Getting Started

Prerequisites

To successfully auto-place APs on the floor plan, ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

• All APs must operate on an 80 MHz bandwidth channel; currently, the AP to AP FTM data is only exchanged efficiently enough for location determination when using 80 MHz channels.
  • For environments where using 80 MHz channels in production is not feasible, FTM Monitor mode can be used.

• A minimum of five APs that support FTM or FTM and GPS functionality are required to facilitate the auto-locate process, utilizing four anchor APs and requiring at least one AP for effective auto-placement.

• Support for FTM is introduced with AOS-10 version 10.5. Support for FTM Monitor mode is introduced with AOS-10 version 10.7.1.

• Ensure that the APs are provisioned and belong to the same AP group and site on HPE Aruba Networking Central.

• Confirm that APs can detect neighboring APs to initiate FTM exchanges, a crucial step for accurate auto-locate functionality. For more details on verifying the FTM telemetry, refer to AP Testing and Verification.

• APs must operate for at least 24 hours to compute auto-locate data efficiently. During this time, APs scan the RF environment, send FTM requests to each other, and transmit telemetry data to Central.

• When creating a floorplan you must select Geo-Locate the floor on the map. For more details on how to scale the floor, refer to Creating Initial Floor and Building.

Before initiating the auto-locate process in New Central, enable the FTM scan and FTM responder modes in Central. Additionally, ensure that the channel bandwidth is 80 MHz.

Classic Central setup

Step 1: Enable FTM and GPS.

Checking the Enable Automatic Placement box activates GPS and FTM scanning, and configures the APs to handle FTM tasks 25% of the time, while the rest of the time is reserved for standard network functions and client operations.

This setup facilitates FTM exchange among APs, including off-channel FTM exchange, with data reporting to the cloud.

1. In the Central account, use the filter to select a group or a device.

2. Under Manage, click Devices > Access Points.

3. Click the Config icon. The tabs to configure access points are displayed.

4. Click Show Advanced and click Services. The Services page is displayed.

5. Click Real Time Locating System > Aruba.

6. Select Enable Automatic Placement. This will enable FTM for APs that support FTM and enable GPS for APs that support GPS.

7. Click Save Settings.

Step 2: Enable the FTM-responder.

Checking the Fine Timing Measurement (802.11 mc) Responder Mode enables FTM capability on the APs and enables FTM communication between APs and stations like phones or laptops.

1. In the Central account, set the filter to a group containing at least one AP. The dashboard context for the group is displayed.

2. Under Manage, click Devices > Access Points. A list of APs is displayed in the List view.

3. Click the Config icon. The tabs to configure the APs are displayed.

4. Click the WLANs tab. The WLANs details page is displayed.

5. In the Wireless SSIDs table, select the network that you want to edit, and then click the edit icon.

6. In the General tab, click Advanced Settings, under Miscellaneous, enable Fine Timing Measurement (802.11 mc) Responder Mode.

Step 3: If not using FTM Monitor mode, set the channel bandwidth to 80 MHz.

1. In the Central account, select a group containing at least one AP. The dashboard context for the group is displayed.

2. Under Manage, click Devices > Access Points. A list of APs is displayed in the List view.

3. Click the Config icon. The tabs to configure the APs are displayed.

4. Click the Radios tab. The radio details page is displayed. Click on the radio profile pencil icon to edit it.

5. Click on the Allowed Channels under the 5 GHz band radio. An Allowed Channels - 5 GHz window will pop up.

6. Set the Minimum and Maximum bandwidth to 80 MHz. A wider bandwidth improves FTM exchanges and reduces multipath effects, leading to better accuracy in location-based applications.

New Central setup

The floorplan manager serves as the starting point for initiating location-aware services within New Central. In this dashboard, you can create site properties, including buildings and floors, and can upload and configure the floor plans. After creating the floors, you can then assign devices to the floors so the system can begin the process of auto-placing the APs. To access and create the floorplan, refer to New Central Floorplan Manager techdocs.

Once the floorplan is ready, we need to assign devices to the floorplan before we auto place the APs.

Assigning devices to floorplans

All APs must be first onboarded to the account and assigned to a site on Classic Central before they will be made available in the list of devices at the site.

To assign devices to specific floorplans, complete the following steps:

1. From the Action drop-down list, select Assign Devices to Floors. The Assign Devices page is displayed with the available floorplans and a list of devices on each floorplan. Which includes the Floors, Name, Type, Model, MAC address, and Serial Number of the device.

2. Select a floor from the list of floors on the left pane to start assigning devices.

3. Select the devices by clicking the checkbox to assign them to the selected floor and then, click Assign Devices. You can also select multiple devices at a time and assign them to a floor by clicking the checkbox in one go.

Auto-deploying access points

To start placing APs automatically on the floorplan, complete the following steps:

1. Click the floor number represented in the stack on the floorplan manager. The floor details are displayed on the sliding bar.

2. Click View Floor Plan to display the details of the selected floor.

3. From the Action drop-down list, select Place Devices. The Place Devices page is displayed with two options - Automatic Placement and Manual Placement. Select Automatic Placement and click Next to place the anchor APs.

4. The Anchor Access Points Placement page is displayed with the list of suggested APs that can be used as anchor APs. The suggested anchor APs must be dragged and placed on the floor plan. These anchor APs can then be used to initiate and complete the placement of all the APs on the floor plan.

5. Once the anchor Access Points are manually placed on the floorplan, click Next to initiate the AP auto-placement process.

