Wireless Interfaces

You can configure a monitoring point for wireless network connectivity if required and if your monitoring point supports it. 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.

Add a wireless interface

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

Web admin

  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. Update security settings.
    1. In the Security field, select the security type.
    2. In the Passphrase field, specify the wireless network passphrase.
    3. Click Next.
  7. Update the interface configuration.
    1. In the Address Family field, select the type of IP addressing (IPv4 or IPv6) for the interface.
    2. Configure addressing.
    3. (optional) Configure DNS.
    4. (optional) Configure transmission parameters.
    5. (optional) Configure static routes.
    6. Click Submit.
  8. Restart networking.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is operational when networking restarts.
  9. Check the interface status.
    1. Navigate to Home.
    2. In the Network State section, check the Status for the interface.
      • It should be Up.
  10. 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

  1. Complete device setup.
  2. Access the Admin API.
  3. Determine which interfaces are already configured:
    1. Navigate to Interface > GET /interface/.
    2. Click Try it out.
    3. Click Execute.
      • The Server response section should show Code “200” and show 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. Click Try it out.
    3. 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).
    4. Click Execute.
      • The Server response section should show Code “200” and the specified files are loaded onto the monitoring point.
  5. Add the interface.
    1. Navigate to Interface > POST /interface/.
    2. Click Try it out.
    3. Copy the section of JSON text depending on the security protocol you are using:
    4. Edit the JSON text substituting the variables as appropriate.
    5. In the Parameters section, in the body field, paste the JSON text.
    6. Click Execute.
      • The Server response section should show Code “200” to confirm that the interface was successfully created and configured.
  6. Restart networking.
    • 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.

curl

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

  3. Find out which interfaces are already configured.

    curl -k -u <username> -X GET -H 'Accept: application/json' 'https://<hostname>/api/v1/interface/?config_state=active' | python -m json.tool

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

    curl -k -u <username> -X POST -H 'Expect:' -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' -H '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://<hostname>/api/v1/interface/file/ | python -m json.tool
    • <full_path_to_file> - the full path to the appropriate 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 the variables as appropriate.
    3. Save the text to a file called wifi-config.json.

    4. Create the interface.

       curl -k -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" --data-binary @wifi-config.json https://admin:<password>@<hostname>/api/v1/interface/

  6. Restart networking to apply the changes.

     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 -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d {} https://admin:<password>@<hostname>/api/v1/service/networking/action=restart
  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.

The variables above are defined as follows:

  • <username> - the user name on the monitoring point.
  • <hostname> - the hostname or IP address of the monitoring point.

USB

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 (if required).
    • Replace content in arrow brackets (no arrow brackets should remain).
  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.

Web admin

  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.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is operational when networking restarts.
  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.

Edit a wireless interface configuration

Web admin

  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.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is operational when networking restarts.
  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.

Admin API

  1. Access the Admin API.
  2. Navigate to Interface > PUT /interface/{interface name}/.
  3. Click Try it out.
  4. In the Parameters section:
    1. In the interface_name field, enter the interface you want to edit (e.g., wlan0).
    2. In the body field, update the fields as appropriate.
  5. Click Execute.
    • The Server response section should show Code “200” to confirm that the interface was updated.
  6. Restart networking.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity to the Admin API.
    • The interface is available to use.

Web admin

  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.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is operational when networking restarts.
  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.

Delete a wireless interface

Web admin

  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.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is deleted when networking restarts.
  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

  1. Access the Admin API.
  2. Navigate to Interface > DELETE /interface/{interface_name}.
  3. Click Try it out.
  4. In the Parameters section, in the interface_name field, enter the name of the interface you are removing.
    1. Click Execute.
      • The Server response section should show Code “200” to confirm that the interface was successfully deleted.
  5. Restart networking.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity to the Admin API.
  6. Confirm that the interface was deleted.
    1. Navigate to Interface > GET /interface/.
    2. Click Try it out.
    3. Click Execute.
      • The Server response section should show Code “200” and the configured interfaces.

curl

  1. Discover your monitoring point hostname at > Manage Monitoring Points.

  2. Find out which interfaces are configured.

    curl -k -u <username> -X GET -H 'Accept: application/json' 'https://<hostname>/api/v1/interface/?config_state=active' | python -m json.tool

  3. Delete the interface.

    curl -k -u <username> -X DELETE -H 'Accept: application/json' 'https://<hostname>/api/v1/interface/<interface_name>/?family=<family>' | python -m json.tool

  4. Restart networking to apply the changes.

    curl -k -u <username> -X PUT -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d {} 'https://<hostname>/api/v1/service/networking/?action=restart' | python -m json.tool
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is deleted when networking restarts.

The variables above are defined as follows:

  • <username> - the user name on the monitoring point.
  • <hostname> - the hostname or IP address of the monitoring point.
  • <interface name> - the name of the interface you are deleting (e.g., eth1).
  • <family> - either ‘inet’ for IPv4 or ‘inet6’ for IPv6.

Web admin

  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.
    • You will briefly lose connectivity.
    • The interface is deleted when networking restarts.
  5. Confirm that the interface was removed.