IoT Operations - Group Support

The Applications > IoT Operations page allows you to configure the IoT Internet of Things. IoT refers to the internetworking of devices that are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity features allowing data exchange over the Internet. Connectors, IoT transport profiles, install applications and so on.

Configuring IoT operations is possible at the group-level only. Individual connector and global-level configurations are not possible. For more information on groups in Aruba Central, see Groups.

The IoT Operations group support feature enables the configuration IoT Connectors at the group level. This feature allows the installation and configuration of IoT applications and transport profiles across multiple IoT connectors, eliminating the need to configure each IoT connector individually.

Workflow Changes

The workflow changes in the IoT Operations group support feature, as compared to the workflow when configuring individual IoT connectors, are as follows:

  • At the global level, the install button for IoT applications and the Manage button for Transport Profiles will not be available on the individual IoT connector pages. Installation of IoT applications and configuration of transport profiles can only be done at the group level.

  • Any IoT connector which is not currently assigned to a group will be assigned to the default group.

Configuring IoT operations at the group-level involves:

For more information on configuring IoT operations, see Configuring IoT Operations.

Pre-requisites

Ensure that the following pre-requisites are met before configuring IoT Operations:

  • An x86-based ESXi server for VMs is available.
  • Aruba APs run ArubaOS 10.

Additional steps to be taken, if required:

  • Before updating to group support, configure the existing IoT connectors to groups such that there is one IoT connector per group. This helps avoid the need to recover read-only groups and reconfigure IoT connectors. For more information, see Enabling Group Configurations for Existing Connectors.

    • If there are multiple AP Type IoT Connectors in a group, ensure that the non-IoT configurations are replicated in the new group, before moving them to separate groups.

  • After updating to group support, complete any of the two following steps:

    • Reset configurations on all IoT connectors.

    • Create a new group (or groups), move the IoT connectors to new groups as needed, and reconfigure the connectors.

Creating an IoT Connector

Before creating an IoT Connector, you should download and deploy an IoT Connector. For additional information, see IoT Operations - Group Support and IoT Operations - Group Support.

To create an IoT Connector, complete the following procedure:

Wait at least 30 min between deploying an IoT Connector and creating an IoT Connector. After 30 min, if Create Collector is not available in Aruba Central, reboot the IoT Connector in the VMware server. The Create Collector is disabled till a new IoT Connector is available.

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where connectors need to be added.
  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.
  3. The Connectors card displays a donut-chart of configured IoT connectors. Click Manage.

    If an IoT Connector is not configured, the Connectors card displays Add Connector. Click Add Connector to create an IoT Connector.

  • To add data collectors, complete the following steps:

    1. In the Manage Connector pop-up, select the Data Collector radio button and click Confirm.
    2. In the Data Collectors page, click the graph in the Managed Collectors card.
    3. In the Managed Collectors page, click Create Collector.

      Ensure that an IoT Connector is deployed and registered in Aruba Central. For additional information, see Deploying an IoT Connector in Configuring IoT Operations.

    4. Under the Give collector a name heading, enter an IoT connector name.
    5. In the Select an application to install on collector section, select IoT Connector.
    6. Click Next.
    7. Select the collector and click Create.

      It takes at least 30 minutes for a new IoT Connector to come online.

  • To add AP-type connectors, complete the following steps:
    1. In the Manage Connector pop-up, select the Access Point radio button.
    2. Click the checkbox below Access Point to enable the configuration.
    3. Click Confirm. All eligible APs are converted to AP-type connectors. The eligibility criteria are as follows:
      • APs running ArubaOS10.5 or higher.
      • APs are not assigned to any existing data collector.

Deleting an IoT Connector

To delete an AP-type Connector, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where connectors need to be deleted.
  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.
  3. The Connectors card displays a graph donut-chart of configured IoT connectors. Click Manage Connectors.
  4. In the Manage Connector pop-up, select the AccessPoint radio button.
  5. Click the checkbox below Access Point to disable the configuration.
  6. Click Confirm.
    All APs that were converted to IoT Connectors are deleted.

For more information on deleting a data collector, see Deleting Data Collectors.

