Mist is delighted to support importing Ekahau and iBwave files. This guide will walk through the intended uses and some tips of using the feature. In short, the import feature is meant to be a timesaver by ingesting the work you have already done in your Ekahau or iBwave design file. There’s no duplicate work inserting the maps and placing the APs and naming the APs again in the Mist system – it’s already done!
At a high level this is what you do:
- Create a predictive design using Ekahau / iBwave
- Import the predictive design into Mist
- This auto-populates maps, AP locations, AP names etc
What is supported?
Mist supports importing predictive Ekahau .esx files and iBwave .ibwc files. As part of the import, Mist will perform the following actions:
- Import floorplan images from the file and set the scale
- Assign APs in the file and their site, floorplan, name, x,y coordinates, as well as height and orientation
General Workflow
The feature relies upon matching simulated APs in the project files to a physical Mist AP. There are several ways to accomplish this.
- Manually match APs when you ingest the project files
- This is really only recommended for small deployments. As it is the most time consuming method.
- Match via MAC address. Within the project file, use the <apname> – <apmac> notation to name APs.
- This is useful if you manually allocate APs ahead of time
- Alternatively you can just enter the MAC address of the AP name in the project file. This is demonstrated in the Ekahau video below. You would use this method if you didn’t want to name APs in Mist.
- Match via AP name. Name the AP in the project file and also name the AP within Mist using the same name.
- This method is most commonly used in conjunction with the Mist Network app. The advantage is you can pick any AP at random out of the box, use the app to scan the QR code and enter a name at the time of installation. You do not need to pre-allocate APs.
- Match via CSV file. Name the AP in the project file, and also import a CSV file with AP name to MAC address mapping.
- This is by far the most flexible and scalable method. And especially useful when third party contactors are used to install the APs who will typically provide a spreadsheet with AP and serial number or mac address.
Good things to know:
The import feature will:
- Assign APs to a site if not already assigned to a site (requires super user or org network admin privilege)
- Name AP if not already named
- Place AP on a floorplan if not already placed on a floorplan
The opposite if these is also true, so the import feature will not:
- Change the site of an AP if it is already assigned to one
- Rename an AP if it already has a name
- Place an AP on a floorplan if it is already placed on one.
iBwave/Ekahau Requirements:
- iBwave Wi-Fi 14.2 or later
- Ekahau Pro
- Survey data is not supported, all survey data must be deleted from the project before importing into Mist.
- Floorplan images must be less than 8 MB each. Less than 1 MB is recommended.
Video Instructions:
Ekahau
iBwave