cnMaestro On-Premises 1.4.0 Released

cnMaestro On-Premises 1.4.0 has been posted to the Cambium Support Center website. You can access the software here. This is an OVA update, which means existing cnMaestro On-Premises installations should export their data and import into cnMaestro 1.4.0. The basic steps are defined in the User Guide. The new features available in this release include the following:

Wireless LAN (WiFi-Only) View

A simplified WiFi UI for users managing cnPilot Enterprise devices (including the cnPilot E-Series and ePMP Hotspot) has been added. The Wireless LAN View hides all traces of Fixed Wireless and focuses exclusively on Enterprise Wireless LAN. Customers creating new Company Accounts can select the Wireless LAN Account Type in the account creation page. Current customers can choose the view at Manage > Settings > Account Type (see graphic below; note only Enterprise WLAN devices should be in the account prior to the change).

The updates to the WiFi Only View include:

Update

Details

Single Device Type

Only cnPilot Enterprise devices are supported.

Simplified Configuration

Provisioning options for Fixed Wireless and cnPilot Home products are not included.

Simplified Presentation

Towers and dashboard components for Fixed Wireless devices are also absent.

Data ReportsPro.png

Export and download the following types of CSV (comma-separated value) Reports.

Report

Details

Device

Current device statistics for all devices, ePMP, PMP, and WiFi.

Performance

Time-series data for ePMP, PMP and WiFi over the last day or week.

Active Alarms

List of immediate active alarms.

Alarm History

List of active and historical alarms over the last day or week.

Events

List of events over the last day or week.

An example of the Device Data Report configuration for ePMP is presented below. The administrator can choose the fields to be included. Device and subtree selection is done using the navigation tree. For example, one can select a Network node to generate a report for all devices in that network.

Auto-ProvisioningPro.png

Automatically configure and approve WiFi devices connecting to an on-premises installation. Rules are created based upon the CIDR subnet of the device.

cnMaestro Pro FeaturesPro.png

The Data Reports and Auto-Provisioning features have been labelled “Pro”, which means theywill be included in the future as part of a paid version of the product. Features not marked “Pro” will part of cnMaestro Basic, which is free of charge.

Data Quota Limit

A Data Quota Limit is supported for both Controller- and RADIUS-based Guest portals. For Controller-based, the limit is either directional or based on total data. When the limit is reached, the client is disconnected. Similar behavior is supported through the following RADIUS attributes (the “gigwords” are used for data quota limits above 4 GB):

Attribute

Value

RADIUS_VENDOR_ID_CAMBIUM

17713

RADIUS_VENDOR_ATTR_CAMBIUM_WIFI_QUOTA_UP

151

RADIUS_VENDOR_ATTR_CAMBIUM_WIFI_QUOTA_DOWN

152

RADIUS_VENDOR_ATTR_CAMBIUM_WIFI_QUOTA_UP_GIGWORDS

153

RADIUS_VENDOR_ATTR_CAMBIUM_WIFI_QUOTA_DOWN_GIGWORDS

154

RADIUS_VENDOR_ATTR_CAMBIUM_WIFI_QUOTA_TOTAL

155

RADIUS_VENDOR_ATTR_CAMBIUM_WIFI_QUOTA_TOTAL_GIGWORDS

156

SMS One-Time Password (OTP)

SMS OTP supports Twilio, SMS Country, and Gupshup gateway providers. It enables SMS OTP to be delivered to an end user cell phone. Once OTP is received, the client can enter the one-time-password to get Internet access.

WiFi L2GRE/EoGRE Tunnel Concentrator

Ability to tunnel wireless traffic from the APs to cnMaestro On-Premises, which acts as a tunnel concentrator. This is useful when the client’s IP range is not routable. Note the AP must have a software version of 3.1.1-r16 or later in order to use this feature. More information is available  here.

WiFi Automatic Configuration Synchronization

WiFi devices configured with AP Groups can be automatically synchronized whenever the configuration changes. This feature is set in the AP Group. By default all new cnPilot Enterprise AP Groups will have the feature enabled, and cnPilot Home AP Groups will have it disabled. Existing AP Groups (Profiles) will also have this feature disabled after the update, and it will need to be explicitly turned on by the administrator.

WiFi UI Improvements

A number of updates have been added to the WiFi configuration and management screens.

Update

Description

Profiles Renamed to AP Groups

The Profile WiFi configuration object has been renamed to AP Groups.

AP Group Dashboard

An aggregate dashboard is provided for AP Groups in addition to Sites. AP Groups represent a collection of devices with a shared configuration. (In contrast, Sites group devices by location -- such as the floor of a building).

AP Group Hierarchy

AP Groups are now added to the Network hierarchy in their own section. This is beneficial to WiFi administrators with small number of devices: they do not have to create Networks or Sites for initial device onboarding.

Simplified WiFi Policies

Merged the Management Policy into AP Groups and separated WLANs into a top-level table.

First AP Wizard

Wizard to simplify the onboarding of the first AP in an account.

Easier WiFi Configuration

Removed the step interface and decreased the number of clicks to configure a WiFi device. Also added a default AP Group and WLAN for quicker initial setup.

