Bluetooth Configuration

WiNG access points utilize a built-in Bluetooth chip for specific Bluetooth functional behaviors in a WiNG managed network. Both Bluetooth classic and Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology are supported. Bluetooth classic-enabled radios sense other Bluetooth-enabled devices and report device data (MAC address, RSSI and device calls) to an ADSP server for intrusion detection. If the device presence varies in an unexpected manner, ADSP can raise an alarm.

WiNG model access points support Bluetooth beaconing to emit either iBeacon or Eddystone-URL beacons. The access point‘s Bluetooth radio periodically sends non-connectable, undirected LE (low-energy) advertisement packets. These advertisement packets are short and sent on Bluetooth advertising channels that conform to already-established iBeacon and Eddystone-URL standards. However, portions of the advertising packet are customizable via the Bluetooth radio interface configuration context.

To define a Bluetooth radio interface configuration:

  1. Select Configuration → Devices → System Profile from the web UI.
  2. Expand the Interface menu and select Bluetooth.
    Click to expand in new window
    Profile Interface - Bluetooth Screen
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  3. Set the following Bluetooth Radio Configuration parameters:
    Admin Status Enable or Disable Bluetooth support capabilities for the access point radio transmissions.

    The default value is disabled.

    Description Define a 64 character maximum description for the access point‘s Bluetooth radio to differentiate this radio interface from other Bluetooth supported radio‘s that might be members of the same RF Domain.
  4. Set the following Basic Settings:
    Bluetooth Radio Functional Mode
    Set the access point‘s Bluetooth radio functional mode to either bt-sensor, le-beacon, le-tracking or le-sensor.
    • bt-sensors are Bluetooth classic sensors providing robust wireless connections for legacy devices. Typically these connections are not ideally suited for the newer Bluetooth low energy technology supported devices.
    • le-beacons are newer Bluetooth low energy beacons ideal for applications requiring intermittent or periodic transfers of small amounts of data. le-beacons are not designed as replacements for classic beacon sensors. The bt-sensor option is the default setting.
      Note: Setting the Bluetooth Radio Functional mode to 'le-beacon' enables the 'Beacon Transmission Period' and 'Beacon Transmission Pattern' options.
    Beacon Transmission Period

    Set the Bluetooth radio‘s beacon transmission period from 100 - 10,000 milliseconds. As the defined period increases, so does the CPU processing time and the number packets incrementally transmitted (typically one per minute). The default setting is 1,000 milliseconds.

    Beacon Transmission Pattern When the Bluetooth radio‘s mode is set to le-beacon, use the enabled drop-down menu to set the beacon‘s emitted transmission pattern to eddystone_url1, eddystone_url2, or ibeacon.

    An eddystone-URL frame broadcasts a URL using a compressed encoding scheme to better fit within a limited advertisement packet. Once decoded, the URL can be used by a client for internet access. If an eddystone-URL beacon broadcasts https:anysite, then clients receiving the packet can access that URL.

    iBeacon was created by Apple for use in iOS devices (beginning with iOS version 7.0). Apple has made three data fields available to iOS applications: a UUID for device identification, a Major value for device class, and a Minor value for more refined information like product category.

  5. Define the following Eddystone Settings if you have set the Beacon Transmission Pattern to either eddystone_url1 or eddystone_url2:
    Eddystone Beacon Calibration Signal Strength Set the Eddystone Beacon measured calibration signal strength, from -127 dBm to 127 dBm, at 0 meters. Mobile devices can approximate their distance to beacons based on received signal strength. However, distance readings can fluctuate since they depend on several external factors. The closer you are to a beacon, the more accurate the reported distance. This setting is the projected calibration signal strength at 0 meters. The default setting is -19 dBm.
    URL-1 to Transmit Eddystone-URL

    Enter a 64-character maximum Eddystone-URL1. The URL must be 18 characters or less once auto-encoding is applied. URL encoding is used when placing text in a query string to avoid confusion with the URL itself. It is typically used when a browser sends data to a web server.

    URL-2 to Transmit Eddystone-URL

    Enter a 64-character maximum Eddystone-URL2. The URL must be 18 characters or less once auto-encoding is applied. URL encoding is used when placing text in a query string to avoid confusion with the URL itself. It is typically used when a browser sends data to a web server.

  6. Define the following iBeacon Settings if you have set the Beacon Transmission Pattern to ibeacon:
    Beacon Calibration Signal Strength Set the iBeacon measured calibration signal strength, from -127 dBm to 127 dBm, at 1 meter. Mobile devices can approximate their distance to beacons based on received signal strength. However, distance readings can fluctuate since they depend on several external factors. The closer you are to a beacon, the more accurate the reported distance. This setting is the projected calibration signal strength at 1 meter. The default setting is -60 dBm.
    iBeacon Major Number Set the iBeacon major value from 0 - 65, 535. Major values identify and distinguish groups. For example, each beacon on a specific floor in a building could be assigned a unique major value. The default value is 1,111.
    iBeacon Minor Number Set the iBeacon minor value from 0 - 65, 535. Minor values identify and distinguish individual beacons. Minor values help identify individual beacons within a group of beacons assigned a major value. The default setting is 2,222.
    iBeacon UUID

    Define a 32 hex character maximum Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID). The UUID classification contains 32 hexadecimal digits, split into 5 groups, separated by dashes – for example, f2468da6-5fa8-2e84-1134- bc5b71e0893e. The UUID distinguishes iBeacons in the network from all other beacons in networks outside of your direct administration.

  7. Select OK to save the changes to the Bluetooth configuration.
    Select Reset to revert to the last saved configuration. Saved configurations persist across reloads.