About Preparing to Add Hardware

You can prepare to add hardware to Oracle Enterprise Communications Platform (Oracle ECP) platform by reviewing the details for the Cloud Connectors and devices to be deployed and by checking the applicable Oracle ECP lifecycle state information.

You can add the hardware (also called onboarding) required to support your organization's business objectives to your Oracle ECP Inventory. Administrators gather the hardware details from supporting resources (such as vendor documentation, order details, and deployment plans) to collect information required to set up the Cloud Connectors and devices for remote access. After the hardware is onboarded and the hardware shipment is received at the deployment site, any authorized Oracle ECP user can complete the physical installation of Cloud Connectors and devices on your network.

Adding hardware to ECP Inventory requires specifying identifiers, authentication credentials, and other essential information used to provision hardware for secure connections over networks. All Oracle ECP log on persona (also called user roles) must perform onboarding as the first step of adding the Cloud Connectors and devices on the platform.

There are two ways to onboard hardware in the Oracle ECP UI: by typing values in fields directly on screen (to add a maximum of five devices or Cloud Connectors at a time), or by Onboard Hardware in Bulkwhich contains values for onboarding (for a maximum of one hundred devices or Cloud Connectors at a time). Whether you upload the values using a CSV file or type the values on screen, Oracle ECP validates each field (per entry) to enforce requirements, such as field length and supported characters. For details about data entry for fields on the onboarding form, see User Input Requirements.

Note:

Some spreadsheet applications automatically change long numbers in the cells of a Comma-Separated Value file (.CSV) to exponential notation format. For long fields such as the ICCID identifier, be sure to change the cell format (for example, from General to Number) to see the value as originally specified. You will have to repeat the format change to see the original value for long fields in future sessions when the file is saved in .CSV format.

After onboarding and physical installation on the network, all Cloud Connectors and devices progress through a series of lifecycle states that start with onboarding and continue through decommissioning (removal from Oracle ECP). These lifecycle states are explained later.

Prepare for Cloud Connector Onboarding

In Oracle ECP, a Cloud Connector is a gateway component that plays a primary role in connectivity to Oracle ECP Cloud and managing device life cycles. To onboard a Cloud Connector to Oracle ECP specify a friendly name that distinguishes the hardware. The name you specify must be unique for the customer. Besides the name, Oracle ECP requires only that you specify the serial number, planned connectivity type (Cellular or Ethernet), and planned authentication type, along with any required credentials (such as a client secret). For a cellular Cloud Connector equipped with Subscriber Information Module (SIM) cards from the external Mobile Network Operator (MNO) that will provide cellular connectivity services, onboarding requires you to specify additional information: the Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) number that identifies each SIM card and a check to enable Optional Connectivity by way of a Cellular interface. You can optionally specify other information such as the make, model, and description for the hardware.

Note:

The ICCID is usually printed on the physical SIM card, provided through Oracle supply chain work flows, and available on the SIM Cards Inventory Page (Unassigned tab).

If Oracle ECP is unable to validate values specified with the Add Hardware process, detailed messages display after you click Submit to help you correct any entry errors. ECP notifications inform you about the progress of onboarding activities and the Requests page provides current information about the progress of onboarding. Completing the deployment of a Cloud Connector requires an Oracle ECP user at the customer premises or field location to receive the equipment and finish the physical installation steps. The final steps include configuring parameters for operating on your network. After a Cloud Connector communicates with the cloud for the first time, it becomes active in Oracle ECP and can be managed and monitored remotely by authorized users. After onboarding, physical installation, and activation, a Cloud Connector progresses through lifecycle states for which details display on the Dashboards page. See Hardware Lifecycle States for more information about the states of Cloud Connector life cycles.

