IPERA Starling - Meraki CMX Integration

Purpose

This document provides information about how to enable Meraki CMX to share the Floor Map and Location information with IPERA STARLING Engagement server by using API Key. IPERA Server processes this information for multiple purposes:

• Reports & Analytics – Providing Presence and Location Analytics 
• Engagement Campaigns (e.g.: Triggered Campaigns) – sends message to the user device
• Business systems – to notify when a guest is entered in the venue 
• Wayfinding – shares the device location information with Wayfinding Mobile App 

Special Note

To ensure the effective functioning of our IPERA system location analytics, it’s crucial that you upload the relevant maps to the Meraki dashboard. Additionally, please verify that the access points are correctly positioned on these maps. Without the appropriate maps in Meraki, the location analytics feature will not operate as intended.

Meraki location engine requires a minimum of three access points (APs) to accurately calculate x and y coordinates for location tracking. With fewer than three APs, location data cannot be generated.

General Overview

Following minimum configuration steps to be completed for CMX to generate location information and share with IPERA

1. Get "Meraki Dashboard API Key"
2. Get "Validator" from "Location and scanning"
3. Send these two values to IPERA
4. IPERA will provide an URL
5. Enter the URL provided by IPERA in "Post URL" text box

Steps

1. Enable Dashboard API Access

                b.  Login to Meraki Cloud

                c.  Click the "Organization / Settings" menu

             d.  Tick "Enable access to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard API" checkbox and click the "Save Changes" button below

             e.   Click the "profile" link below the checkbox to visit the user profile page. Scroll down to "API access" section and click "Generate new API key" button

              f.   Copy and store the API key. This is the only time the API key is displayed. If you lose or forget the API Key you have to generate a new one. 

Then tick "I have stored my new API key" checkbox and click "Done" button

2. Enable Location Scanning

                   a.  Click "Network-wide / General" menu

                    b.  Scroll down to "Location and scanning" section

Select "Analytics enabled" in the "Analytics" options. Then select "Scanning API enabled" in "Scanning API" options.

3. Validate the API Key

Validate the API Key from IPERA STARLING

     a.  Select Settings > System Settings > Advanced

       b.  Select Meraki CMX from “Location Analytics” section

         c.  Fill the fields and then click to save

4. Enter the Provided Values

Click the Add a Post URL link and enter "Post URL" and "Secret" values provided by IPERA

 

Save and Finish
Click the Save button below to update settings

5. Import the Merki CMX location in Starling

Disabling the location scanning

1. Click "Network-wide / General" menu

2. Scroll down to "Location and scanning" section

Select "Analytics disabled" in the "Analytics" options.