- [Instructor] As we're discussing our enterprise
wireless networks, we should also understand the value
of location services.
First, we'll talk about why those are important
and we'll examine a few of the many use cases
and advantages for wireless location services.
Now, depending on your wireless infrastructure
there are lots of different built-in options
for tracking items through location services.
And here later in this video, we want to look
at a couple of specific Cisco solutions for that.
As we examine why we've used location services,
let's start with probably the most obvious reason,
which is asset tracking.
An asset is very simply anything that is considered
to be of value to an organization.
That can include the data itself,
that can be proprietary information and certainly
our physical equipment would be an asset.
This is especially challenging with the nature
of mobile devices.
Many of our organizational devices that are on
the wireless network can be very easily carried off.
And that's simply because of their mobile nature.
So wireless asset tracking is very important
to consider with our networks when we're making sure
that we're keeping up with important devices.
Those devices could include cellular phones
that belong to the organization, tablets or laptops.
Another way this is being used is for targeting customers.
If you happen to be in a retail business
you might be aware of location-based advertising,
something that's referred to also as Wi-Fi marketing
or proximity marketing.
Many businesses provide free guest Wi-Fi.
We see that a lot in restaurants or in shopping malls.
And they do that in order to leverage customer
locations in part.
So let's say for example, you're in a large shopping center
or you're in a mall and you're connected
to the guest wireless network.
Your location can be used to target your mobile device
with very specific location-based advertising.
Maybe that's advertising based on which stores
inside the mall that you visited today or maybe
that's coupon deals based on places that you seem
to linger close by.
Many, many options here that retailers are leveraging.
And just as a personal story, I remember the first time
my wife experienced this.
She didn't know what to think about it.
She had specific ads from all of the stores in the mall
that she had visited on this particular day.
So that's an example of using proximity-based marketing
and how location services can be leveraged to do that.
First, let's look at the basic way and the basic reason
that this is possible.
In order to locate a device accurately, the device
obviously has to be associated with an access point.
Most large enterprises will have multiple access points
throughout the business in order to ensure
that there's coverage in every area of the building.
So here we see a very, very basic example of this
in a topology.
We see a client connected to the Wi-Fi.
And we'll pretend this is just any
typical corporate setting.
And we see three access points here.
Those are spread out throughout the building.
In order to locate a device, location services can use
the signal strength of all of the surrounding access points
in order to calculate the exact location.
So although the client may be associated with a single
access point, it may actually only be drawing
from the initial access point they connected to.
There is also something called the Received Signal
Strength or RSS.
So that can be calculated from all of the remaining
access points that are nearby.
And when those are calculated, it's going to allow
the Wi-Fi system to compute the location of the client
in relation to the APs, therefore giving the approximate
location of the client.
And this is actually surprisingly accurate.
Now, if we measured that from a single access point,
if we only looked at the access point that the client
was connected to, that would only give us a radius.
So we would have a specific radius
in which they could be connected.
And that would be much less accurate.
So by using three or more access points, this is going
to greatly increase the accuracy of the location
and help us to pinpoint that much better.
As for Cisco solutions that we would use, those use
what are called Real-Time Location Services or RTLS.
And nearly all Cisco wireless access points and controllers
are able to integrate with certain management platforms
in order to provide this capability.
So the management platforms would be what provide
the real-time location services, not necessarily
the APs or controllers.
One of the newest solutions for this is called
Cisco DNA Spaces.
This is a cloud-based solution
with no physical installation required.
This can be used alongside popular Cisco wireless systems
such as the Cisco Aironet.
Cisco DNA Spaces would require a connection
to your wireless network through
your management login credentials.
And then it would be able to offer these type
of location-based services and analytics
to your existing wireless infrastructure.
So it's very unobtrusive to use Cisco DNA Spaces.
You don't need to redesign your network in order
to use this.
From the management page, you can upload an actual
building floor map and place your access points
on the map so that you can get really, really detailed
information about that.
This same type of Real-Time Location Service
is also available through Cisco's Meraki platform.
Meraki devices are actually one of my favorite wireless
infrastructure systems to deploy
just because they're so easy to set up and easy to manage.
I really like their cloud-based interfaces.
Well, it's similar to Cisco DNA Spaces in the fact
that you can also track the location of clients
using the Received Signal Strength of each device
among several access points.
And also just like DNA Spaces, you can upload your actual
floor plan and place access points onto that plan
for accurate tracking statistics.
So you can see that location services are being used
more and more, not only for asset tracking
but for many new use cases such as in the service
industry for marketing.
If you have an existing wireless infrastructure,
solutions such as Cisco with DNA Spaces can integrate
seamlessly with that to provide location services
without having to redesign your entire wireless network,
if your APs and wireless controller
don't have that native capability built in already, that is.
Some things like Cisco Meraki, that solution
does have that capability built in.
Location services are definitely something
you should consider, especially if you're a retailer
or if you have need of tracking valuable assets
within your organization.