Wireless Interfaces

Some devices can be configured for wireless network connectivity, though the methods available for doing so vary by model.
When adding a wireless interface, you will need to know the SSID, the security type, and the pass phrase for the wifi network you want to connect to.

To change the SSID on a wireless interface, you need to delete the interface, restart networking, then add a new interface with the new SSID and restart networking again.

At this time, WPA2 Enterprise configuration must be done through the Admin API or by using curl.

Web admin - add a wireless interface

  1. Complete device setup.
  2. Log in to Web Admin.
  3. Click Network Configuration.
  4. Click Add Wi-fi Interface.
  5. Make your changes.
  6. Click Restart Networking.
  7. Check the interface status.
    • The Web Admin home page shows the status of the wireless interface; there are three possible states: connected, configured but not connected, not configured. The wireless LED, if present, indicates the same three states.
  8. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.

Web admin - edit a wireless interface

  1. Log in to Web Admin.
  2. Click Network Configuration.
  3. Click the Wi-Fi interface name.
  4. Make your changes.
  5. Click Restart Networking.
  6. Check the interface status.
    • The Web Admin home page shows the status of the wireless interface; there are three possible states: connected, configured but not connected, not configured. The wireless LED, if present, indicates the same three states.
  7. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.

Web admin - delete a wireless interface

  1. Log in to Web Admin.
  2. Click Network Configuration.
  3. For the wireless interface you want to delete, click Delete Interface.
  4. Click Restart Networking.
  5. Confirm that the interface was removed.

Web admin - add a wireless interface

  1. Complete device setup.
  2. Log in to Web Admin.
  3. Navigate to Network Settings > Network Interfaces.
  4. Click Add Interface and select Wireless.
  5. Click the wireless network you want to connect to.
    • Wait for the configuration page to appear.
  6. Make your changes.
  7. Restart networking.
  8. Check the interface status.
    1. Navigate to Home.
    2. In the Network State section, check the Status for the interface.
      • It should be Up.
  9. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.

Web admin - edit a wireless interface

  1. Log in to Web Admin.
  2. Navigate to Network Settings > Network Interfaces.
  3. For the interface you want to edit, navigate to > Edit.
    • Wait for the configuration page to appear.
  4. Make your changes.
  5. Restart networking.
  6. Check the interface status.
    1. Navigate to Home.
    2. In the Network State section, check the Status for the interface.
      • It should be Up.
  7. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.

Web admin - delete a wireless interface

  1. Log in to Web Admin.
  2. Navigate to Network Settings > Network Interfaces.
  3. For the interface you want to delete, navigate to > Delete.
  4. Click Confirm.
  5. Restart networking.
  6. Confirm that the interface was removed.
    1. Navigate to Home.
    2. In the Network State section:
      • The Status should be Down.
      • The Info should be SSID: None.

Admin API - add a wireless interface

  1. Complete device setup.
  2. Access the Admin API.
  3. Determine which interfaces are already configured:
    1. Navigate to Interface > GET /interface/.
    2. Click Submit.
      • The Response Body section shows the configured interfaces.
      • Confirm that the wireless interface is not already configured.
  4. If you are connecting to an access point that uses WPA2 Enterprise authentication, load the appropriate certificate/key files:
    1. Navigate to Interface > POST /interface/file/.
    2. In the Parameters section:
      • For the wpa_ca_cert field, click Choose File and browse to the file containing the CA certificate (PEM/DER format).
      • For the wpa_client_cert field, click Choose File and browse to the file containing the client certificate (PEM/DER format).
      • For the wpa_private_key field, click Choose File and browse to the file containing the client private key (PEM/DER/PFX format).
    3. Click Submit.
      • The specified files are loaded onto the monitoring point
  5. Add the interface.
    1. Navigate to Interface > POST /interface/.
    2. Copy the section of JSON text depending on the security protocol you are using:
    3. Edit the JSON text substituting your wireless SSID, key/password, and certificate file names as appropriate.
    4. In the Parameters section, in the body field, paste the JSON text.
    5. Click Submit.
      • In the Response Body section, look for "success": true to confirm that the interface was successfully created and configured.
  6. Restart networking to apply the changes.
    1. Navigate to Service > PUT /service/{service_name}/.
    2. In the Parameters section:
      1. Set service_name to “networking”.
      2. Set action to “restart”.
      3. Click Submit.
        • You will briefly lose connectivity to the Admin API.
  7. Verify that your new interface exists by repeating Step 3.
  8. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.

