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TSTool / Getting Started

This chapter provides an overview of getting started with TSTool and the Zabbix plugin commands.

Introduction

The TSTool user interface (UI) provides features to browse data, create command file workflows to process data, and view time series and other information products. The TSTool UI design follows several basic concepts and interactions.

The remainder of this documentation focuses on getting started with TSTool using the Zabbix plugin.

Installing and Configuring TSTool

If not already done, install TSTool. TSTool is most often installed on Windows but also runs on Linux. Contact the Open Water Foundation if a Linux version is required.

Starting TSTool

TSTool can be run in interactive mode and batch (command line) mode. Interactive mode is typically used to prototype and configure automated workflows and products. Batch mode can be used to run the software in headless mode on a server, for example on a schedule or in response to web requests.

When using the State of Colorado’s TSTool default configuration on Windows, the software can be started using Start / Programs / CDSS / TSTool-Version. The menus vary slightly depending on the operating system version.

Use the tstool script to start the software on Linux. The program can be found in the software's /bin folder. Multiple versions of TSTool can be installed to facilitate transition from older to newer versions.

To process a command file in batch mode without showing the user interface, use a command line similar to the following:

tstool -–commands commands.tstool

It is customary to name command files with a .tstool file extension. It may be necessary to specify a full (absolute) path to the command file when running in batch mode in order for TSTool to fully understand the working directory.

See the Running TSTool in Various Modes appendix for more information about running in batch and other modes.

Installing the Zabbix Plugin

See the Appendix - Install Zabbix Plugin documentation for instructions to install the plugin.

Listing Zabbix Time Series

The main TSTool user interface can be used to list Zabbix time series, as follows. A minimum number of filters must be specified to constrain the query and avoid very large results.

  1. Select a Zabbix datastore from the Datastore choices.
  2. Select a data type using the Data type choices, or select * to list all data types.
  3. Select a time step (interval) using the Time step choices, or select * to list all time steps.
  4. Use the Where choices to specify time series filters, for example to list time series for a specific site or station.
  5. Press the Get Time Series List button to list time series.

The time series can then be copied to the Commands area as time series identifier (TSID) commands.

time-series-list

Zabbix Time Series List (see also the full-size image)

Using the Zabbix Plugin Commands

TSTool Zabbix plugin commands are provided to read time series from Zabbix. Additional commands may be added in the future as needed. The primary uses of the plugin commands are:

  • read time series from Zabbix web services to allow processing by other TSTool commands
  • automate visualizing Zabbix time series
  • combine time series from Zabbix and other sources

The following is a summary of plugin commands, which are listed in the Commmands(Plugin) menu.

Zabbix Plugin Commands

Command Description
ReadZabbix Read one or more time series from the Zabbix web services.

See also the TSID command format for Zabbix time series.