Configure and use a heatmap visualization in Dynatrace

Shows query results as a heatmap.

Example heatmap

Select a different metric

By default, this visualization shows the first metric of a multi-metric query.

To select a different metric from a multi-metric query, select the letter next to the metric you want to visualize. In this example, you would change the selection from A (CPU usage %) to B (Memory used %).

Change metric selection

Alternative metric selection: the eye icon in a metric row indicates and toggles whether a metric is selected as part of the query.

Data explorer metric toggle

Visual settings

Visualization

You must select Heatmap to display this type of visualization.

When switching between visualizations, be aware that some visualization settings are visualization-specific.

If you select a visualization and configure Visual settings, and then switch to a different visualization, some of your visual settings for the first visualization may be ignored because they don't apply to the newly selected visualization. An information icon in the list of visualizations will alert you to the possibility.
If you then switch back to the original visualization, you may need to reconfigure some visual settings that were lost when you made the first switch.

Resolution

Resolution is the X axis (time) granularity of the visualization.

To allow the Data explorer to automatically select an appropriate resolution for the selected timeframe, set Resolution to Auto
To specify a certain resolution, select one from the list

Some resolutions are unavailable for some timeframes. If you select an incompatible combination of timeframe and resolution, Dynatrace automatically selects a resolution and displays an explanatory message such as: Auto-resolution applied. Resolution value of [6 hours] applied. Selected timeframe doesn't allow for [5 minutes] resolution. To override auto-resolution, select a different resolution from the list.

Y axis

Whether to show the Y axis by value or split by dimensions.

Buckets

The number of buckets to display on each axis.

The default value for each axis is Auto.
If you change one of the bucket values to a number, you can return it to Auto by clearing the value.

Per-metric visual settings

The Visual settings section also displays visualization options per metric selected for the query.

Rename a metric

You can change the name of a metric as it is displayed on the chart and in the chart legend. The query definition retains the metric's original name.

In the Visual settings section, select for the metric you want to rename.
Edit the name, and then select the checkmark to save the new name.

Change color palette

To change the color palette for a metric, in the Visual settings section, select a new palette from the list.

Change metric palette

Unit and Format

Use the Unit and Format settings to determine how your data is displayed. If you export to a CSV file, the Unit and Format settings are also reflected in the exported values.

Unit

Use the Unit setting to set the unit in which the metric is displayed.

None = No unit displayed
Auto = Dynatrace selects an appropriate display unit
Other selections specify the exact unit to display. The options here depend on the metric's unit. A time metric, for example, offers alternative units for displaying time.
To add a custom unit/suffix string, type the custom string in the Unit box and then select it from the list.

Format

Use the Format setting to configure the number of decimal places displayed for the selected metric.

None = No formatting.
Auto = Dynatrace selects an appropriate format. For example, where None would display 5.062357754177517 %, Auto would display 5.06 %.
Other selections specify the number of decimal places to display: 0, 0.0, 0.00, 0.000

Examples

Example: bytes

When the basic unit of the metric is byte:

If you set Unit to Auto, Dynatrace automatically expresses the results in a human-readable unit, which in this case could be GiB.
Note: A byte-based unit can have either a binary or decimal base, which will determine whether Dynatrace selects, for example, GiB or GB. If no base is defined in the metric itself, a decimal base is used.
If the automatically selected unit isn't suitable in your case, you can force Dynatrace to express the same values in a specific unit (Unit = B, KiB, or MiB).
If you want to see raw data (no conversion), you can set Unit to None and see the results in the basic unit of the metric (which in this case is bytes).

Example: dollars and cents

When the basic unit of a metric is dollars and cents:

For smaller values, to see the results expressed in exact dollars and cents: set Unit to Auto, and set Format to 0.00 (to have two decimal places for the cents)
For larger values, to see the results expressed in thousands, millions, or billions of dollars and no cents: set Unit to k, mil, or bil, and set Format to 0 (to see nothing after the decimal point).

Example: exact counts

When the basic unit for the metric is a count:

To see an exact count: set Unit to Auto, and set Format to None.
To see a rough count: set Unit to something like k, mil, or bil (depending on the magnitude of your values), and set Format to 0.0, 0.00, or 0.0000 (depending on how many decimal places make sense in combination with the selected Unit setting).

Example: thresholds

When setting threshold values:

If you select a Unit (for example, MiB), the Threshold settings are then prepared to match the selected unit, so you just need to enter threshold values without specifying MiB.
If you set Unit to Auto (to let Dynatrace automatically scale the displayed output), you still need to set Threshold values in a specific unit such as bytes.