current location in the Kentik portal (see Data Source Dialogs).

To select data sources using the Data Sources Dialog:

1. In the Data Sources pane, click the Edit Data Sources button. The Data Sources dialog will open.
2. In the Available Data Sources list, do one of the following to add data sources to the Selected Data Sources list:
   - To add an individual data source, click on the data source in the Data Sources section.
   - To add all data sources with a given label, click on the label in the Labels section.
   - To add all data sources from a given site, click on the site in the Sites section.
3. Repeat the above to add more data sources either individually or by label or site.
4. Click the Save button. The data sources in the Selected Data Sources list will be listed in the Data Sources pane.

To select data sources using the Selected Devices Dialog:

1. In the Devices pane, click in the Selected Devices box. The Selected Devices dialog will open.
2. If desired, clear the Selected Devices list by clicking the None button in the Device Type selector.
3. Do one of the following to add data sources to the Selected Devices list:
   - To add all data sources in a category, click a button on the Device Type selector.
   - To add all data sources from a given site, find the site in the Device List and click its Select All button.
   - To add an individual data source, find the data source in the Device List and click its checkbox.
4. Repeat the above to add each additional data source.
5. Click the Save button. The data sources in the Selected Devices list will appear in the Selected Devices box in the Devices pane.

The method used to remove data sources from a query depends on the dialog used for data source selection in your current location in the Kentik portal (see Data Source Dialogs).

To remove data sources (individually or by label or site) in the Data Sources Dialog, do one of the following:

• In the Selected Data Sources list, click the gray X to the right of the name of a device, label, or site.
• In the Available Data Sources list, click a label or site (indicated with a highlight and checkmark).
• In the Available Data Sources list, if the Filter field is empty, click the Clear button at the right of the Labels or Sites heading to remove any items in the corresponding category.

To remove data sources in the Selected Devices Dialog, do one of the following:

• Click the gray X to the right of the name of the data source in the Selected Devices list.
• Uncheck the checkbox to the left of the data source in the Device List.
• To remove all data sources at once, click the None button in the Device Type selector.