Discovering, Learning, and Demonstrating IoT Features with IoT-Utilities

IoT-Utilities is a versatile application designed to help you discover, learn, and demonstrate the Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities of Aruba Wi-Fi Access Points. Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) company, supports various IoT applications based on Wi-Fi, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), ZigBee, and third-party protocols through their access points acting as gateways.

Comprehensive IoT Functionality

IoT-Utilities serves as a generic tool to explore and showcase the "Aruba IoT Interface" functionality provided by Aruba access points. This interface enables integration with IoT applications. The app includes a basic server functionality that Aruba access points and controllers can connect to using the secure WebSocket protocol and Google Protocol Buffer 2.0 for data encoding. All connections are encrypted using TLS/SSL, ensuring secure communication. You can import an SSL server certificate or generate a self-signed one directly within the app.

Key Features

• IoT Server: Accepts connections from Aruba controllers and access points via the secure WebSocket protocol.
• IoT Data: Decodes and displays data received via the Aruba IoT Interface, such as BLE telemetry.
• Web Dashboard: Provides a web-based interface to view status information and access configuration templates securely.
• AOS/Instant Configuration Templates: Includes CLI configuration templates to set up Aruba controllers or access points easily.
• BLE Testing Tool: Verifies the setup of your Aruba infrastructure by checking if BLE test messages sent via the smartphone’s BLE radio are received by the app.
• BLE Connect Tool: Allows you to connect to and communicate with available BLE devices, including Philips Hue Lamps.
• Bluetooth Scanning: Scans for nearby BLE devices and displays detailed information.
• Bluetooth Advertising: Configures and sends supported BLE advertisements like iBeacon or Eddystone.

App Requirements

To use IoT-Utilities, ensure your device meets the following requirements:

• Smartphone with Wi-Fi and BLE radio
• Android 8.0 or higher
• Aruba 3xx or 5xx series access points with integrated BLE or BLE/ZigBee radio
• AOS/Aruba Instant version 8.7.0.0 or higher

Development and Support

This app was initiated during a student internship and is developed, published, and supported as a leisure activity in collaboration with an Aruba employee. It is not an official product of Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Company.

For more information on Aruba's IoT capabilities and specifications, visit the Aruba Support Portal and the ArubaOS WLAN and Aruba Instant 8.6.0.x IoT Interface Guide.