Well, the first thing my eyes looked for, global search. Now, I know it already exists in the current 11.5.2 release, but I suppose my expectations were set for actually seeing it as a native, default, feature.
So, now that we have that out of the way, on to the next thing...s
Why does the "Node Details" resource, on the "Node Details" page, take up sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much room?
It looks like it takes up 2x as much space as it does in 11.5.2...
I see there is a new line in the resource, "Node Category", however, I added a line into my default resource, "Ping", so I would expect the same resource with the same number of lines, to be the same size. (actually, I would love for it to take up less room than the previous version)
A side by side comparison will definitely show you how much information you will be losing if the beta style/formatting prevails.
Less information in more space is surely not a good thing, right?
Also, why not implement the same functionality that currently exists in the "Asset Inventory" tab, where the "System Information" resource lists the same information as the node details resource, plus other aspects, AND automagically hides lines if they do not have a value?
That system information resource provides the most information, and because it automatically hides the lines that do not contain data, it will always only show the information it knows. It will not take up more room than it needs.
The only thing that would make the system information resource any better is allowing users to easily select the information/fields, or types of information, to display. (similar to a custom table, but set in a structured resource)
It also looks like the "Management" resource takes up more vertical room than it previously did, while not offering anything new to cause the difference in size.
Why should a resource that has a single line of LINKS, take up soooooooooooooooooooooooo much room?
Why not move the contents of that resource up, into all of that unused space? (similar to how the toolbar functions, such as ping, rdp, telnet, etc., are laid out in all previous versions)
I mean, just look at that little thing... so simple and efficient... easy to understand pictures/icons, and hover-over text pop-up for name/purpose/description...
This is the single most efficiently displayed item in the entire SolarWinds galaxy...
Why not apply the same efficiency to other things of similar purpose and size?
Why are we still using more than we need on some things, and not enough on others?
Let's balance the force, and use exactly as much space as needed. No more, and no less...
Why not just reduce the size of the resource all together? (this entire resource should not take up any more space than a single line)
While talking about the management resource, I kinda like the current style more than the new/beta style. Currently, each of the different functions are visibly different, and stand out. The new/beta style, while understanding it fits in with the new style across the entire system, all seems to just blend in together.
All in all, as far as the basics go, it really just looks like a new menu layout, and a bad paint job. (please don't cancel my SolarWinds fanboy card...)
The best thing I have found so far, is how well the auto discovery AND automatically adding previously unmonitored interfaces works. I have either been using this the wrong way forever, or it is fixed/improved in this version. Either way, that feature is most definitely welcomed for me.
I know the few things I have said above are mostly cosmetic, however, those are very important to my environment. I know, 100% for sure, that I will be the laughing stock of my office if I upgrade my SolarWinds environment, and the new version shows everyone less information. Not only that, I am sure I will be asked to "fix" it, which means I would probably have to revert to previous versions. However, fortunately, knowing this beforehand allows me to skip the entire upgrade process. This is a good thing, as I will not have to live out that experience, and do all that extra work.
Thank you,
-Will