Meraki compatible RFID tags

[ozgurguler]

Hi All

Do we have to use Ekahau or Aeroscout tags with Meraki access points? Is there anyone who has tested other products? What should we check when selecting a RFID tag?

[MerakiDave]

No, you are not forced to use Ekahau or Stanley/Aeroscout (I have also done some successful testing with Estimote) however the best integration story is likely to be with the first two as described in the RTLS Support doc https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Monitoring_and_Reporting/Real-Time_Location_Services_(RTLS)

Also take a peek at the Asset Tracking solutions page on the Meraki Developers site: http://developers.meraki.com/tagged/Asset%20Tracking/ and here's a good reference on general RFID tag selection http://rfid4u.com/rfid-basics-resources/how-to-select-a-correct-rfid-tag-criteria/

[LeeVG]

I've been struggling with this because it's really something I want to implement. It looks like both Ekahau and Aeroscout sold their RTLS units off. Both have very little information on how to obtain, configure and integrate their software with Meraki. I'd love to see this supported natively. 

[JPena]

You should be able to use any RFID tags for basic BLE tracking.

[LeeVG]

I see that it says you need a minimum of 4 APs in a rectangle configuration to accurately track. Does the model matter, or does the model just have to support bluetooth beacons, which I believe is all of the APs at this point.

[JPena]

Yes, all of the APs will need to have BLE support. That info should be in the APs datasheet.

[colo · Accepted solution]

Hi Lee,

Note that BLE and WiFi tracking and RTLS tracking are different. You can read about the BLE and WiFi tracking on

https://create.meraki.io/build/rtls/ and you can read more about the RTLS here: https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Monitoring_and_Reporting/Real-Time_Location_Services_(RTLS)

For RTLS, also known as WiFi RFID Tags, we only support AeroScout and Ekahau formatted RTLS Tags and both are options on our dashboard. If you are interested in other WiFi RTLS vendors like Centrak, Awarepoint, please submit a wish on the dashboard and tell your sales person this is necessary.

For BLE beacon location tracking, you can use any Bluetooth low energy device that follows the standard. A few consumer-focused BLE beacon vendors randomize the MAC address for privacy reasons and cannot be tracked. Meraki ignores randomized MAC addresses in our Scanning API.

You can get location data with even a single AP but the location will not be accurate. The model of AP should not matter. For the best compatibility with all models of APs, you should make sure your RTLS tags are configured for WDS+IBSS mode.

Cheers,

[Lina]

Colin - Looks like the URL in your previous reply is no longer valid. I was wondering if you could help me answer a customer concern regarding RTLS Integration with Stanley/Aeroscout? In a Meraki AP configuration, if internet connection is lost, will RTLS continue to function? More specifically needing to know if integration with Stanley / AeroScout will continue to function. I assume yes, since the Meraki AP only acts as a handoff between a Tag and the Stanley server/ positioning engine, so as long as the AP was already configured to make that hand-off before it lost connectivity to the cloud controller, it will continue to do so.... However, I cannot find any documentation stating that this is the case, and it's a pretty important selling point for this particular customer. Help? 

[colo]

Hi Lina,

I fixed the link. I am confident it works but I have not personally tested this use case. The AP firmware handles the RTLS functionality, not the Cloud, so the firmware is responsible for the handoff to the Stanley server. 

Regards,

Colin