ZEBRA MN-004028-04 Workcloud Communication Location Area Service User Guide

ZEBRA MN-004028-04 Workcloud Communication Location Area Service

Copyright

2024/04/29 ZEBRA and the stylized Zebra head are trademarks of Zebra Technologies Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2023 Zebra Technologies Corporation and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only by the terms of those agreements. For further information regarding legal and proprietary statements, please go to SOFTWARE: zebra.com/linkoslegal. COPYRIGHTS: zebra.com/copyright. PATENTS: ip.zebra.com. WARRANTY: zebra.com/warranty. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT: zebra.com/eula.

Terms of Use

Proprietary Statement
This manual contains proprietary information about Zebra Technologies Corporation and its subsidiaries (“Zebra Technologies”). It is intended solely for the information and use of parties operating and maintaining the equipment described herein. Such proprietary information may not be used, reproduced, or disclosed to any other parties for any other purpose without the express, written permission of Zebra Technologies.

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Continuous improvement of products is a policy of Zebra Technologies. All specifications and designs are subject to change without notice.

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Zebra Technologies takes steps to ensure that its published Engineering specifications and manuals are correct; however, errors do occur. Zebra Technologies reserves the right to correct any such errors and disclaims liability resulting therefrom.

Limitation of Liability
In no event shall Zebra Technologies or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the accompanying product (including hardware and software) be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, consequential damages including loss of business profits, business interruption, or loss of business information) arising out of the use of, the results of use of, or inability to use such product, even if Zebra Technologies has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

About this Guide

This guide describes creating and configuring the Workcloud Communication Location Area Service (LAS).

NOTE: The screens and windows pictured in this guide are samples and can differ from actual screens.

Chapter Descriptions

Topics covered in this guide are as follows:

• This Guide explains document conventions and related documentation.
• Getting Started provides information about accessing and logging into Location Area Service (LAS).
• Location Area Service Configuration provides information about administering and configuring LAS.
• Location Area Service REST API provides information about updating information in LAS.

Notational Conventions

The following notational conventions make the content of this document easy to navigate.

• Bold text is used to highlight the following:
• A dialog box, window, and screen names
• Dropdown list and list box names
• Checkbox and radio button names
• Icons on a screen
• Key names on a keypad
• Button names on a screen
• Bullets (•) indicate:
• Action items
• List of alternatives
• Lists of required steps that are not necessarily sequential.
• Sequential lists (for example, those that describe step-by-step procedures) appear as numbered lists.

Related Documents

For the latest version of this guide and all guides, go to zebra.com/support

• Workcloud Communication PTT Pro for Android User Guide describes the usage and features of PTT Pro for Android.
• Workcloud Communication PTT Pro for iOS User Guide describes the usage and features of PTT Pro for iOS.
• Workcloud Communication PTT Pro Management Portal describes the administration features of the PTT Pro Management portal.
• Workcloud Communication PTT Pro for Android Configuration Guide describes the JSON parameters for the advanced configuration of PTT Pro for Android.
• Workcloud Communication PTT Pro Programmer Guide describes the intents used to configure PTT Pro for Android using the API.
• Workcloud Communication PTT Pro Installation Guide describes the installation procedures for PTT Pro for Android, PTT Pro for iOS, and PTT Lite.
• Zebra Communication Central Installation and Configuration Guide describes the use of Zebra Communication Central to support Bluetooth devices for PTT Pro for Android and Zebra Voice.

Service Information

If you have a problem with your equipment, contact Zebra Global Customer Support for your region. Contact information is available at: zebra.com/support.

When contacting support, please have the following information available:

• Serial number of the unit
• Model number or product name
• Software type and version number

Zebra responds to calls by email, telephone, or fax within the time limits outlined in support agreements. If your problem cannot be solved by Zebra Customer Support, you may need to return your equipment for servicing and will be given specific directions. Zebra is not responsible for any damages incurred during shipment if the approved shipping container is not used. Shipping the units improperly can void the warranty. If you purchased your Zebra business product from a Zebra business partner, contact that business partner for support.

Revision History

information regarding showcasing parameters.
MN-004028-04EN| April 2024| Rebranded to Workcloud Communication.

Getting Started

This guide is intended for customer administrators configuring the Location Area Service (LAS). LAS provides the capability to assign friendly names to wireless Access Points (APs). As a user moves throughout a facility, the APs continually report the user’s location using the friendly name assigned to the AP. On a device, the location is listed under the contact’s name.

