Introduction
Device profiles are a feature that allows you to efficiently and effectively update the operating systems of remote devices. Creating and implementing a device profile will allow you to send over important files, software packages, and command-line commands and scripts.
The process of creating and using a profile consists of the following steps:
- First, create a group of devices.
- Create a device profile.
- Populate the device profile with groups of devices.
- Add content to the device profile.
- Assign and execute the profile’s roll-out on the devices in the group.
Step 1: Creating a Group
To use a device profile, we must first create a group of devices. A group can even consist of a single device.
To create a group:
- Click on Devices to open the Device Console in the Radix Device Manager.
- Click on the Groups icon on the far right, to open the Groups window.
- In the Groups window, click on the “Add new group” icon to create a new group.
The Create new group window opens. - Assign a name and description to the group.
- Under the Tags tab, assign a descriptive tag to the group, which will serve to identify devices in the group.
In the example below, we have assigned the tag “ylp_1” to be the identifying tag for devices in the ylp_1 group. - Click Save to save the group.
- Assign the tag for that group to a device. The device will immediately be a member of the group. In our example, we assigned the tag ylp_1 to the Windows device 64497DEFBE1A.
- If we check our group ylp_1 again, we will see that device 64497DEFBE1A is a member of the group.
Adding more devices to a group
- If you want to add more devices to the group, simply add the same identifying tag to those devices as well. For example, we would like to add a Point-of-Sale credit card reader (ID No. 64f6bb92ac7b) to our group. We type “selpal” in the search bar at the top of the Devices Console, and locate the desired POS device:
- Click on the three-dot menu on the far right of the selpal device. The grid of Android commands opens.
- Select Tags. The Tags window opens.
- Type ylp_1 and hit Enter. This adds the tag ylp_1 to the device.
- Click Confirm. The selpal device will now be a member of the group ylp_1.
Step 2: Creating a New Device Profile
- In the Radix Device Manager, click on the Profiles icon, to open the Profiles console.
- Click on the Add new Profile icon, to open the Create New Profile window.
The Create New Profile window opens. - Supply a name for the profile.
Step 3: Populating the Device Profile
- Click on the Population tab. You will be prompted to attach a group to the profile. In our example, we will attach the group ylp_1 to the profile.
- The “Filters” option in the lower half of the window allows you to refine further the list of devices you want to include in the device profile.
The filter options include:
- Tag To filter devices by the tags that they have been assigned.
- App with version To filter devices by which version they have of a specific application. You then provide the name of the application and the version number.
- Model This allows you to select a specific model of a device to apply the profile.
- Property This allows you to apply a profile to devices with a specific property, filtering them by their system-defined property key
- First registration process only This applies the profile to devices only at the time of their first registration in the Radix Device Manager. For example, that means that the content associated with the profile (= executing software packages, sending files) will be applied to a device as soon as it is registered.
Step 4: Adding Content to the Device Profile
- Click on the Content tab. The Content tab allows us several options of activities to perform on the devices in the group:
Agent & SCM: These include Radix installation files and SC Manager files to be applied to Android devices included in the profile
OTA management: To apply Over-the-Air updates to the device’s operating system
Packages: Installs software packages on the devices in the group
Remote execute: To execute scripts on the devices in the group
Files: To send files to the devices in the group. There is no limit to the number of files you can send.
Policy/Kiosk: The Policy/Kiosk window appears as follows:
This allows you to either:
- Apply a software policy to the devices in the profile (= to block particular apps, or allow access to only certain websites) or
- Put the devices in kiosk mode (=where the devices can only be used for certain apps and with access to only certain websites).
Settings: This tab allows you to adjust settings on the remote devices (WiFi settings, display settings, wallpaper, and more).
2. When you have decided on the content to add to the profile, click Save in the lower right corner. You will receive a pop-up notification that the profile has been saved successfully.
Step 5: Rolling Out the Profile
- Click on the Roll-out tab to set the time when to execute the profile.
You will encounter two panes:
Left Pane: Roll-out configuration
When you click on the Roll-out configuration button, you will be able to set the following parameters:
– The number of devices per batch to apply the device profile.
– The waiting time until applying the device profile to another batch of devices. The waiting interval can be set to hours or even days.
– The percentage of successful deployments of the device profile, before proceeding to apply the device profile to another batch of devices.
Right Pane: Execution configuration
There are three options to specify when to execute the profile:
- Immediate – To execute the software package associated with the profile as soon as the device gets the profile.
- Time Frame – You should employ this option if you want to execute the software package associated with the profile within a specified time frame. You supply a start and end time.
There are two possible scenarios where you may want the execution to be delayed:
a. Apply only if idle – If you specified that the software package should be executed only when the device is idle by clicking on the “Apply only if idle” button (so as not to disturb the remote user while using the device), it will execute the software package in the specified time frame only when the device is idle.
b. Set maximum attempts – This allows you to set the maximum number of attempts to execute the items in a profile. The default is three attempts. - On Demand – This option is available for an OTA software update only. The user will execute the OTA update when s/he initiates it.
2. After specifying when to execute the profile, click Save. This will save the details of the profile.
We saw in Step 3 that you can populate a profile by providing it with groups. You can also select a group and associate an existing profile with it. You can do this with the Group Management option.
Alternative Method: Attaching a Profile to a Group
To attach a profile to a group:
- Click on Devices in the Radix Dashboard to open the Devices Console.
- Click on Groups to open the Groups window.
- Search for the desired group in the Search bar.
- Click on the three-dot menu next to the group name and select Group Management.
- In the Edit Group window, click on the Profiles icon.
- In the next window, click on Add Profiles, to see the list of available profiles.
- Check the profiles you would like to apply to the group of devices and click Apply.
- Click Save to save the profiles that you have attached to the group.
- You will receive a popup notification that the profile was associated with the group successfully.