Assigning Devices to Groups

In Aruba Central, devices are assigned to groups for configuration, monitoring, and management purposes. A group in Aruba Central is a primary configuration element that acts like a container. In other words, groups are a subset of one or several devices that share common configuration settings. Aruba Central supports assigning devices to groups for the ease of configuration and maintenance. For example, you can create a common group for Branch Gateways or Instant APs that have similar configuration requirements.

Assigning Instant APs to Groups

The Instant AP groups may consist of the configuration elements:

Instant AP Cluster—Consists of a master Instant AP and a set of slave Instant APs in the same VLANVirtual Local Area Network. In computer networking, a single Layer 2 network may be partitioned to create multiple distinct broadcast domains, which are mutually isolated so that packets can only pass between them through one or more routers; such a domain is referred to as a Virtual Local Area Network, Virtual LAN, or VLAN..
Virtual Controller—A virtual controller provides an interface for entire cluster. The slave Instant APs and master Instant APs function together to provide a virtual interface.
Master Instant AP and Slave Instant AP—In a typical Instant AP deployment scenario, the first Instant AP that comes up is elected as the master Instant AP. All other Instant APs joining the cluster function as the slave Instant APs. When a master Instant AP is elected, the slave Instant APs download the configuration changes.
The following table describes the group assignment criteria for Instant APs:

Table 1: Instant AP Group Assignment
APs with Default Configuration	APs with Non-Default Configuration
If an Instant AP with factory default configuration joins Aruba Central, it is automatically assigned to the default group or to an existing group with similar configuration settings. The administrators can perform any of the following actions: Manually assign them to a pre-provisioned group. Create a new group.	If an Instant AP with non-default or custom configuration joins Aruba Central, it is automatically assigned to an unprovisioned group. The administrators can perform any of the following actions: Create a new group for the device and preserve device configuration. Move the device to an existing group and override the device configuration.

To manually assign Instant AP(s) to a group, complete the following steps:

In the Network Operations app, set the filter to Global.
Under Maintain, click Organization.
By default, the Network Structure tab is displayed.
Click the Groups tile.
The Groups page is displayed.
To view a list of unassigned devices, expand Unprovisioned Devices.
A list of unassigned devices is displayed.
From the list of devices, select Instant AP(s) to assign.
Click the Move devices icon.
The Move Devices page is displayed.
Select the Destination Group from the drop-down list.
Click Move.

The selected devices are moved to the destination group. These devices will adopt the destination group configuration.

Assigning Switches to Groups

Aruba Central allows switches to join groups only if the switches are running factory default configuration. Switches with factory default configuration are automatically assigned to the default group. Administrators can either move the switch to an existing group or create a new group.

Aruba Central does not support UI-based configuration workflows for Aruba 5400R Switch Series and switch stacks. Aruba recommends that you assign these devices to template groups and provision them using configuration templates.

Aruba Central does not support moving Aruba 5400R Switch Series from the template group to a UI group. If Aruba 5400R Switch Series is pre-assigned to a UI group, the device is moved to an unprovisioned group after it joins Aruba Central.

To manually assign switch(s) to a group, complete the following steps:

In the Network Operations app, set the filter to Global.
Under Maintain, click Organization.
By default, the Network Structure tab is displayed.
Click the Groups tile.
The Groups page is displayed.
To view a list of unassigned devices, expand Unprovisioned Devices.
A list of unassigned devices is displayed.
From the list of devices, select the switch(s) to assign.
Click the Move devices icon.
The Move Devices page is displayed.
Select the Destination Group from the drop-down list.
Click Move.

The selected devices are moved to the destination group. These devices will adopt the destination group configuration.

Assigning Controllers to Groups

Aruba Central allows controllers to join groups and the controllers with factory default configuration are automatically assigned to the default group. Administrators can either move the controller to an existing group or create a new group.

To manually assign controller(s) to a group, complete the following steps:

In the Network Operations app, set the filter to Global.
Under Maintain, click Organization.
By default, the Network Structure tab is displayed.
Click the Groups tile.
The Groups page is displayed.
To view a list of unassigned devices, expand Unprovisioned Devices.
A list of unassigned devices is displayed.
From the list of devices, select the controller(s) to assign.
Click the Move devices icon.
The Move Devices page is displayed.
Select the Destination Group from the drop-down list.
Click Move.

The selected devices are moved to the destination group. These devices will adopt the destination group configuration.