Dashboards

Dashboards in Beacon Tower are customizable visual displays that combine multiple panels to show telemetry data, alarms, maps, and other information from assets. They provide a central view for monitoring and analyzing IoT data.

• Definitions
• Concept
• Use Cases
• Best Practices
• Workflows

Definitions

Term	Definition
Dashboard	A container that organizes panels in a grid layout for visualizing data.
Panel	An individual visualization component displaying specific data within a dashboard.
Static Dashboard	A dashboard linked to specific assets or nodes that always shows data from those sources.
Dynamic Dashboard	A dashboard that uses the current context (selected node/asset) and changes based on navigation.
Home Dashboard	A dashboard that appears on the landing page for users in an organization.

Concept

Dashboards and Panels

A dashboard is a canvas containing one or more panels:

• Dashboard: A container that organizes panels in a grid layout
• Panel: An individual visualization component displaying specific data

Panels can be resized and repositioned within the dashboard using drag-and-drop.

Static vs Dynamic Dashboards

Type	Description
Static	Linked to specific assets or nodes. Always shows data from those sources. Can be used as home dashboards.
Dynamic	Uses the current context (selected node/asset in the tree). Data changes based on navigation. Cannot be used as home dashboards.

Dynamic dashboards are useful for creating reusable templates that work with any asset of a compatible model.

Panel Types

Beacon Tower includes various panel types for different visualization needs:

Panel	Description
Text	Static text or markdown content
Active Alarms	List of current active alarms
Chart	Line and bar charts for telemetry
Chart V2	Enhanced charts with ECharts
Dynamic Chart	Advanced charts with calculations and custom styling
Dial Classic	Legacy gauge visualization
Dial	Modern gauge visualization
Realtime Dial List	Multiple dials showing live data
Database Dial List	Multiple dials showing stored values
Telemetry Cards	Card-based display of telemetry values
Map	Geographic map with asset locations
Property Panel	Device property values
Asset List	List of assets with status
LiquidFill	Liquid fill gauge visualization

Home Dashboards

Home dashboards appear on the landing page for users in an organization:

• Only static dashboards (not using dynamic assets) can be home dashboards
• Home dashboards are configured per organization
• The order of home dashboards can be rearranged
• Users see home dashboards from their primary organization

Use Cases

Device Dashboards

To better visualize dashboard data, carefully deciding what dashboards and panels to use is critical. Multiple dashboards can be used if devices have a lot of data. These will appear as tabs on the device.

Node Dashboards

Node dashboards can be used to dynamically show all assets on a specific node and below it. This can be used for "drill down" by navigating from a top node to lower nodes in a tree hierarchy.

User Home Dashboards

Home dashboards are important as they are the first thing a user sees when logging in. They can be used for customers to quickly get an overview of alarms and devices.

Best Practices

• Name descriptively: Use names that indicate the dashboard's purpose and scope
• Group related data: Put related telemetry on the same dashboard
• Consider screen size: Design dashboards that work at different resolutions
• Document with text panels: Add text panels to explain dashboard purpose or instructions

Workflows

Creating a Dashboard

1. Navigate to Administration > Dashboards
2. Click Add to create a new dashboard
3. Enter a Name for the dashboard
4. Add panels using the panel selector (grid icon in toolbar)
5. Configure each panel by clicking the edit button
6. Optionally use the node tree to preview with specific asset data
7. Click Save
8. Select the Organization to own the dashboard
9. Confirm to publish

Editing a Dashboard

1. Navigate to Administration > Dashboards
2. Click on a dashboard to open the editor
3. Make changes:
   • Rename: Edit the name in the toolbar
   • Add panels: Use the panel selector dropdown
   • Configure panels: Click the panel edit button
   • Move panels: Drag panels by their header
   • Resize panels: Drag the bottom-right corner
   • Delete panels: Use the panel's delete action
4. Click Save to save changes

Managing Home Dashboards

1. Navigate to Administration > Dashboards
2. Click Home Dashboards button
3. Select an organization (if you have access to multiple)
4. Click Select Dashboards to choose which dashboards appear on home
5. Drag and drop to reorder the home dashboards
6. Changes save automatically

Duplicating a Dashboard (Save As)

1. Open an existing dashboard
2. Make any desired changes
3. Click Save As in the toolbar
4. Confirm you want to create a copy
5. Select the organization for the new dashboard
6. The new dashboard opens with its own ID