Managing a Site > Device Management > Device Groups

Overview

From a device management point of view, it is important to start by ensuring the existence of appropriate Device Groups within the site, meaning, compatible with the devices to be used in the site. This is fundamental because most of the tasks involving devices are executed at Device Group level (creating a configuration, planning a deployment, etc.).

Step-by-step

1. In the Site Dashboard's "Control Panel", click Devices Button and, in the resulting row below, click Device Groups Sub Module Button to access the "Device Groups" page.

Device Groups Page Grid View

2. Click to open the "New Device Group" page.

New Device Group Prop Tab

3. This page is set to "edit mode". Fill in the following options (the mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk) on the "Properties" tab:

Name *	Define the name for the new device group. We recommend you avoid special characters and consider the related best practices when you define a device group's name: •Use alphabetic/numeric characters (a-z; A-Z; 0-9) •Underscore and/or dash characters are allowed •Always start the entity's name with an alphabetic character
Select Device Type *	Select the device group's manufacturer and the model from the corresponding drop-down boxes. As an alternative, click and select a device type. See Detail of a Select Device Type window below. The Samsung manufacturer provides a "Generic Device Android" option - this "generic device model" is compatible with all Samsung Android devices. This means you can create a device group for "Generic Device Android" devices (it can contain different Samsung models). This is NOT available for other manufacturers. The "Model" drop-down includes a few listed models with an "" as a wild card. Selecting one of these models allows the device group to include the variations of the referenced model. Ex: A device group with "Panasonic / TOUGHPAD FZ-G1 (FZG1) - Windows 10" defined as "Device Model" can accept Panasonic's "FZG1A", "FZF1B", "FZG1C", etc. devices. Available on selected device models ONLY.
Filebox Sync. Folder	Define a folder to synchronize files between the MCL-Mobility Platform's Filebox and the device group's private filebox (see Filebox). Any files sent to this folder will be redistributed to all the devices included in the device group. 1. Click to open a window with a drop-down list of available folders in the Outbox area of the platform's filebox (see Creating a New Folder). 2. Select the required folder. 3. Click to conclude and return to the "Properties" tab OR to abort the operation. Instead of selecting an existing folder in the "Filebox Sync. Folder" option, you can enter a name for the folder and it will be created/displayed in the platform's Outbox area. However, we recommend following all the steps described in Creating a New Folder to ensure the synchronization between platform and target device group.
Remote Control Mode	Considering your use of the "Remote Control" feature, select the most appropriate option: Disabled - Check this option if you do NOT intend to use this feature for the devices included in this device group. Public Network - Check this option if you want MCL-Mobility Platform's Remote Control Service to manage the device's remote connection, meaning, to have a device > MCL-Mobility Platform's Remote Control Service > PC/browser connection. Private Network - If you check this option, the required remote connection is managed by the PC/Browser - the connection is established within a local network and there is NO MCL Mobility Platform involvement. See Remote Control.
Description	If relevant, add notes regarding the new device group.

Detail of a Select Device Type window

Select a device A

To select a device type, proceed as follows:

a. In the "New Device Group" page, click the button of the "Select Device Type" option. This opens a "Select Device Type" window with the available device types in a grid view.

The “Device Type“ list only displays the devices selected when the current site was created. For more detailed information, see "Site Details" - Device Types tab.

b. Select the appropriate device type by checking the corresponding .

c. Click to conclude and return to the "New Device Group" page OR to abort the selection.

Use the following options to control the display of listed items:

•Use the search box to filter the information:

a. Enter what you want to search for.

b. Click or press <ENTER> in your PC keyboard to initiate the search.

c. To conclude the search operation, empty the search box and click or press <ENTER> in your PC keyboard.

•Filter the display by selecting a specific manufacturer from the drop-down list.

4. Go to the "Server" tab.

New Device Group Server Tab

5. Select an available server from the "Server" drop-down list.

The fields below will automatically display information regarding the selected server (Address, Port, Subnet, Gateway) which is entered in the "Servers" sub-module.

For more information, see Server Details.

If you select "-Custom-", you will have to fill in the remaining fields.

Address	Enter the custom server's address.
Port	Enter the custom server's port.
Subnet	Enter the custom server's subnet mask.
Gateway	Enter the custom server's gateway.

6. Proceed to the "Custom Labels" tab.

New Device Group Cust field Label Tab

7. If required, enter new labels to substitute the default device field labels (Info 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

Remember that customizing these device field labels will only affect the devices contained in this particular device group. To modify the device field labels of all the devices included in the site's device groups, you must edit them in the Site Details sub-module. For more information, see Site Details.

8. Click to conclude the operation.

The new device group is displayed in the "Device Groups" page.