Admin API - delete a wireless interface

  1. Access the Admin API.
  2. Navigate to Interface > DELETE /interface/{interface_name}.
  3. In the Parameters section, in the interface_name field, enter the name of the interface you are removing.
    1. Click Submit.
      • In the Response Body section, look for "success": true to confirm that the interface was successfully deleted.
  4. Restart networking to apply the changes.
    1. Navigate to Service > PUT /service/{service_name}/.
    2. In the Parameters section:
      1. Set service_name to “networking”.
      2. Set action to “restart”.
      3. Click Submit.
        • You will briefly lose connectivity to the Admin API.
  5. Confirm that the interface was deleted.
    1. Navigate to Interface > GET /interface/.
    2. Click Submit.
      • The Response Body section shows the configured interfaces.

curl - add a wireless interface

  1. Complete device setup.
  2. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points to determine the device hostname.

  3. Determine which interfaces are already configured using:

    curl -X GET --header "Accept: application/json" "https://<hostname>/api/v1/interface/?config_state=active"

  4. If you are connecting to an access point that uses WPA2 Enterprise authentication, load the appropriate certificate/key files:

     curl -k -X POST --header 'Expect:' --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' --header 'Accept: application/json' -F wpa_ca_cert=@<full_path_to_file> -F wpa_client_cert=@<full_path_to_file> -F wpa_private_key=@<full_path_to_file> https://admin:<password>@<hostname>/api/v1/interface/file/
  5. Add the interface.
    1. Copy the section of JSON text depending on the security protocol you are using:
    2. Edit the JSON text substituting your wireless SSID, key/password, and certificate file names as appropriate.
    3. Save the text to a file called wifi-config.json.

    4. Create the interface.

      curl -k -X POST –header “Content-Type: application/json” –data-binary @wifi-config.json https://admin:@/api/v1/interface/

  6. Verify that your changes are pending.

    curl -k https://admin:<password>@<hostname>/api/v1/interface/?config_state=pending

  7. Restart networking. You will briefly lose connectivity to the Admin API.

    curl -k -X PUT --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d {} https://admin:<password>@<hostname>/api/v1/service/networking/action=restart
  8. Verify that your new interface exists by repeating Step 3.
  9. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.

USB - add a wireless interface

If you are connecting to an access point that uses WPA2 Enterprise authentication, you will need to upload a CA certificate, client certificate, and/or a client private key to the monitoring point before configuring the interface. Use the steps in the curl or the Admin API instructions above to upload these files.

To add a wireless interface:

  1. Complete device setup.
  2. Download the wireless interface config file.
  3. Edit the downloaded config file for your needs.
    • Uncomment sections to be used.
    • Replace content in arrow brackets.
  4. Copy the file onto a USB stick.
  5. Make sure the monitoring point is ready.
  6. Insert the USB stick into the monitoring point.
    • The monitoring point reads the configuration from the USB stick and indicates that it is doing so.
  7. Wait until the monitoring point is finished.
  8. Remove the USB stick.
    • The monitoring point configuration is updated.
    • Any problems updating the configuration are logged in the usb.log file on the USB stick.
  9. Verify that the interface acquired an IP address.
    1. In APM, navigate to > Manage Monitoring Points.
    2. Select the monitoring point you are interested in.
    3. On the right side panel, check Local Network Interfaces for an IP address on the interface.