Installing a Partner-Developed App

To install a partner-developed app from the App Store, complete the following procedure:

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where the application needs to be installed.
  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.
  3. Click Manage in the IoT Applications card.
    The IoT Applications page opens and displays all the available apps (recommended, installed, and not installed) for the selected group.
  4. In the Available Apps card, click an available app that needs to be installed.

    The Available Apps list displays all available IoT applications.

  5. In the App Details page, click Install.

To edit the installation of a partner-developed app from the App Store, complete the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the IoT Applications page as instructed in the previous procedure.
  2. In the Available Apps section, click an installed app that needs to be edited.
  3. In the App Details page, click Edit.
  4. Make the necessary changes in the popup that opens and click Submit.

Updating a Partner-Developed App

To update a partner-developed app from the App Store, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where app needs to be updated.

  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.

  3. Click Manage in the IoT Applications card.
    The IoT Applications page opens and displays all available apps (recommended, installed, and not installed) for the selected group.

  4. In the Available Apps section, click an available app that needs to be updated.

  5. In the App Details page, click Update.

Uninstalling a Partner-Developed App

To uninstall a partner-developed app, complete the following procedure:

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where app needs to be uninstalled.
  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.
  3. Click Manage in the IoT Applications card.
    The IoT Applications page opens and displays all available apps (recommended, installed, and not installed) for the selected group.
  4. In the Available Apps section, click an available app that needs to be uninstalled.
  5. In the App Details page, click Uninstall.

Configuring an IoT Transport Profile

HPE Aruba Networking recommends to use partner-developed apps from the App Store. If you do not want to use a partner-developed app, configure an IoT transport profile. Configuring an IoT transport profile allows an IoT Connector to send the collected data to a partner server.

To create an IoT transport profile, complete the following procedure:

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where the transport profile needs to be added.
  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.
  3. In Transports card, click Manage.
  4. In the Transport Profiles for <group-name> table, click the add transport profile icon.
  5. Configure the following IoT transport profile parameters and click Create.

    If an IoT transport profile is not configured, the Transport Profile for <group-name> table displays Add. Click Add to configure an IoT transport profile.

Table 1: IoT Transport Profile
Parameter Description

Profile

Name

Name of the IoT transport profile.

Description

Description of the IoT transport profile.

Stream Type

Type of the data stream. Available options are:

  • Periodic Telemetry—Send the data stream periodically.
  • Data Frames—Send each data frame when the data is available.

Aggregation

Reporting Interval (seconds)

Period to aggregate the data stream. This parameter is available when Stream Type is set to Periodic telemetry. This parameter does not have a default value and takes any value in the range of 30 seconds to 3600 seconds.

RSSI Aggregation Type

Type of RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator. RSSI is a mechanism by which RF energy is measured by the circuitry on a wireless NIC (0-255). The RSSI is not standard across vendors. Each vendor determines its own RSSI scale/values. aggregation. This parameter is available when Stream Type is set to Periodic telemetry. Available options are:

  • Average—Use average value when aggregating the data stream.
  • Latest—Use the latest value when aggregating the data stream.
  • Max—Use the maximum value when aggregating the data stream.

Subscriptions

Type

Type of subscription. A subscription consists of a type and value. Device class is the supported type. Multiple subscriptions are allowed with an OR operator between subscriptions. Use the Add icon to add subscriptions.

Value

Available device classes. Multiple subscriptions are allowed with an OR operator between subscriptions. Use the Add icon to add subscriptions.

Filters

Filters

Type of filter. A filter consists of type and value. The supported type is Ibeacon UUID and the value is a UUID. Multiple filters are allowed with an OR operator between filters. Use the Add icon to add filters.

Destination

Protocol Type

WSS protocol is used when sending data. Custom CA Certificate Authority or Certification Authority. Entity in a public key infrastructure system that issues certificates to clients. A certificate signing request received by the CA is converted into a certificate when the CA adds a signature generated with a private key. See digital certificate. certificates can be uploaded and synchronized when using WSS protocol. For more information on uploading CA certificate, see Certificates. For more information on synchronizing CA certificates, see IoT Operations - Group Support.

URL

URL Uniform Resource Locator. URL is a global address used for locating web resources on the Internet. of the destination server.

