We use the template system to provision routers that get sent out to customers.
We have some pretty odd things going on such as voip working while the router is in bridge mode. We pretty much have everything set right in the template.
However the new update was freaking us out when it asked for "profiles" instead of templates - and 20 routers to send out today.
But we figured it out.
It appears you can continue to do this if you
1) Create a dummy profile - use the same name as your old template to make it easy
2) Put as little config into the profile as possible. You do have to create a wifi network and add it to the profile though but leave the 2.4ghz and 5ghz wifi switched off.
3) When you get to user defined variables, copy and paste your template config into the field. This can include everything such as WAN bridging, actual SSID and password configs and voip settings.
4) Your fields in the template that were designed to be variables will still appear on the config pages so you can still edit things like the ssid and passwords etc without using the profile but still do it like before as a template.
Just to clarify - it seems that the template you paste into the custom variable will override anything you put into the profile settings.
If your template had a wifi config, it will correctly overwrite the wifi config of the profile.
It looks like you figured most of it out on your own. I was in the process of writing a guide when you posted this and it will include it here for others. It confirms some of your findings.
Migrating from Templates to Profiles
Profiles represent the full configuration of a device and are created using a full wizard-style GUI. There are also reusable objects for WLAN and Management that can be linked to Profiles. This is a major change from the text-file based template approach used previously. This article will guide you in migrating from templates to profiles.
Since Profiles represent a full configuration of the device your template should as well. If you will be migrating a partial template, missing items should be entered into the Profile, WLAN and Management during creation. The cnMaestro Profile wizard aligns closely with the structure of device web UI, so can be used as a reference when entering values into cnMaestro.
Open a legacy template and copy its text.
Navigate to Configure -> Profiles. Click the Add New Profile button.
Select your Device Type, Enter a Name and select a Country. Click Next.
On the WLAN page click the Add button.
Enter a Name and click Next.
Uncheck Enabled and enter an SSID. Click Next until you are able to select Save.
Check the WLAN you just created and click the right arrow button > and then click Next.
On the Management page click the Add button.
Enter a Name and click Next until you are able to select Save.
Select the row you just created and click Next.
Continue to click Next until you reach the User-defined Overrides page.
In the text box past the legacy template you previously copied.
Text entered in the User-Defined Overrides page uses the same format as Template. Replacement variables are supported in the same way: ${VARIABLE_NAME=optional default}. Macros are also supported to automatically insert a device’s MAC Address or Serial Number using %{ESN} or %{MSN}.
MAC Address: %{ESN}
Serial Number: %{MSN}
Text entered in the User-Defined Overrides page will be given preference over any configuration values selected in the Profile. This is why if you are migrating a full configuration template no editing of default values is required. If a partial configuration template was used you will need to enter configuration parameters missing from the template into the profile during creation. Default values used in cnMaestro will match the default values used on the device during creation.
You will now be able to apply this Profile to devices. When a Profile is applied it will be mapped to the device and cnMaestro will track when the device become out of sync with the Profile. The Sync Configuration button at the top-right of the Profiles and Devices screens provides a centralized location for out of sync devices with a fast method for re-syncing them.
It would be nice if templates were still enabled for cnPilots. Is there any way to create a partial config without changed WLAN or WAN settings? There does not appear to be a way to bypass those options when creating a profile.
My trouble is, we have multiple devices with different PPPoE credentials deployed. Just overwritting options would not solve my problem if I want to change settings in mass.
