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Cisco Meraki Documentation

MT Automation Builder

Overview

Automation Builder is a powerful tool purposefully built to provide a way to tie Dashboard actions to a click of the MT30 Smart Automation Button. This article is intended to walkthrough the setup of a Dashboard Automation or an external automation via a Webhook Integration.

  • Creating Automations requires full organization or network admin permissions.
  • Currently Automations can only be assigned to an MT30 Smart Button.

Creating an Automation

The Automation Builder can be accessed by navigating to the Sensors > Configure > Automation page and selecting the Automations tab

This image shows how to access the Automation Builder by navigating to Sensors, then Configure, then Automation, and selecting the Automations tab.

Users can create a New Automation using the option on the top to get started with you first Automation

This image is displayed to show users how to start creating their first automation by selecting the New Automation option at the top.

Once the New Automation option is selected, users are presented with a guided flow to create the automation

Step 1 - Start Here

This image is displayed to show that selecting the New Automation option opens a guided flow for creating an automation.

In the first step, users can give a name to the automation and also select an icon for quick reference. These icons are for representational purposes only and have no effect on the Automation functionality.

Step 2 - Create Rule

Once the Automation is named, the next step is to define the Rule for the Automation. This is further divided into 3 sub-steps.

This image is displayed to show that after naming the automation, users proceed to define the rule, which involves three sub-steps.

Choose a Sensor

In the first sub-step, the user selects which sensor the Automation will be monitoring. As of this moment, only the MT30 Button Sensor can be selected in this step. The list will be further expanded to other sensor types in the future. 

 

This image is displayed to show the first sub-step where users select the sensor to be monitored, currently limited to the MT30 Button Sensor.

Choose a Trigger

In the second sub-step, the type of reading can be selected to be used to trigger this Automation. In the case of MT30, the following triggers can be selected:

This image is displayed to show the second sub-step where users choose the type of reading to trigger the automation for the selected sensor.

  • Any Press - Anytime the MT30 is pressed (regardless of how long its been pressed for) the automation will be triggered

  • Short Press - When the MT30 button is pressed for less than 1 second, the Automation will be triggered

  • Long Press - When the MT30 button is pressed for more than 1 second, the Automation will be triggered

Choose an Action

In the third and final sub-step, the Action is selected.

This image is displayed to show the third and final sub-step where users select the action for the automation.

The Automation Builder has five different actions. These actions can be configured using the simple Graphical User Interface (GUI), as shown above. One or more of the actions can be selected, which allows users to perform multiple actions with a single trigger. The available Actions are detailed below:

Send a Notification

This action allows the user to configure a custom notification to an Email address or an SMS

This image is displayed to show how users can configure a custom notification to be sent via email or SMS as part of the automation action.

When adding SMS Recipients you must add the '+' sign and country code, then followed by the rest of the number (for example, +61123456789).

Camera Snapshot

The Camera Snapshot action allows the user to configure up to 5 MV camera snapshots to be taken when the MT30 button is pressed.

This image is displayed to show how users can configure the Camera Snapshot action to take up to 5 MV camera snapshots when the MT30 button is pressed.

Once the MV cameras are selected, an Email Recipient or an SMS Recipient can be added.

  1. Snapshots are taken at the time of Event generation and NOT immediately following button press. There is approximately a 5-10 second delay between the moment the button is pressed and the moment the snapshot is taken.

  2. Both Email and SMS recipients will receive a time-stamped video link (leading to dashboard footage) of the button press as well.

  3. Images will be converted to MMS for US/Canada numbers. Please ensure the end user can receive MMS. Carrier rates will apply to receive MMS.

  4. For users outside US/Canada, the image will be hosted by Twilio and a short URL will be sent instead.

Toggle SSID

Users can set up a dashboard automation to toggle a specific SSID in the same wireless network when a button is triggered.

This image is displayed to show how users can set up a dashboard automation to toggle a specific SSID in the same wireless network when a button is triggered.

Users can choose which SSID to turn on or off in this action.

Only SSIDs in the same network as the MT30 can be selected as an action.

Toggle Switchport

Users can set a specific MS switchport or group of switchports to turn on or off when a button is pressed.

This image is displayed to show how users can configure a specific MS switchport or group of switchports to turn on or off when a button is pressed.

Send a Webhook command

A Webhook action can also be added to the automation. In this action, the user configures a custom message to be included in the outbound Webhook payload.

This image is displayed to show how users can add a Webhook action and configure a custom message for the outbound Webhook payload in the automation.

The Webhook servers must first be configured under Network-wide> Configure > Alerts. Only then will they appear in the dropdown list.

Step 3 - Assign Devices

Once the Automation rule is set up with the trigger and the action, the guided flow will allow users to assign a device to the automation. The list will only show MT30s in the network at the moment.

This image is displayed to show how users can assign a device to the automation, currently limited to MT30s in the network.

Preview Automation

The the final step, the user sees a Preview of the current configuration before the automation is saved and applied.

This image is displayed to show the preview of the current configuration before the automation is saved and applied.

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