Format Type

Format of the data. Available options are:

Authentication

Use Credentials

Use the configured credentials as authentication method. Credentials include:

  • Authentication URL—URL of the authentication server.
  • Client ID—Identify of the client.
  • Username—Username for authentication.
  • Password—Password for authentication.

Use Token

Use the configured token as the authentication method.

Deleting an IoT Transport Profile

To delete an IoT transport profile, complete the following procedure:

  1. In the Aruba Central app, set the filter to the group where the transport profile needs to be deleted.
  2. Under Manage, click Applications > IoT Operations.
  3. In the Transports card, click Manage.
  4. In the Transport Profiles group, hover over an IoT transport profile that needs to be deleted.
  5. Click the deleteicon.
  6. In the Delete Transport Profile on <group-name> pop-up, click Delete.

Enabling Group Configurations for Existing Connectors

If a group has one connector, then all the IoT configurations (application and transport profile configurations) on that connector will be moved to the group level during migration (automatic during a service update). Further configurations must be done at the group-level.

Figure 1  IoT Dashboard After Migration to Group Support

Groups that have multiple connectors are marked as read-only. In read-only groups, each connector retains its individual application and transport profile configurations, and no new configurations are possible either the group-level or individual connector levels. In these cases, a UI banner is displayed, indicating that the group is read-only.

Figure 2  UI Banner for Read-Only Groups

To recover and enable group level configurations for read-only groups, complete the following procedures:

  • For groups with multiple AP Type connectors, complete one of the two following procedures:

    • Click the second click here link in the UI banner as seen in figure 2, to reset the individual connector configurations for read-only groups.
      This option will clear the IoT configurations on the AP-type connectors and data collectors in that group and allows you to redefine the configurations as required, without the creation of a new group.

    • Creating a new group:

      1. Create a new group with desired configurations (IoT and non IoT).
        For more information on creating a group, see Adding a Group.
        For more information on IoT configurations, see Creating an IoT Connector.
        For more information on non-IoT configurations, see Configuring ArubaOS 10 APs in Aruba Central.

      2. Move the APS to the new group.
        Group-level configurations are enabled for the new group.

        When APs are moved to new group, all the existing IoT configurations on the AP will be removed.

  • For groups with multiple data collectors, create a new group and move the data collectors to the new group.
    All the existing application and transport profile configurations will be removed from the data collectors.

Use Cases for Enabling Group Configurations for Multi-Connector Groups

The use cases detailed below cover scenarios where:

  • A group has multiple connectors (either AP-type connectors or data collectors).
  • All the IoT configurations have been moved to the group-level after the group-support migration.
  • A UI banner on the IoT dashboard is displayed indicating that the group is read-only.

Use Case 1 – Read-Only Group with AP-Type Connectors

To enable group configurations for existing AP-type connectors in a read-only group, complete the following steps:

  1. Make a note of the IoT configurations (application and transport profile configurations) on the APs.

  2. Click on the link in the UI banner to reset the connector configurations and enable group configurations.

  3. Confirm the connector configuration reset in the pop-up that appears.
    The connector count becomes 0 as application and transport profile configurations are removed from the AP-type connectors and group configurations are enabled.
    To enable AP-type connector configurations create a new AP-type connector. For more information, see Creating an IoT Connector.

Now all IoT configurations can be configured at the group-level (configurations before migration can be replicated here), which will be automatically configured for all AP-type connectors in the group.

Use Case 2 – Read-Only Group with Data Collectors

To enable group configurations for existing data collectors in a read-only group, complete the following steps:

  1. Create a new group.
    For more information, click the first link in the UI banner, or see Enabling Group Configurations for Existing Connectors.

  2. Set the filter to Global and navigate to the new group.

  3. In the Manage > Applications > IoT Operations page, setup the required IoT configurations on the new group. For more information, see Configuring IoT Operations.

  4. In the Maintain > Organization > Platform Integration > Data Collectors page, under the Managed Collectors table, select the data collector to be moved to the new group.

  5. Hover over the applicable data collector row and click the edit icon.

    Figure 3  Managed Collectors Table

  6. Select the new group that has the required IoT configuration.
    The data collector will now get all the configurations of the new group.