Figure 1    Location Area Service for a Store

The LAS portal allows an administrator to view the access point information, including the BSSID, the friendly name, and the site name. An administrator can also use the LAS portal to import AP information, which is more convenient than using the API. When LAS is configured correctly, the location information represents the user association to an Access Point. Depending on the user’s connection to the access point, the association of a user to an AP might not be the nearest AP.

Configuration Overview

Configure the PTT Pro clients and then upload the AP information to the LAS server. Collect the information below to configure the clients and upload the AP information.

Table 1    Configuration Information

Swagger URL.
Portal URL| Required to access the portal and manage LAS data. Zebra will provide the portal URL.
URL for PTT Pro Configuration| Required to configure PTT Pro. The URL is specified in the

wfclasServerURL JSON parameter.

Zebra will provide the client URL.

Customer ID| Required to configure PTT Pro. Zebra will provide the customer ID.
API Key (token)| It required to configure PTT Pro and use the API. Zebra will provide the API key (token).

Location Area Service Configuration

Configure the PTT Pro clients with the JSON parameters. After you configure the clients, use the LAS portal to import a CSV file with the BSSID information of the access points. Optionally, you can configure the PTT Pro clients to show location data only when a Drop Detect event occurs.

Configure the PTT Pro Client

The PTT Pro client is configured using the JSON parameters described below. Refer to the PTT Pro for Android Configuration Guide for information about configuring PTT Pro with JSON parameters.

In addition to the JSON configuration, the PTT Pro client must meet the following requirements:

• PTT Pro version 3.2.10087 or later.
• Device location services must be enabled.

Table 2    JSON Parameters for LAS

Parameter| Description| Type| Default Value| Configurable Values
---|---|---|---|---
wfclasShowServerConfig| Displays the LAS server URL and API token in the PTT Pro client.| Boolean| N/A| true false
wfclasServerURL| URL to the LAS server.| String| N/A| Valid URL
wfclasServerToken| API token used by the PTT Pro client to authenticate with the LAS server| String| N/A| Unique alphanumeric string.
wfclasSiteID| Site or department ID. This number is specified in the PTT Pro server.| Integer| N/A| N/A
wfclasCustomerID| Customer ID is created by the LAS server when the customer account is created.| String| N/A| N/A

NOTE: When LAS is used with Profile Client, the Site ID and Customer ID are not required in the JSON file.

Example LAS Configuration

Sample PTT Pro Client Screenshots

The following screenshots display how location-related information appears in the PTT Pro client.

Figure 2    Contact Screen with LAS Location

Figure 3 Contact Information with LAS Location

Configure the LAS Server

For setting up and modifying the LAS database, use the LAS portal and the LAS APIs. This section describes doing a bulk upload of AP information using the LAS Portal. This is the simplest method of loading and viewing LAS information.
Use the username and password to log into the LAS portal.

Figure 4    LAS Portal Home Screen

The LAS portal displays the information from the CSV file.

BSSID
MAC address of the access point.

Asset Name
Name or description of the access point. You can specify the information to display in the portal. For example, the model and version of the access point.

Location Friendly Name
The location name is displayed in the PTT Pro client.

Date Added
The date when the record was added to the LAS server.

Date Changed
The date when the record was updated.

Site Name
The site name or identifier.

Using the Portal to Import LAS Data
Use the LAS portal to import the CSV file with the LAS data. After you import the file, you can view the configuration in the portal and verify that the location appears in the PTT Pro client.

1. Create the CSV file to import into the LAS server. See the CSV file for a description of the file format.
2. Log into the LAS portal.
3. Select Import APs to open the Import CSV File screen.
4. Select Choose File to upload a file from your computer.
5. (Optional) Select the Reset. checkbox to remove all LAS data before importing the new CSV file.
6. Select Upload.
7. Select Home to view the imported data.

LAS Import File Format

The import file is a CSV file that specifies the BSSID of the access points and the friendly name associated with each BSSID.

NOTE: The CSV file format must not be in UTF-8.

Table 3    CSV File Fields

store.

NOTE: If a new upload of the CSV file does not specify the SiteName, the site is removed from the LAS server.

NOTE: When LAS is used with the Profile Client, the LAS SiteName must match with the SiteID configured in the Profile Client.

