This document describes how to use the console to create, edit and remove new device groups types, device groups and sub-groups and how to manage their devices.

Group Type Managing

The console allows you to easily create, edit and remove new group types. In this way you determine the actions allowed to be executed on groups of that type, the types of child groups and devices that can be added to the group, etc.

Creating a New Group Type

New group types are created by clicking the button outlined in red on the screenshot below.

 


When creating a group type the user can specify name, icon and description of the type. The accepted child group and device types can be specified as well:



Choosing the [ALL] option allows groups of any type to be attached as a child node, while the [Self] option accepts only groups of the parent type.

As a result a new node appears in the Root with the user defined group type name in plural. This node will collect all groups of that type with its corresponding icon. The first step to edit or remove it, is to select this node as described further below.

Editing / Removing a New Group Type

To edit or remove a group type, created by the user, select it and then click on the buttons from the Group Type Info pane, outlined in red:

The console allows editing or removing a group type after a right-click on it and selecting one of the options Edit Group Type or Remove Group Type from the context menu.


Pay attention to the warning message before confirming the removal, because removing the type will lead to removing all the groups of that type.

Now that there are new group types created, the user can add/remove groups of these user defined or predefined types and navigate through their hierarchy as explained below.

Device Groups Managing

The console allows the user to: navigate through the groups hierarchy, add/remove/edit groups and attach/detach devices to/from groups.

Creating a New Device Group

A group is defined by its type, which can be user created or one of the predefined types provided by the system as described in the M2M Device Groups Conceptual Guide.

As can be seen from the screenshots below, the steps to create a New Device Group are:

  1. Right-click the group type or the parent group to which a new branch is to be added.

  2. Select New Group from the pop-up menu.

  3. Choose from the list of available groups a New <Selected_Group>.

  4. Fill in the Group Name in the Create <Selected_Group> dialog that appears.

  5. Click OK.

Below you can see how to create a new group of the user created Sofia type – context menu and Create Sofia dialog box.


Groups from Directory and Filter Types can be created only under Directory Groups node or under another Directory group. If the new group to be created is from Filter Group type, then adding a Control Filter Unit in its Create Filter Group dialog is also a must:

Below is an example of the result of creating several groups and subgroups of different types. It also shows that groups with one and the same name can be created from all types, but Directory.

Editing a Device Group

By using the console and its Group Info Pane to the right, it is possible to change Group Name and Description, to add/remove Group Categories and Property values.


In general, groups of Directory and Filter Types can not be edited. Only the Display Name and some properties of a Directory Group can be changed (or added/deleted via the icons in red below) through the Device Node Properties Pane after selecting the Directory group to be edited as shown in the following figure.

Removing a Device Group

To remove a Device Group from the tree, right-click the group and select the Remove Group option from the context menu or simply press the shortcut key Delete. The removal of the Device Group should be confirmed.


If the group to be deleted is from Directory Type, then the RM unregisters all devices below that group.

Attach / Detach Device Groups and Devices

Once a group is created, it can be attached to a parent group, if its type is one of the listed Allowed Group Types of the parent group type – see the "Creating a New Group Type" section above.

Directory and Filter Groups accept no child groups.

By choosing an option from the context menu after a right-click on a group, the console allows the group to be Detach-ed (if it is not a Directory group) from the parent or Attach-ed to other groups.


Before attaching/detaching a device it should be registered successfully under a Directory Group type as explained in the next topic.

Registering Devices

A device can be Register-ed only under the Directory Groups nodes. The first step is to select the directory group of the device from the Root and then select the type of the device to be registered from the context menu of its group.

Another way to register a device is to use the Register Device Action from the tool bar:


The devices, that can be registered in the RM are OSGi devices (with the functional key F9 as a shortcut for this action), TR-069 devices, Generic OMA-DM devices and OSGi Handset devices.


The device appears in the tree and after a right-click on it the device can be Delete-d (unregistered from the system), Move-d to another Directory Group or Attach-ed to only one parent from Directory type or to multiple parents from other group types. This will be possible if the device type is one of their Allowed Device Types – see "Creating a New Group Type" section above. If the parent is of Directory Group Type, then you can not Detach its devices.


If a device is Detach-ed from its other group types parents, it will be available only under its parent from Directory type.

More detailed information on how to modify node properties and settings of a device or its components, can be found in Managing Devices and Their Components guide.