Histogram visualization

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  • How-to guide
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When to use histogram visualization

Use a histogram to visualize the distribution of numerical values.

Examples

Example 1

Histogram example
Histogram example

The histogram visualization above is based on the following query.

fetch spans
| filter span.kind == "server"
| filter duration < 1s
| summarize count(), by:{range(duration, 10ms)}

Example 2

Histogram example
Histogram example

The histogram visualization above is based on the following query of bizevents.

fetch bizevents
| filter event.type == "com.easytrade.trade-closed"
| filter direction == "longsell"
| filter amount <= 10000
| summarize count = count(), by:{range(amount, 300)}

Example 3

Histogram example
Histogram example

The histogram visualization above is based on the following query. This shows the distribution of risk scores for open security events.

The query below has been updated to align with the new Grail security events table. For the complete list of updates and actions needed to accomplish the migration, follow the steps in the Grail security table migration guide.

fetch security.events
| filter event.status == "OPEN"
| summarize count = count(), by:{range(vulnerability.risk.score, 0.5)}

Example 4

Histogram example
Histogram example

The histogram visualization above is based on the following query. This is a variation on the previous example that shows an additional split by the security event status.

The query below has been updated to align with the new Grail security events table. For the complete list of updates and actions needed to accomplish the migration, follow the steps in the Grail security table migration guide.

fetch security.events
| summarize count = count(), by:{range(vulnerability.risk.score, 0.5), event.status}

Chart interactions

Selection interactions

When you select a value on a chart and pin the displayed tooltip open, you can then hover over the tooltip to display a menu of selection-specific options.

The chart interactions available to you depend on your query and visualization. For example, if you select a host on a line chart and hover over the tooltip, you will see a menu of items such as:

  • Copy name—copy the name of the selected host.

  • Fields—a section with a submenu for each query field. A field submenu offers field-specific options such as:

    • Copy value—copy the value of the field. Also displays the field type.
    • Hide—hide the field in the chart.
    • Explain value—use AI to explain the field.
    • Add command to query—a section of field-specific commands that you can automatically add to your query.
    • A recommended app may also be listed.

  • Visual options—opens the edit panel so you can change visualization options for the selected item.

  • Set color—opens the edit panel so you can change the color of the selected item.

  • Infrastructure & Operations Go to host—opens the selection in Infrastructure & Operations Infrastructure & Operations.

    In general, if there are recommended apps to open the selected item, the menu offers direct links to those apps, followed by an Open with option to select a different target app.

  • Open with—for details, see Drilldowns and navigation.

Title

Use the title field at the top of the options panel (initially Untitled tile or Untitled section) to add a title to your dashboard tile or notebook section.

  • You can use emojis such as 😃 and 🌍 and ❤️.
  • You can use variables.

Example:

  1. Define variables called Status and Emoji in your dashboard.
  2. Set the title to Current $Emoji status is $Status.
  3. Set Status to Good.
  4. Set Emoji to 🌍.

The title will be displayed as Current 🌍 status is Good.

Visualization

If you aren't sure that you chose the right visualization, use the visualization selector to try different visualizations.

Data mapping

The data mapping section shows how a column of your result is mapped to the visualization.

Expand for general rules on data mapping settings

Expand the Data mapping section of your visualization settings to see how data in your result is mapped to your visualization, and to adjust those settings if needed.

  • Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*). Example:

    Example data mapping: line chart
    Example data mapping: line chart

  • Data types are displayed next to field names in dropdowns and mapped fields.

  • Units are displayed when there’s only one assigned.

  • Result fields are grouped into Suitable and Unsuitable. Fields are marked as unsuitable if they cannot be used to display data in the visualization. Example:

    Example data mapping: line chart, Time dropdown
    Example data mapping: line chart, Time dropdown

  • Automatic application of data mapping default settings:

    Dynatrace version 1.319+

    • Already existing tiles and sections are considered to be user-defined. Their data mapping configurations aren't updated automatically.
    • Newly created tiles and sections apply a data mapping setting by default. If you don't modify these settings manually, these settings might change if a new execution of the tile/section modifies the results and there are fields missing or new fields that better suit the data mapping.

Visualization-specific data mapping settings

The histogram is defined by an array of bins where each bin represents a continuous range of values. The data mapping section includes:

  • Range: the width (size) of individual bars

  • Values: the count or frequency (value) that determines the height of individual bars

  • Names: the elements displayed, for example, in the legend and series names.