BSSID| A 12-digit hexadecimal MAC address with the character pairs separated by colons.
AssetName| Name you can use to describe the access point. This information is displayed in the portal, not the PTT Pro client. It allows 64 alpha-numeric characters, spaces, and special characters.
LocationFriendlyName| The friendly name is displayed in PTT Pro. The name can include 32 alpha-numeric characters, spaces, and special characters.

Sample CSV File

Display Location Area Service Information for Drop Detect
LAS displays the location of a contact in different PTT Pro screens. An administrator can use the showlasinfo parameter to only show the location of a contact when a Drop Detect alert is sent. Requires PTT Pro 3.3.10203 or later.

Table 4 shows  the Parameters

Parameter| Description| Type| Default Value| Configurable Values
---|---|---|---|---
showcasing| Set to zero (0) to display the LAS location for a contact when a Drop Detect alert is triggered.

When set to one (1), the LAS location for a contact displays in the following areas:

•              Contacts

| Integer| NA| •              0 – Show LAS location for Drop Detect.

•              1 – Show LAS information in Contact screens.

 | •              Contact Search|  |  |
 | •              Favorites|  |  |
 | •              Favorite Search|  |  |
 | •              Contact Information in an Alert dialog|  |  |
 | •              Drop Detect message|  |  |
 | If the showcasing parameter is not present in the device configuration, the LAS

location is not displayed.

|  |  |

Location Area Service REST API

Use the LAS REST API to manage sites, APs, and users. The API can be accessed using tools such as Curl, Postman, or the Swagger interface. The LAS Swagger API provides three specifications:

Tenant
Used by the Zebra administrator to manage customers on the multi-tenant LAS server. This specification is visible but not available to customers.

API
Used by the customer to manage access points and AP users.

• Sites are locations that may be different stores, hospitals, or other entities that have different AP and AP user information. Sites are created when the APs are added.
• Access Points, or APs, are Wi-Fi devices that AP Users connect to and use for communication. The API allows adding, deleting, and displaying APs. APs are uniquely defined by BSSID and may also be identified through an asset name. APs are associated with a location-related name which can be displayed to users.
• AP Users are the users/devices that connect to the APs. The specification allows adding, deleting, and retrieving AP users.

Portal
Currently unused.

Authenticate for the API
Use of the API requires the customer ID and API key for authentication. Using the Swagger page, you can enter the API key and Customer ID and use the APIs. When using methods in the API, the following headers must be included:

• The API-Key header must be populated with the customer API Key. Zebra provides the API key.
• The Customer ID header must be populated with the customer ID. Zebra provides the customer ID. When using Swagger, click the green Authorize button to open the Available Authorizations screen.

Figure 5 Swagger API Authentication Screen

Enter the API key in the APIKey field and the Customer ID in the customerId field.

Customer APIs
The Access Point Controller and the AP User Controller provide methods for managing LAS data. See Parametersfor a description of the API parameters.

Access Point Controller
The Access Point controller provides methods to add, delete, and retrieve access points.

Get All-Access Points
Retrieves a list of access points.

Create a New Access Point Entry
Adds an access point to the LAS database.

Get Access Point by BSSID
Retrieves access point data for the specified BSSID.

Delete Access Point by BSSID
Removes the access point specified by the BSSID.

Export Access Point Entries
Exports access points to a CSV file with the same format as the import CSV file, with the addition of the Date Added and Date Modified columns.

Import Static Access Point Tables from CSV File
Uploads a CSV file of AP data. See the CSV file for the format of the CSV file.

Get All Sites
Returns all sites.

AP User Controller
The AP User controller provides methods to associate PTT Pro users with access points, delete the associates, and retrieve access point user information.

Create a New Access Point User
Creates or updates the association between a user, a site, and a BSSID.

Get All Users Info for the Access Point BSSID
Returns the user and AP information for all users associated with a specific BSSID and site ID.

Get All Users Info for the List of User IDs
Returns the user and AP information for the users identified by a list of User IDs and site IDs.

Get User Info for the Access Point by User ID
Provides user and AP information for the user identified by user ID and site ID.

Delete User
Remove the user identified by the site ID and user ID from LAS.

Parameters
The Access Point controller and the AP User controller use the following parameters.

Table 5 API Swagger Specification Parameters

displays this name when the client is associated with the access point. Usually, it is the department name in the store.
userId| The user is associated with the access point.

Using Curl to Add an Access Point
The following example adds an AP using Curl.

• www.zebra.com

References

• prod1-essentials.pttpro.zebra.com:9443/apname/v1

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