Prepare for Device Onboarding

Devices can range from basic sensors that record measurements to more complex equipment such as mobile devices that generate data as they perform many different functions. Devices generate data and connect over networks to collect and exchange data. Gather the following hardware and deployment details to onboard an device:

Device Type Decide which of the custom device types created during deployment apply for the customer's device needs.
Enable MDM Decide whether to onboard Mobile Device Management (MDM) enabled devices to Oracle ECP and trigger automatic device onboarding and setup on the external Ivanti Neurons for MDM Solution as you review onboarding results.
Device OS Type Indicate the Operating System for any MDM-enabled devices you will onboard to Oracle ECP. Note: Oracle ECP supports the Android Operating System only for integrated onboarding of MDM-enabled devices, that is, onboarding devices just onboarded to Oracle ECP to the Ivanti Neurons for MDM Solution.
Name (Required) Create a friendly name for the Device. The name must be unique for the customer.
Connectivity Type (Required) Decide which connectivity type you want the device to use for connecting to the Internet. Valid values: Cellular | Wi-Fi | Ethernet | Customer Managed Connectivity.
Serial Number Obtain the device serial number.
Make Obtain the name of the device manufacturer.
Model Obtain the model name the manufacturer uses to identify the device.
Device ID Obtain the device identifier.

Note: The device identifier must be unique for the customer. Oracle ECP generates an identifier automatically if you do not specify one.

MAC Obtain the Media Access Control (MAC) address that will serve as the physical address for this Device in one of the following formats:
  • XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
  • XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
  • XXXX.XXXX.XXXX
IMEI Obtain the 14-17 digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number that identifies the device associated with a SIM card when you plan to choose Cellular connectivity.You need one for each SIM card.

IMEI is required for MDM cellular devices.
ICCID (Required for Cellular connectivity) Obtain the 19-20 digit Integrated Circuit Card ID (ICCID) found on the back of the SIM Card when you plan to choose Cellular connectivity. You need one for each SIM card.
Description Prepare any additional details about the device that you want on this record. Characters: Minimum-0 | Maximum-100.
Authentication (Required) Plan the method for how you want the device to authenticate before connecting to the Cloud.
  • Client Secret—8-40 characters to use for authenticating the device.
  • No Authentication—No additional information is required.

Note: Oracle ECP does not support telemetry data ingestion to cloud for an device configured for no authentication.

Device will be moving Decide whether or not to select this if the device will be in motion (for example, installed in a moving vehicle). This value provides information only and has no associated functionality.
Country Note the country where the device will be installed.
  • When you choose United States (the), Oracle ECP requires entries for the remaining address fields.
  • When you choose a country other than the United States, Oracle ECP requires only the Street Address.
Street Address Note the street address for the building where the device will be installed. When the selected country is the United States, Oracle ECP requires the street address.
City/Town Note the city or town in which the device will be installed. When the selected country is the United States, Oracle ECP requires the city or town.
State/Region/Province Note the state in which the device will be installed. when the selected country is the United States. For other countries, enter the region or province.
Zip/Postal Code Note the zip code or postal code for the city in which the device will be installed. When the selected country is the United States, the zip or postal code can be five numeric characters. The four-digit extension is optional and must follow a hyphen, if specified. When a country other than the United States is selected, the postal code is optional.

If Oracle ECP is unable to validate values specified during onboarding, detailed messages display after you click Submit to help you correct any field entry errors. Oracle ECP notifications inform you about onboarding activity and the Requests page provides related details. Completing the deployment of an device requires an Oracle ECP user at the customer premises or field location to receive the equipment and finish the physical installation steps. The final steps include configuring parameters for operating on the customer's network. After an device communicates with the Cloud for the first time, it becomes active in Oracle ECP and can be managed and monitored remotely by authorized users. After onboarding, physical installation, and activation, an device progresses through lifecycle states for which details display on the Dashboard page. See Hardware Lifecycle States for more information about the states of device life cycles.

Indirectly Connected Devices

Indirectly connected devices are devices that receive their connectivity from a Cloud Connector. The Cloud Connector acts as a gateway providing a connection into the Oracle ECP Cloud. Indirectly connected devices operate like the directly connected devices that do not use an ECP Cloud Connector to connect to the cloud. For example, indirectly connected devices are onboarded using the same Oracle ECP onboarding process, have the same lifecycle states, and have metrics (such as onboarding counts and connectivity states) represented in visualizations on the dashboards.