Time axis

Selects the X-axis.

Left axis

Sets the scale of the left axis:

  • Logarithmic
  • Linear

Lines

  • Line type

    • Linear
    • Smooth

  • Connect data points

    • Auto uses the data's interval.
    • Custom lets you set a custom threshold.

  • Show data points

    • Auto shows data points depending on the size of the chart.
    • Always

  • Value representation

    • Absolute
    • Relative

  • Custom geometries

    • Select Geometry to add a custom geometry.

Legend and tooltip

  • Show legend: To display a legend, turn on Show legend and select the legend Position.

  • Position: Determines where to display the legend.

    • Auto: Selects an appropriate location based on the visualization size and the available space.
    • Bottom: Displays a legend under the visualization.
    • Right: Displays a legend to the right of the visualization.

  • Text truncation: Determines how to truncate text when the full text can't be displayed.

    • A…: Trim from the right end of the text (when the right end is less important)
    • A…B: Trim from the middle of the text (when the middle is less important)
    • …B: Trim from the left end of the text (when the left end is less important)

  • Tooltip variant

    • Grouped displays points from the closest data
    • Shared shows all points for this timestamp

  • Tooltip series mode: Defines if the tooltip shows a datapoint's properties in one or multiple lines.

    • Single line
    • Multi line

Color

The Color settings for a visualization are displayed in rows.

Each row associates a color scheme with a condition/value related to a selected field displayed in the visualization.

To adjust the settings for a row, there are two menus of settings that will be used in combination to determine which color is displayed:

  • The first menu in a row displays the selected color or color palette. Open this menu to display three tabs of color options:
    • Palettes: select a color palette to use for this row.
      Palette exceptions for certain visualization types
      • Heatmap and honeycomb: the palette only applies the first color (unless color rules match the data mapping values or Name is used), and the palette is not reflected in the legend.
      • Categorical: the nth color in the palette is applied to the nth item in the series.
      • Categorical for multiple subcategories: palettes are by bin but are not reflected in the legend.
    • Colors: select a color to apply uniformly when this rule matches.
    • Custom: specify a precise hex color code (for example, #134FC9) or use the color picker to select a color visually.
  • The second menu in a row displays the condition under which this row's color will be displayed. Select the current setting to change the field, operator, and value as needed to evaluate the condition.
    • The fields available for evaluation depend on the raw data.
      • Name is a special property constructed via the Data mapping setting Names.
      • Value is a special property constructed via the Data mapping setting Values (heatmap visualization only).
    • The available operators change to suit the conditon being evaluated.

Color: additional actions

  • To add a row, select and configure it as described above.
  • To move a row up or down in the table, select and drag .
  • opens a menu of further options:
    • Move up and Move down move the row up or down one row.
      These are alternatives to .
    • Duplicate creates a copy of the selected row.
    • Delete section removes the row. You can delete all color rules for table and single value visualizations; all other visualizations need at least one color rule.

Thresholds

Each row in the thresholds settings associates a color with a value or range of values in the visualization. For example, you can specify that everything between two values is shaded green in the chart. Note: the line, area, column, scatterplot, and heatmap visualizations only allow thresholds for numeric fields.

To configure a threshold in a dashboard or notebook visualization

  1. Select to edit the visualization tile.

  2. Expand the Thresholds section.

  3. To add a row, select .

  4. Define the threshold.

    For each row, there are two menus of settings that are used in combination to determine which color is displayed if the threshold conditions are met:

    • Open the first menu to select a standard or custom color to display for the selected threshold.

      • Use the Colors tab to select from standard colors. Values are dynamic and vary based on the selected theme (light or dark).
      • Use the Custom tab if you would rather specify a precise hex color code (for example, #134FC9) or use the color picker to select a color visually.

    • Open the second menu to define the threshold conditions for this color. This can be a range or a single value:

      • Use the Range tab if you want to define a threshold range (two values) between which the selected color should be applied.

        • Filled: When this is turned off, the range is indicated only on the Y-axis by a range indicator in the selected color. When this is turned on, everything within the range is also colored.
        • Min: the minimum value of the range.
        • Max: the maximum value of the range.
        • Label: the label to display (with the range) when you hover over the Y-axis range indicator.

      • Use the Line tab if you want to define a single threshold Value and Label. This draws a line of the selected color at the value you set here.

