Getting Started with HPE Aruba Networking Central

HPE Aruba Networking Central can be accessed from the HPE GreenLake portal using the following URLs Uniform Resource Locator. URL is a global address used for locating web resources on the Internet.:

• https://console.greenlake.hpe.com/

• https://common.cloud.hpe.com/

For more information about accessing the HPE GreenLake portal and adding the WebUI, see Creating an HPE Aruba Networking Central Account.

You can now add the devices that you want to manage using HPE Aruba Networking Central on the HPE GreenLake portal. To manage devices from HPE Aruba Networking Central, trial users must manually add the devices to the HPE GreenLake portal.

For more information on adding devices, see Onboarding Devices.

By default, an evaluation license key is assigned for users who sign up for a free trial of HPE Aruba Networking Central. The evaluation license key allows you to manage up to 60 devices from HPE Aruba Networking Central.

You can either enable automatic assignment of license or manually assign Foundation and Advanced licenses to your devices. By default, the automatic license assignment is disabled.

For more information on managing subscriptions, see Managing Subscription Keys.

Before the users access and start using HPE Aruba Networking Central, you must assign the users appropriate roles and permissions on the HPE GreenLake portal.

For more information on user roles, see HPE Aruba Networking Central User Roles in the HPE GreenLake Portal.

A group in HPE Aruba Networking Central functions as a configuration container for devices added in HPE Aruba Networking Central.

Why Should You Use Groups?

Groups allow you to create a logical subset of devices and simplify the configuration and device management tasks. Groups offer the following functions and benefits:

• Combining different types of devices under a group. For example, a group can have Instant APs and Switches. HPE Aruba Networking Central allows you to manage the configuration of these devices in separate containers (wireless and wired management) within the same group. Any new device that is added to a group inherits the current configuration of the group.
• Assigning multiple devices to a single group. For example, a group can consist of multiple Instant AP Virtual Controllers (VCs). These VCs can share common configuration settings and push the configuration updates to member Instant APs in their respective clusters. For example, you can apply a common security policy for the devices deployed in a specific geographical location.
• Cloning an existing group allows you to create a base configuration for the devices and customize it according to your network requirements.

You can also use groups for filtering your monitoring dashboard content, generating reports, and managing software upgrades.

For more information on groups and group configuration workflows, see Managing Groups.

A site in HPE Aruba Networking Central refers to a physical location where a set of devices are installed; for example, campus, branch, or venue. HPE Aruba Networking Central allows you to use sites as a primary navigation element. For example, if your devices are deployed in a campus, you could create a site called CampusA. You can also tag the devices within CampusA using labels. If your campus consists of multiple buildings, the devices deployed in the campus can be labeled as Building1 or Lobby.

For more information on sites and labels and how to assign devices to sites and labels, see Managing Sites and Manage Labels

HPE Aruba Networking Central supports provisioning, managing, monitoring, and troubleshooting workflows for various types of devices. If you have added Instant APs, you can configure an employee and guest wireless network. If you have Switches or SD-Branch or SD-WAN Software-Defined Wide Area Network. SD-WAN is an application for applying SDN technology to WAN connections that connect enterprise networks across disparate geographical locations. Gateways, configure wired access network or SD-WAN Wide Area Network. WAN is a telecommunications network or computer network that extends over a large geographical distance. respectively.

For more information, see Device Configuration and Network Management.

You can monitor the health of the device and network. For more information on monitoring, see Monitoring Your Network. You can also perform the following:

• Reports—Allows you to create various types of reports.

• Alerts and Events—Allows you to view and configure alerts.

• Clients—Provides a list view of all the access point (AP), switch, or gateway clients connected to the network.

View software images available for the devices provisioned in your account, run a compliance check for the recommended software version, and upgrade devices.

For more information and step-by-step instructions, see Managing Firmware Upgrades.

Run diagnostic checks and troubleshooting commands to analyze network connectivity, latency issues, and debug device issues, if any.

For more information and step-by-step instructions, see Troubleshooting Tools.