6. Optionally, if you are not satisfied with the placement of the anchor APs, you can click Auto-Place Again for re-calculation. At this step you can also manually correct the positions of the APs if required.

7. Once you are content with the positioning of the APs, click Finish to confirm the AP placement. Subsequently, as the deployment concludes, the APs are fixed and cannot be moved or readjusted. Upon completion of the AP placement process, you will be redirected back to the floor context page, where you can view the placement of all APs on the floorplan.

8. After all the APs are placed on the floor plan, you can view the AP details like Name, IP Address, MAC address, Model, Type, and Radio, by clicking on the AP on the floorplan

The floorplan is interactive, and you can zoom in and zoom out or move the pane left or right as required.

To find more details about the selected AP, click “Go to Device” on the sliding bar. This navigates to the AP summary page.

Removing APs from floorplan

If you want to remove all the APs on the floor plan and start over again, click the Action drop-down list and select Remove Access Points from floorplan.

All the APs deployed on the selected floorplan are removed at once.

FTM Monitor mode

FTM Monitor mode temporarily switches all APs on the specified floor to an 80 MHz bandwidth channel to facilitate the collection of FTM data. Once the required inter-AP ranging information is gathered, the APs are returned to their original bandwidth settings. This approach significantly reduces the time required to collect accurate location data, enhancing overall system efficiency in environments where continuous 80 MHz operation isn’t feasible.

Prerequisite for utilizing FTM Monitor mode:

• APs on the given floor-id must be ‘ftm-monitor’ capable, running AOS 10.7.1 or greater.

• APs must be configured to support FTM and assigned to a floor in New Central.

• APs on the given floor-id must be configured in the same regulatory domain (ie. configured with the same country code).

• APs on the given floor must be synchronized with the same NTP server.

Start FTM Monitor mode

Endpoint: POST https://example-central-server.com/network-monitoring/v1alpha1/sitemaps/{site-id}/floors/{floor-id}/ftm-scans/start

Parameters:

• site-id: Site ID where the FTM scan is required.
• floor-id: Starts an FTM scan for the given floor-id.

The site-id and floor-id can be found by navigating to the floor plan in new Central and inspecting the URL.

Example response of “Start FTM Monitor mode” POST API:

{
    "scanStartTime": "2024-12-11T22:17:33.574Z",
    "id": "2174534000",
    "result": "SUCCESS",
    "errorMessage": null
}

Description of the fields in the response:

The result returned will be one of the following:

• SUCCESS - Scan was successfully created and is now PENDING
• FTM_SCAN_ALREADY_ACTIVE - Scan already active on the given floor-id. Only one scan is allowed per floor at any given time. Scan cannot be started.
• NOT_ENOUGH_APS - There were not enough ftm-monitor enabled APs on the given floor-id. Scan cannot be started.
• REGULATORY_DOMAIN_MISMATCH - Not all APs are configured with the same country code. Scan cannot be started.
• NO_VALID_CHANNELS - Based on the user configured country code and channel selections, there are no available channels to run the FTM scan on. Scan cannot be started.
• ERROR - There was an error starting the scan, see errorMessage for details of the error.

Note down the id provided in the response to check the status using the next API call.

Status of the FTM Monitor mode

Endpoint: GET https://example-central-server.com/network-monitoring/v1alpha1/sitemaps/{site-id}/floors/{floor-id}/ftm-scans/{ftm-scan-id}

Parameters:

• site-id: Site ID where the FTM scan is required.
• floor-id: Starts an FTM scan for the given floor-id.
• ftm-scan-id: Retrieved from the ftm-scan-start API.

Example response of “Status of the FTM Monitor mode” GET API:

{
    "total": 1,
    "next": null,
    "items": [
        {
            "dwellTimeMillis": 90000,
            "updatedAt": "2024-12-11T22:12:32.682Z",
            "serialNumbers": [
                "CNMSKY0000",
                "CNMSKY0000",
                "PHPNKY0000",
                "PHPNKY0000",
                "PHPNKY0000",
                "PHPNKYJ000",
                "PHPNKYJ000",
                "PHPNKYJ000",
                "PHPNKYJ000"
            ],
            "errorMessage": null,
            "scannedChannels": [
                {
                    "primaryChannelList": [
                        36,
                        52,
                        100,
                        116,
                        132,
                        149
                    ],
                    "bandwidth": "CHANNEL_BW_80MHZ",
                    "band": "RADIO_BAND_5GHZ"
                }
            ],
            "estimatedCompletionTime": "2024-12-11T22:32:33.574Z",
            "floorId": "9f8ba9ee-c866-4654-82b1-xxxxxx",
            "siteId": "791830000",
            "status": "SCHEDULED",
            "scanStartTime": "2024-12-11T22:17:33.574Z",
            "id": "2174534000",
            "type": "FTM_SCAN",
            "createdAt": "2024-12-11T22:12:32.682Z"
        }
    ],
    "count": 1
}

Descriptions of the fields in the response:

The status returned will be one of the following:

• Pending: Scan request was accepted and awaiting scheduling by the system.
• Aborted: Scan request was delayed and could not be scheduled before the calculated start time.
• Scheduled: Scan request has been scheduled by the system and is awaiting the scan start time.
• Scanning: Scan is currently running (wifi network connectivity is currently unavailable).
• Complete: Scan has completed.

Once the FTM Monitor mode scan has completed, AP auto-placement process can be proceeded with.