Dashboards

Customizable visualizations for monitoring assets and telemetry data.

What is a Dashboard?

A dashboard is a custom visualization layout that organizes data into interactive panels. Each dashboard is stored as a JSON document containing:

• id: Unique identifier
• displayName: Human-readable name
• description: Optional description
• data: JSON object containing the panel layout configuration
• authorizationContext: Defines which organizations can view or manage the dashboard

Dashboards provide a container that organizes panels in a grid layout for visualizing data. Panels can be resized and repositioned using drag-and-drop, allowing you to create custom monitoring views tailored to your operational needs.

Use Cases

• Operational monitoring: Track real-time asset status and telemetry
• Alarm management: View active alarms across devices
• Performance analysis: Compare metrics across multiple assets
• Geographic visualization: Display asset locations on maps
• Custom reporting: Create specialized views for different teams or roles

Static vs Dynamic Dashboards

Beacon Tower supports two types of dashboards, each with different behavior and use cases:

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.

When to Use Each Type

Static dashboards are ideal when:

• You need consistent monitoring of specific assets
• You want to display the dashboard on the home page
• The visualization should not change based on user navigation

Dynamic dashboards are ideal when:

• You want to create reusable templates that work with any asset of a compatible model
• The same visualization pattern applies to multiple assets
• Users should see context-sensitive data based on their current selection

Panel Types

Dashboards are composed of panels, each providing a different visualization capability:

Text Panel

Static text or markdown content for annotations, instructions, or documentation within the dashboard.

Active Alarms Panel

Displays a list of current active alarms, helping operators quickly identify issues requiring attention.

Chart Panels

Panel	Description
Chart	Line charts for telemetry data with basic visualization
Chart V2	Enhanced charts with ECharts integration for advanced styling and interactivity
Dynamic Chart	Advanced charts with custom JavaScript calculations, web worker helpers, and global value displays

See Charts for detailed information on configuring chart panels.

Gauge Panels

Panel	Description
Dial	Modern gauge with color bands, tick marks, and min/max value indicators
Dial Classic	Legacy gauge visualization for backward compatibility
Dial List	Multiple dials showing live data from real-time or database sources
LiquidFill	Liquid fill gauge visualization for percentage or level indicators

Data Display Panels

Panel	Description
Telemetry Cards	Card-based telemetry display with grouping by asset or signal, sorting options, and aggregation functions
Property Panel	Displays device property values in a structured format
Signal Info	Shows detailed signal information and metadata
Asset List	Lists assets with their current status

Geographic Panels

The Map panel provides geographic visualization with:

• GPS coordinate plotting
• Asset pins with status indicators
• Zoom and pan controls
• Layer management

Data Sources

Panels bind to timeseries data sources to display asset telemetry. When configuring a data source, specify:

• Asset: The asset or device to monitor
• Signal name: The specific telemetry signal (e.g., temperature, pressure)
• Aggregation type: How to summarize data points
  • Mean
  • Min
  • Max
  • Sum
  • Median
  • First
  • Last
• Time interval: The period over which to aggregate data

Real-time vs Historical Data

Panels can use two data retrieval methods:

• Real-time data: Uses SignalR for instant updates as telemetry arrives
• Historical data: Uses polling to fetch stored timeseries data at configured intervals

See Telemetry and Timeseries for more information on data sources and aggregation.

Home Dashboards

Home dashboards appear on the landing page for users when they sign in to Beacon Tower. Key characteristics:

• Only static dashboards can be configured as home dashboards
• Configured per organization
• Order can be rearranged to prioritize important dashboards
• Users see home dashboards from their primary organization

Home dashboards provide immediate visibility into critical metrics without requiring navigation, making them ideal for operational dashboards and key performance indicators.

See Home Page for more information on configuring the landing page experience.

Dashboard API

The Dashboard API allows programmatic management of dashboards. Key endpoints:

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/dashboards	List all dashboards
GET	/dashboards/{dashboardId}	Get a specific dashboard
POST	/dashboards	Create a new dashboard
PATCH	/dashboards/{dashboardId}	Update an existing dashboard
DELETE	/dashboards/{dashboardId}	Delete a dashboard

Example: Creating a Dashboard

curl -X POST https://api.beacontower.ai/dashboards \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "displayName": "Production Floor Overview",
    "description": "Real-time monitoring of production assets",
    "organizationId": "your-org-id",
    "data": {
      "panels": [
        {
          "id": "panel-1",
          "type": "Chart V2",
          "title": "Temperature Trends",
          "position": { "x": 0, "y": 0, "w": 6, "h": 4 },
          "dataSource": {
            "assetId": "asset-123",
            "signalName": "temperature",
            "aggregation": "Mean",
            "interval": "5m"
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "panel-2",
          "type": "Active Alarms",
          "title": "Current Alarms",
          "position": { "x": 6, "y": 0, "w": 6, "h": 4 }
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Authentication requires a valid API key passed via the X-API-Key header. See the API Reference for complete endpoint documentation and authentication details.

Related Topics

• Charts - Detailed chart configuration and visualization options
• Telemetry and Timeseries - Understanding data sources and aggregation
• Home Page - Configuring the landing page experience
• API Reference - Complete API documentation for dashboard management