Understanding Data Slicing Rules
Data Slicing rules can be defined to dictate what data and records are accessible for each user in the Zoho IOT application. Data Slicing is highly useful in building dashboards and generating reports.
Consider a dashboard designed to monitor an industrial complex with 10 assembly lines. It features widgets that show data on energy consumption, product assembly, and defects produced. Three users: a manager and two supervisors have access to the dashboard. Data slicing rules enable the manager to view data from all assembly lines, while each supervisor can only see data from their assigned lines. Thus, the same dashboard displays different data depending on who is viewing it.
Data Slicing Rule Types
Data slicing rules can be created based on two properties.
- Location property
- Module property.
Location Property
Location property filters data and access based on location
Note: Relations created using the "Located at" field will be only considered.Consider a smart building application that monitors five floors. Energy meters and gateways are added as devices, while lights, fans, and air conditioners are listed as assets. Each of these elements is related to a specific floor—named Floor One through Floor Five—using the "Located At" field.
To manage data access, a Data Slicing rule can be established based on the location property. This rule restricts users' data visibility to specific floors. For instance, if a rule is configured with a filter set to only the first floor, that user will only be able to access and view data from the devices and assets associated with the first floor.
Module Property
Module property filters data based on the various fields available in the corresponding device, asset, location, or custom records.
Consider a smart building application that monitors five floors, each divided into three sectors, managed by a total of fifteen gateways. Every floor has three gateways, each covering one sector. Devices like energy meters, along with assets like lights, fans, and air conditioners, are connected to the corresponding gateways, and this setup is reflected in the application.
To organise and control data access by sector, a module property rule can be implemented. This rule is configured with two criteria: all asset models and all device models both having the "Connected Gateway" field to match the specific gateway managing the sector. For example, for sector A on the third floor managed by the gateway named GW3001, the "Connected Gateway" field is set to GW30001. When this data slicing rule is applied to a user, that user will only have access to view instance and data from devices and assets connected to gateway GW3001, effectively limiting their data visibility to just that sector.
Impact on Visualisation
The impact of data slicing rules is clearly visible in how dashboards and reports display data to different users. Each user sees data tailored to their access permissions, which are defined by the data slicing rules associated with their account.
Consider the smart building application monitoring energy usage across different sectors on multiple floors. Each user’s dashboard is customized to show data relevant to their specific access permissions, established through data slicing rules.
Let's consider two users: User A and User B.
- User A is associated with a data slicing rule for gateway GW1001, which covers the first sector of the first floor. On their dashboard, User A sees:
- Energy Consumption: 250 kWh
- Average Temperature: 72°F
- Light Usage: 500 hours
- User B is linked to gateway GW3003 on the third floor, sector 3. Their dashboard displays:
- Energy Consumption: 310 kWh
- Average Temperature: 68°F
- Light Usage: 420 hours
Although both users access the same type of dashboard layout, the data they see reflects only the energy metrics for their respective sectors. This selective visibility ensures that each user can focus on monitoring and optimising the metrics that are most relevant to their responsibilities.
Impacts on Views
The impact of data slicing rules becomes evident when users access the application, with the visibility of devices, assets, and records from custom modules varying based on the specific data slicing rule associated with the user.
Example:
- User C is assigned to a data slicing rule that uses the location property to restrict access to Floor 1. In their application view, User A can see:
- Devices: 3 energy meters and 2 air conditioners.
- Assets: 10 LED lights and 5 ceiling fans.
- User D has access permissions through a data slicing rule for Floor 3 based on the location property. Their view in the application includes:
- Devices: 4 energy meters and 3 air conditioners.
- Assets: 18 LED lights and 8 ceiling fans.
Difference between Data Slicing and Profiles
Although profiles and data slicing rules might seem similar, they serve distinct purposes. Here are the key differences between
Profiles and Data Slicing Rules.
Profile | Data Slicing |
They regulate permissions across all modules and features within the application. | They govern the data and records stored within the modules. |
They can impact the entire application. | They can impact only dashboards, widgets, instances, records, and reports. |
They allow privileges to add, delete, and edit the various modules and features in the application. | They can either permit or restrict the ability to view related data in dashboards, widgets, and reports as well as records and instances of all modules. |
See Also
Adding and managing data slicing rulesUnderstanding user profilesUnderstanding dashboards and widgets
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