In Kio Cloud Device Management, you can import third-party devices into your device inventory. Third-party gateway devices, such as Cisco Access Points, can be assigned to their installation location within Kio Cloud Smart Location. For third-party BLE devices, Kio Cloud can process data (scans) from Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) IoT devices if they adhere to one of the supported Kontakt.io BLE packets."
Third-party devices are added through a simple import process using a CSV file. Once added, the devices are displayed and visible from Device Management. For our developer community, external imported devices are also available from our Device Management API.
Topics include:
For external devices, you can manage the following virtual attribute settings from Kio Cloud Device Management.
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Tags: a method to categorize or group devices
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Deployment Status: to indicate if a device is deployed, not deployed, or has reached its end of life
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Notes: general information about a device
Note
For infrastructure gateway devices, such as Cisco Access Points, they can be assigned to their install locations from Kio Cloud Smart Location.
Complete the following steps to import third-party devices into your Kio Cloud Device Management inventory.
Note
Re-importing external devices through the Import External feature is not allowed and will result in an error. Once you have added external devices through the Import External feature, updating these devices is managed from each device profile or through the Device Management export and import options. If you need to update multiple devices at the same time, be sure to use the Export and Import CSV features available in Device Management 2.0.
The template includes example data. The CSV header row is required and cannot be modified
Download CSV template. The template includes example data. The CSV header row is required and cannot be modified.
The following table details the third-party device data specifications required to add the import devices to Device Management.
|
CSV header row |
Device Management value |
Description |
Required |
Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
uniqueId |
Unique Id |
Free text value used to identify the device; maximum of 32 characters allowed If not provided, value is generated automatically. |
No |
A12dBB |
|
mac |
MAC address |
MAC address that uniquely identifies the device. Required format: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX Upon import, MAC address is converted to uppercase for consistency. |
Yes |
08:00:04:02:00:00 |
|
alias |
Notes |
User-defined device details and information. |
No |
White Bulb |
|
tags |
Tags |
A method to label devices to group or categorize devices. Values cannot include spaces and use a , (comma) to separate tag values. |
No |
external,bulb,white |
|
deployment.status |
Deployment Status |
Represents the device's current lifecycle status. Allowed values: TO_BE_DEPLOYED DEPLOYED END_OF_LIFE NoteIf you will be assigning gateway infrastructure devices, such as Cisco Access Points, to their install location within Smart Location, set the deployment status to TO_BE_DEPLOYED. Only devices set to TO_BE_DEPLOYED can be assigned to a location. |
Yes |
TO_BE_DEPLOYED |
|
product |
Product Name |
Name of the product in a human-readable way; maximum of 32 characters allowed |
Yes |
External device |
|
productCode |
Product code |
Code of the product that identifies its type; maximum of 32 characters allowed |
No |
external_device |
|
category |
Device category |
Sets where the device is located within the Device Management, either within the Tags or Infrastructure Inventory menu. Allowed values: TAG INFRASTRUCTURE Tags: are BLE-only devices that are moving or wearables. Infrastructure: are devices that are stationary, maintaining a fixed position within a given location. For example, Cisco Access Points or other BLE-enabled Access Points. |
Yes |
TAG |
During this step, the most important requirement is that the CSV file contains the uniqueID column. This column is required to identify which device the configuration settings belong to.
Note
Be sure to review the Important guidelines when using third-party apps to update the CSV file to ensure the CVS file import file is formatted correctly.
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Open the CSV file template using an editor such as Notes, Microsoft Excel, or Google Sheets. Make sure to review the important guidelines when using third-party apps to update the CSV file.
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Locate the column or columns settings and update them as needed.
It's ok to delete the columns that are not being updated, but do not delete the uniqueID column or the header row with the column names.
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When complete, save as a CSV file and proceed to the next step.
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Sign in to Kio Cloud > from the Launchpad, select Device Management 2.0.
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From the Add Devices menu, select Import External > select the CSV file with the external device data.
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From the Success notification, select the option to view the CSV file.
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From the file, review the two import columns appended to the file to verify the import.
This step is optional, but provides an organized and visual representation of your external infrastructure gateway devices by location. You will need to know the device's MAC address or UniqueID and its Deployment Status is required to be set to "To be deployed".
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Sign in to Kio Cloud > from the Launchpad, select Smart Location.
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Navigate to the Campus, Building, and Floor where the external device is installed.
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From the upper-right corner, select Configure floor > select the Gateways tab.
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Select Assign new gateway > from the floor plan, select the room where the device is installed.
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From Choose gateways, select the device (by its Unique ID/MAC address) > select ADD.
The device is placed at the center of the visible floor plan. From the floor plan, you can select the device and move it to its exact install location.
Once imported, from the Device Management Tags and Infrastructure menus, use the search and filter options to view your external devices.
The below example illustrates searching for an external Tag device by its MAC address.
The below example illustrates using the filter Criteria option to view external Tag devices by setting the Criteria condition of Product and selecting the specific model of XYZ Beacon.
When using common third-party apps, these apps may attempt to identify the data types in each column and format the numbers. However, automatic detection can sometimes interpret large numbers as a scientific notation, which results in compatibility issues when importing the updated CSV file into Device Management.
Please follow the below guidelines when updating the CSV file to ensure that your updated CSV file imports successfully into Device Management.
Open Excel > create a new blank workbook. > From the toolbar, select the Data tab > from the Get External Data section, select From Text/CSV > Locate and select the exported CSV file > click Import.
For all columns, verify they are all set to the type of Text; do not select General or any other format. By specifying the columns as a text format, Excel preserves the original data format.
Create a new spreadsheet > go to File > Import > select the CSV file > uncheck the box next to Convert text to number, dates, and formulas > click Import data.