Preparation
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Preparation #

After completing a system design, you need to summarize what you prepare before performing the installation work.

Definition of workflow #

A large-scale IoT operation requires the following works. Some work requires temporary labor, so you will need to find a contractor who can cooperate.

  • (Develop Cast destination server and an application)
  • Procurement
  • Kitting
  • Installation
  • Maintenance

Procurement #

You can purchase devices from official suppliers such as RS Components. Please refer to Device Procurement and Selection for the goods to be procured.

Kitting #

Kitting is to set up devices before the installation work. Here, it is assumed that Tag, Device Name, etc., are also set from the Actcast Web screen together.

Things to do before kitting #

Create a group #

Before kitting, you need to create a group on Actcast. It’s a good idea to create a group for each person involved and each project.

Since System Cast described later may be in units of groups, groups should be created in units of sharing event notifications. Creating a large group gives excessive privileges to the group members, making it difficult to understand the cause in the event of an erroneous operation.

Add member #

After creating a group, add members. Members can be assigned Roles.

The members of a kitting company must be invited as Developer or Kitting to give the privilege to install an Act.

Actcast does not provide logs of operations, so you should be aware of misoperations by Developer and Kitting members.

Prepare for emergency Wi-Fi #

Emergency Wi-Fi is a network for emergency use at an installation site. We recommend that you share the SSID / Password between the kitting company and the installer to check the internet connection on this network.

It is assumed that the installer will carry equipment that can use the network regardless of location using portable routers, smartphone tethering, etc., and when on-site Wi-Fi is not available, they use the emergency Wi-Fi to make devices connective to the internet.

Get wireless information of an installation site #

When connecting to the network wirelessly at an installation site, it is necessary to know the SSID / Password of the Wi-Fi at the site in advance.

What to do with kitting #

Let’s summarize what to do with kitting.

  1. Issue of provisioning token

    • Provisioning tokens have a limited lifespan and choose a length depending on the number of days you want to kit (up to 30 days)

  2. Burn an image to a micro SD card with Actcast Writer

    1. Enter Wi-Fi information Set priorities in the following order

      1. On-site Wi-Fi information
      2. Emergency Wi-Fi information

  3. Confirm that the device status become Found from the web Actcast screen with the emergency Wi-Fi

  4. Input Tag and Device Name

  5. Make a note of the Tag and Device Name on sticky notes or labels and attach them to the device.

  6. (Install the Act to be used at an installation site)

If you do not use Wi-Fi at the installation site, make sure to connect to the network with a wired connection. You do not need to enter Wi-Fi information at that time.

It’s essential to make sure devices can connect to the internet with emergency Wi-Fi. If devices can’t connect to the site Wi-Fi at the installation site, you’ll have to use emergency Wi-Fi to update the Wi-Fi information from the Actcast web screen.

Incorrect input is a problem when entering the Wi-Fi SSID / Password. You should make sure to check the connection to emergency Wi-Fi when kitting. There may be errors such as a copy of a wrong target when copying and pasting or entering an extra space when selecting.

It is also important to map a physical device to an item visible from the Actcast web screen. It is a good idea to know an installation location in advance and change the Device Name so that anyone can see that it is an installation location.

If you install Act in advance, you will be charged unless you uninstall it because Actcast counts the kitting date as a start even if you do not use it.If there are days between kitting and installation, you can install it once and then uninstall it to not be available, and you will not have to reinstall the download when you reinstall it.

If you set up multiple micro SD cards simultaneously in this flow, you will not know which physical device corresponds to the item that will be Found state on Actcast web screen when you, so there is also a check method. You can blink the LED of the corresponding physical device by clicking the Blink LED from Device Details.

With a micro SD card duplicator, you can duplicate micro SD cards at a time. When using a duplicator, be sure to use the same product for the copy source and copy destination micro SD cards. In that case, it is convenient to take the following steps.

  • Burn two micro SD cards in Actcast Writer consecutively with the same settings
  • Connect one to your device and see if you can connect to emergency Wi-Fi
  • Duplicate the micro SD card that is not used for connection confirmation with the duplicator
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