Manageiq-ui-classic: [RFE] Add provider connection status errors to provider dashboard

[Fryguy]

Easily the most used thing for diagnosing provider problems is the last_refresh_status and last_refresh_error, but those are only available in summary mode and not in dashboard mode. This RFE is requesting adding it to dashboard mode as well.

Presentation-wise I think it should be a very clear error when presented when there is a problem, and ideally subdued when there isn't a problem. Perhaps we can show it similar to a flash error where it appears like an error banner, when there is a problem, and maybe even not show it at all when things are working well.

Additionally, if the presentation looks good, we may want to do the same on the summary mode, because the current presentation is hidden way down at the bottom of the screen and doesn't jump out to the user at all when there is an error.

@agrare any additional thoughts?

[agrare]

The default credential status would also be very helpful, for the most part these are the three things I'm looking for when someone reports an error:

Default Credentials | Valid
Last Refresh | Success - 1 Day Ago 
Last Refresh Date | 2021-04-13T12:51:34.462Z

In general when someone reports "something isn't working" the progression is:

1. Are the credentials valid
2. Are there any refresh errors
3. When was the last time refresh ran

[chessbyte]

@kavyanekkalapu This is really important from a UX perspective. We are often getting support questions where the answer would have been obvious from the UI.

[chessbyte]

@agrare is there similar info for Events and Metrics that would be helpful to display?

[Fryguy]

Given that success is the 99% case for normal users, ideally this info would not be intrusive unless there's an error, in which case it should be _very_ intrusive.

[Fryguy]

I wonder if the bottom right of the quadicon could be used for this on the dashboard, so it could show a green check when all is good. When things are bad, it could so the red X and _also_ show an error banner.

I have no idea what the current bottom-right checkbox means currently.

[agrare]

@chessbyte we do have last_metrics_error and last_metrics_update_date which could be shown. I don't see any equivalent for events though.

I have no idea what the current bottom-right checkbox means currently.

@Fryguy I believe the bottom-right currently is just the default credential status

[Fryguy]

We talked about, in the past, having some sort of "all-credentials status" that would be a rollup of multiple credentials status, perhaps even having shades of gray such as "degraded" status, but we never fully fleshed it out.

[Fryguy]

I have no idea what the current bottom-right checkbox means currently.

@Fryguy I believe the bottom-right currently is just the default credential status

Oh interesting, so maybe we can expand that definition to do my suggestion.

[kavyanekkalapu]

@Fryguy @agrare expand the definition means, on bottom right side cell of Quadicon, do we need to show more info in title on hover or just show Last Refresh Status. and Last Refresh Date separately under Quadicon?

[chessbyte]

Since the 3 and the 7 in the QuadIcon refer to 3 Hosts and 7 VMs displayed on the right, I am wondering about the value of the QuadIcon in general. Following the "less is more" approach, maybe remove it entirely and add a box about Connection Status?

The box can indicate status (green/yellow/red?) and hover-over or click can show the details of the connection status.

[kavyanekkalapu]

@chessbyte If we need to have a click there to show more info, then isn't same effort as going to summary page and seeing last refresh there? i would prefer hover or just displaying all fields directly in a small card.

[chessbyte]

@kavyanekkalapu Let's do the minimum work to make the UX better. We can always improve in future PRs, once we have something useful regarding connection status displaying in the UI.

[Fryguy]

expand the definition means, on bottom right side cell of Quadicon, do we need to show more info in title on hover or just show Last Refresh Status. and Last Refresh Date separately under Quadicon?

Yeah, if we can expand the details on the bottom right quad icon, that would be an easy win. We can do the "error banner", as I've been calling it, in a follow up.

EDIT: To clarify, by expand I meant

1. Make the checkbox reflect the summary status of last_refresh_status and default credentials status (i.e. if either is bad, it's ❌ , but if both are good, it's ✅ )
2. Change the hover-information to include the last_refresh_error when there is an error there.

[Fryguy]

Note that if we have to add backend methods to provide this information, I'm good with that. In fact, it's preferable to have model methods over having complex logic in the views/controllers

[agrare]

https://github.com/ManageIQ/manageiq-ui-classic/pull/7719 merged, marking this complete