Indirectly connected devices are defined as such in the Device Type profile which are pre-provisioned. When you choose a Device Type that's defined as an indirectly connected device, Edge Node is the only available connectivity type. After selecting Edge Node as the connectivity type, the process adds the Edge Nodes drop-down to allow you to choose the currently-onboarded Cloud Connector by name that will provide connectivity to the indirectly connected device.

Mobile Device Management-enrolled Devices

Mobile Device Management-enrolled devices are also enrolled in the Ivanti Neurons for Mobile Device Management (MDM) Solution. The combination of the Enable MDM check box on the onboarding form and access to the external MDM enable integrated onboarding of supported devices to ECP. In addition to onboarding, Oracle ECP supports MDM-enabled device progression through MDM-relevant life cycle states and sending MDM actions to devices. Customers with MDM-enrolled devices get the Devices Managed by MDM card on the Devices dashboard for all user roles.

Devices require onboarding in Oracle ECP and enrollment in the MDM solution. See MDM Onboarding Appendix for details per supported device type.

MDM-Specific Onboarding Requirements

When onboarding an MDM device, you must complete the following required fields in addition to the standard onboarding.

The following fields must be filled out when onboarding MDM-specific devices:
  • Enable MDM
  • Device OS Type (this field only appears only after selecting Enable MDM)

For more information on MDM Onboarding, refer to the MDM Onboarding Appendix.

Note:

For MDM Windows devices, the MDM-Lock and MDM-Unlock options are not supported.

MDM-managed Device Lifecycle States

Oracle Enterprise Communications Platform (Oracle ECP) maintains lifecycle states that reflect the progression of a device through the planned stages of activity.

MDM-managed devices progress through the three standard Oracle ECP lifecyle states. Because they are involved in the state progression for the ECP lifecycles, the MDM Device States from the MDM platform display on the MDM Tab of the Devices Detail Page. The lifecycle states have unique meaning when interacting with MDM server functions which are:
  1. When an MDM-managed device is onboarded to Oracle ECP, the lifecycle state changes to Onboarded.
  2. When an MDM-managed device is registered on the MDM server, the lifecycle state in Oracle ECP changes from Onboarded to Active.
  3. When a Wipe and Deactivate action is performed on the device, the state moves to Inactive. If only the Wipe action is performed, the device is wiped but remains in active state.
MDM-managed Devices also have the following MDM Device Status states on the external platform which are viewable on the MDM Tab:
  • The Active state indicates that the device is onboarded to the external MDM platform and is in the working state.
  • The Wipe Sent state indicates that a Wipe action has been issued for removing applications and data from the device.
  • The Wipe Pending state indicates that a Wipe action is pending for the device.
  • The Pending MDM-Wiped state indicates that the device has been wiped and can be re-onboarded to the MDM platform.
  • The Pending MDM state indicates that the device is not yet onboarded (registered) on the MDM platform.

Automatic Geocoding for Satellite Configuration

When you choose satellite connectivity for the Oracle Enterprise Communications Platform (Oracle ECP Cloud Connector during onboarding, the system requires the longitude and latitude coordinates for the physical location of the Cloud Connector. Oracle ECP can automatically insert the coordinates into the configuration fields when you enter a sufficient physical address.

Oracle ECP uses a system of match-codes to determine the longitude and latitude coordinates. An exact match is the best scenario, but certain inexact matches can also generate the necessary coordinates.

Insufficient matches generate an error message saying Oracle ECP cannot provide automatic geocoding. When Oracle ECP cannot provide automatic geocoding, you can enter the coordinates manually.

During bulk Cloud Connector onboarding by way of a .csv file, good matches will be automatically accepted. Insufficient matches will be rejected. Oracle ECP displays a list of the rejections on the Requests Details page.

Note:

Oracle ECP displays the longitude and latitude coordinates on the Cloud Connector More Information drawer under the Location heading.