NetXMS Support Forum

NetXMS seems to be an incredible tool, with a LOT of flexibility, configurability, compatibility, and features. 

However, the one area I have found that seems to be most lacking and almost unusable, is in the GeoLocation Maps.  Some of the immediate issues that I would have expected, but don't seem to be present:
1) dragging the map to move around
2) scroll wheel for zoom in and zoom out
3) multiple zoom level layers
4) automatic placement of objects based on the location properties of the object
5) no map layer configurability (hiding points of interest, showing satellite vs map view, etc)

I really need a different style of map/background, because many of the rural areas we work in do not have well defined roads or structures (I cant even find my locations in the default geolocation map in NetXMS, because they just show up as single color tan when zooming in).  I typically have to use satellite views for proper placement (or GPS coordinates).

My initial plan "fix" for #5 was to attempt to create my own background layer.  In my search for a way to do this, I found a third party product (I will not link here, in case it violates forum rules, PM me for details), which allows you to download tiles from thousands of map sources, and customize those maps by hiding elements, changing/customizing colors and layers, and generating single file images from those customized tiles. 

This product does save/output in various configurable formats of map/x/y/z.jpg So it should be relatively easy to adapt.

The problem I ran into was that, due to the large areas I need to reference, the images I created (even JPG) were multi-GB files which the NetXMS client doesn't seem to handle well.  The client would lock up, crash, or be unresponsive.

I continued my testing with a very small 1km square area to prevent the client issues with large backgrounds.

Additionally, due to #3 above, and not having zoom level layers, when using the zoom function in the NetXMS Client the images would of course become incredibly grainy and distorted and unreadable. They just looked really really bad. 

While using the third party product (which is a inexpensive one time license fee), I noticed that it was also able (with certain configuration choices) to generate an HTML file with a fully functional offline map, with all of my customizations and zoom levels.  It also allowed you to drag the map with the mouse, use the scroll wheel etc.   I then noticed that there were a few versions of this created, and I would assume using products which are open source/free to use. 
One folder is listed as "googleapi" and is likely version 3.8.2   I haven't verified the source for this, but I assume it's a google product.
Another folder is Leaflet, free to use and distributed under the BSD-2 Clause license.
Another folder is Openlayers, free to use and distributed under the BSD-2 Clause license.

Any of these three look like AMAZING options and improvements over the existing, and when paired with the third party product would allow for nearly complete map customization. 

Ultimately to use these (especially with zoom levels), #4 would need to be fixed.  With thousands of objects, it's not possible to manually place everything and then re-place them every time a map change occurs.  I have to say that this was actually very very surprising to me, as I assumed the location property of an object was specifically FOR mapping. 

Additionally, because of the above, there is no ability to have mapping for mobile/moving objects like vehicles or semi-mobile assets such as trailers, tanks, heavy equipment, etc. 

I am not sure if I can use the HTML file from the third party product as a map background.  I believe I would be limited to a single zoom level, since NetXMS wouldn't be able to handle the location/coordinate changes of the objects as I zoom in and out, but this would give me a start. 

I did see that there is an option for running my own OMS, however this almost seems like overkill since I can apparently do so much of what I need in a client-side folder using HTML and JavaScript libraries. 

I believe I read/heard that there are major mapping improvements coming in 5.x so I'm not sure if some of this is already in the works but I am struggling with a basically unusable map in it's current state. 

Thank you for your consideration!

Hello!
I suppose it is about network maps with geo map as background layer?  Because there is also pure geo map view, which will show location of objects based on their location property, but it will not show any links, data, etc.
Best regards,
Victor

That's correct; network maps with usable geo map as background.   The two seem to exist separately, but not together...and actually I haven't been able to find the Global Map view in the new client at all. 
Also, as I mentioned I need to be able to control the map style or tiles, because I cant really "see" anything about where objects are without a satellite view: https://ibb.co/c3zRJz9   Without a satellite view, there is not much context as to where the object exists (but, since I put in the GPS coordinates I know it's in the right spot...it would just be nice to be able to see it in comparison to buildings, trees, etc). 

Thanks!
Chisholm