Thresholds: additional actions

  • To add a row, select and configure it as described above.
  • To move a row up or down in the table, select and drag . The order of these rows matters: if two settings match, the last match is the one applied to the chart.
  • opens a menu of further options:
    • Move up and Move down move the row up or down one row.
      These are alternatives to .
    • Duplicate creates a copy of the selected row.
    • Delete section removes the row.

Units and formats

To override the default units and formats in a dashboard or notebook visualization

  1. Select to edit the visualization tile.

  2. Select the Visual tab.

  3. Select Units and formats.

  4. Select Override.

  5. Select Override

  6. In the dropdown list, select the item for which you want to add a unit override.

    This is a numeric column of the underlying DQL result, so it varies according to the query. For example:

    • A fetch events query returns events. The dropdown list here lets you select a numeric field (such as transfer_size) from the results.
    • A timeseries avg(dt.host.cpu.usage) query returns a single timeseries for avg(dt.host.cpu.usage). That timeseries is then the only selectable option in the list.

  7. Define the override.

    • Default unit: The base unit in which the values were captured. It's None if it was not included in the DQL result, or its automatically defined by the unit passed from the DQL result. This field doesn't lead to any conversion.
    • Displayed unit: Once you define a default unit, you can use Displayed unit for conversion. For example, if the DQL result defined your numeric value in the result as Bytes, Displayed unit now offers a suitable list of byte conversions such as Kilobyte and Megabyte. Unlike the Default unit, the Displayed unit is always a numeric conversion.
    • Decimals displays the default number of decimals (degree of precision) to display. To see it in action, change the Decimals selection and observe the change in the visualization.
    • Suffix displays the suffix to display after the unit. To see it in action, enter a string and observe the change in the visualization. When you don't find the unit you're looking for, you can use Suffix to display the desired unit.

  8. Turn on Abbreviate large numbers if you want to display large figures in abbreviated form. For example, 1053 becomes 1.1K.

To reset to defaults (discard override settings for the selected item), select the trash can next to the item.

Example for dashboards

This example uses a line chart, but the options apply to other visualizations.

  1. In Dashboards Dashboards, create a dashboard.

  2. Select and, in the Snippets section of the menu, select Metrics > Chart average CPU across all hosts.

  3. In the section edit panel, select the Visual tab and select Line.

  4. Select Units and formats.

    Select Units and formats
    Select Units and formats

  5. Select Override.

    Select Add Override.
    Select Add Override.

  6. In the dropdown list, select the metric for which you want to add an override. There's only one metric to select in this example.

  7. Define the override for the displayed metric. You can observe your changes in the Y-axis of the chart.

    • Default unit displays Percent (%), which is the default unit for the selected metric. Try a different setting, such as One to instead display the result as a fraction of 1.

    • Displayed unit displays Auto. You can change it to a different unit, such as One to instead display the result as a fraction of 1.

      Only linear and static conversions are supported. For example, you cannot convert Degree Celsius(°C) into Degree Fahrenheit(°F), or convert Usd(US$) into Eur(€).

    • Decimals displays the default number of decimal points (degree of precision) to display. To see it in action, change the Decimals selection and observe the change in the visualization.

      For example, change this:

      Decimals setting before
      Decimals setting before

      To this:

      Decimals setting after
      Decimals setting after

    • Suffix displays the optional suffix to display after the unit. To see it in action, enter a string and observe the change in the visualization.

To reset to defaults (discard override settings for the selected metric), select the trash can next to the metric.

Query limits

Use the Query limits section to check and adjust the Grail query limits per notebook section or dashboard tile. These settings determine the maximum limits when fetching data. Exceeding any limit will generate a warning.

Dashboard tiles and notebook sections created in Dynatrace earlier than version 1.296 are not affected. Those existing tiles/sections will return the same results as before.

  • Read data limit (GB)

    The limit in gigabytes for the amount of data that will be scanned during a read.

  • Record limit

    The maximum number of result records that this query will return. Default: 1,000 records. To see more records, you need to increase the value of Record limit.

    • If your query has no limit, such as

      fetch logs

      the value of Record limit is applied. By default, you will see up to 1,000 records.

    • If your query also includes a limit, such as

      fetch logs
      | limit 2000

      the lower of the two values (either limit in your query, or Record limit in the web UI) is applied.

      In the example above, you would still see only 1,000 records unless you increased the value of Record limit.

  • Result size limit

    The maximum number of result bytes that this query will return. For better performance with typical queries and smaller documents, the default is set to 1 MB.

  • Sampling (Logs and Spans only)

    Results in the selection of a subset of Log or Span records.

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