Home and Enterprise WiFi

Grouped WiFi devices into Home (cnPilot R-Series) and Enterprise (cnPilot E-Series and ePMP Hotspot) instead of using specific device types. This separation is visible in the Fixed Wireless View (which supports cnPilot Home).

Global UI Improvements

Update

Description

Top-Level Inventory

Placed the Inventory in the top-level menu for easier access.

Merge Performance and Statistics

Aggregated these two sections into a single Statistics.

New Quick Buttons

Added Configuration and Software Update into the Quick Buttons.

2 Likes

So is this mainly just an export update, and wifi centered, no feature improvements for pmp yet?

As a note, a nice way to expand this "export feature" even if you had to restrict it to pro, would be the ability to export the data for SM's including locations etc to Link Planner, that way we can diagnose issues, i mean in reality i'd love to see link planners features moved into cnmaestro but i imagine thats a bigger project than just a way to export a Link Planner project from cnmaestro including AP/SMs

I really hope a new update comes out for cnMaestro that will make updating ePMP devices easy prior to any new ePMP firmware updates been released.

Has the issue of cnMaestro rebooting busy 3.6 GHz PMP450 AP been addressed?  I don't see any mention of it in release notes either as a known issue or a resolved one.

Hi Ted,

Can you please provide more details which reboot are you talking about for PMP 3.6 GHz device. Also please confirm whether the issue is seen under normal traffic load or under heavy load.

In our testing environment we have not seen any reboots of the device so far in cnMaestro 1.4.0 release with the device build 15.1 Beta 5 .

Regarding the traffic issue , the device  is not rebooted but it loses ocnnectivity with cnMaestro temporarily when the traffic is too high.

Please let me know which device build you are using and in any specific scenario you are seeing this reboot.

Regards,

KR.

We need to stop with the rip and replace of cnMaestro. Export, replace VM, import is getting awfully old each time I upgrade. Yes, I know there were a few versions that could just use an upgrade package, but I was still running a version old enough at the time to not be able to use update packages. I finally do that and now the next version is rip-and-replace.

Also, this paid version is for the birds. I absolutely will NOT pay for cnMaestro. It is currently so very cumbersome to use I cannot even fathom the amount of work it takes for the guy that proposed this to put his pants on in the morning. He's gotta have a HUGE set down there, which has to make putting pants on difficult.

1 Like

I gotta agree to the rip and replace getting annoying as for a paid version I care a little less as long as it’s for optional stuff like data export and they don’t go doing something super annoying like a monthly fee for onpremises for those features it might not be too bad

But the way they do upgrades needs to change

Also considering we pay well for the radios already as a customer providing this server free of charge was a good thing.  For there to be a pro version there better be some extremely nice updates and features added to make it worth any form of payment.  Plus the option to add an API so that those of us who don't use it as heavily can write our own mechanisms if we can't justify the expenditure.  For example we already have out own snmp utility that will push settings to radios globally however CNM is a little more user friendly for our installers/techs. 

Also when will scheduling be a thing?

KR:

Subi and I emailed back and forth about it back in late January.  Our four heaviest traffic 36 450 AP were rebooting with crash dumps which had something to do with cnMaestro.  We turned of cnMaestro management of just those APs, and the problem stopped.

I can turn it back on again and see if the issue starts happening again.

We understand your concerns. The product team is notified of your questions and comments.

exporting and importing data is still not working for me.

It didn't work on the last release and now its not working on this release.

from 1.3.0r7 to 1.4.0r11

Thanks for the note. We will get you a response on this.

tech support did a remote sesssion but could not figure it out either.

ticket # 115818

Hi CSSup -- the 1.4.0 release is largely focused on  Wireless LAN features, though we do have plans to start rolling out a sector view with radio configuration in the next couple months. This is the first part of a more comprehensive LINKPlanner integration beginning later in the year. We will explore  whether we can leverage the export feature as an interim solution. Some additional features on-track for Q2, which will benefit all product lines, include administration roles, graphical reports, on-premises API, and on-premises high availability. With the latter feature we are looking to replace the export/import OVA updates with a more elegant (and automatic) process.

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Hi Chris-T -- is the issue with the ePMP upgrades the embedded tree display in the upgrade page?  We are looking to replace that with a more basic tabular view (filtering either through the table or the tree), but it may not be until the end-of-April. We will have an interim release before it, but it will mostly consist of navigation improvements to support revamped Fixed Wireless and Wireless LAN views. The upgrade page enhancements are close on the priority list.

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Hi Mike and Chris -- improving the full image upgrade, and removing the export/import requirement, is in plan for Q2. We expect to make the changes in tandem with on-premises HA support, and they will of course also work in a standalone environment. So the expectation is not much longer for relief, but perhaps still too long, because we will most likely have another OVA prior to its rollout.

1 Like

Are you still planning on restricting us to 2000 devices if we refuse to pay for pro?

At least you went the simple route for VMs by providing an OVA.

The cnMaestro Basic cloud version doesn't have a limitation on number of device.

For cnMaestro Basic On Premises version, yes, the basic is limited to 2,000 device. To unlock this thresold, it will be paid feature, $2500 on time charge.

Regards

Allen 

1 Like

Allenyu you guys realize how backwards that is…
cloud we use your servers and hardware at cambium expenses frond free unlimited
But we have to pay to use our own hardware and reduce cambium hosting expense?

1 Like