EMS-integration-guide

Installation

The purpose of this section is to detail the prerequisites and steps required to successfully configure EMS, set up the Embrava Desk Management System (DMS) within Azure and get your Desk Signs managing the availability of your desks.

The following steps are required to configure the Desk Sign with EMS solution:

Configure EMS Platform Services: This step is required so that the Embrava DMS can communicate with EMS.

Configure EMS: This step is required to authorize the Embrava DMS to call booking functions within EMS.

Configure Embrava DMS: Deploy a customized Embrava DMS deployment package on your Azure instance that will synchronize bookings between your Desk Signs and EMSplatform.

Configure Desk Signs: Flash your Desk Signs with the Embrava Desk Sign Configurator tool to get your devices on the network and ready to manage the availability of your desks.

Prerequisites

The following items are required to be installed in order to configure Desk Booking with EMS:

EMS Platform Services v 44.1.22001.7 or greater.

Microsoft Azure subscription.

Embrava Desk Sign(s).

Step 1 - Configure EMS Platform Services

In order to have the Embrava DMS communicate with EMS, the following items require configuration on EMS Platform Services environment:

Add Embrava DMS as EMS Platform Services client.

Add Embrava DMS as EMS Platform Services client

The Embrava DMS must be added as an EMS Platform Services client in order for the Embrava DMS to communicate booking information with EMS. This is achieved as follows:

Browse to your EMS Platform Services Admin page as shown below. (An example of EMS Platform Service Client Admin URL is: http://localhost/EmsPlatform/admin#/clients

Click the ‘New Integration Client’ button at the top right of your screen.

Enter the following values for the new client.
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a. Name: Embrava DMS
b. Type: Custom
c. Roles: All routes
d. All this client to book without Everyday User Templates and ignore Booking Rules: checked.

Result should be similar as shown below.
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Once complete, take note of the Client ID and Secret Key as this will be used in Step 3 – Configure Embrava DMS.

EMS Platform Services is now configured to allow the Embrava DMS to communicatebooking information with EMS.

Next, we configure and gather values from EMS so that the Embrava DMS can correctly communicate to EMS.

Step 2 - Configure EMS

In order to have the Embrava DMS send correctly communicate with EMS using values appropriate for your deployment, the following items configuration items are required on EMS:

Create Embrava Service Account on EMS.

Map Desk Sign to Desk.

Create Embrava Service Account on EMS

The Embrava Service Account is used to create, update, check-in and check-out bookings on behalf of users in your organization. Create the Embrava Service Account as follows:

From within the EMS Software client application, select Configuration -> Everyday User Applications -> Everyday Users from the main menu as illustrated below:

Click the ‘New’ button at the top right of your screen and enter values for the following fields and click OK:

a. Name
b. Password
c. Email Address
d. Timezone

Note down the values entered above as these will be used in Step 3 – Configure Embrava DMS.

Your Embrava Service Account is now ready to be used by the Embrava DMS to retrieve and update booking information within EMS.

Map Desk Sign to Desk

In order to have a Desk Sign manage the availability of a desk within EMS it needs to be assigned to that desk within EMS. This is achieved by entering the Embrava ID of the device as a User Defined Field (UDF) against a desk in EMS.

Each Desk Sign device has its own unique ID – a 10-digit number printed on a label affixed to the bottom of the device. This unique ID is associated to an EMS Room/Desk as follows:

The User Defined Field “Embrava ID” must be defined within EMS. This can be defined through the EMS Desktop Client. To do so, select the Configuration menu –>Other -> User Defined Fields. The screens below illustrate how the User Defined Field should be configured.

Rooms must have the Embrava ID User Defined Field added to them. The value of the Embrava ID User Defined Field for a Room will be the 10-digit unique ID of the DeskSign associated with the Room/Desk.

The following screen illustrates how a Desk Sign is mapped to an EMS Room/Desk:

As you can see the Embrava ID UDF for the Room has been assigned the unique Embrava ID of 1777003413 associated with the Desk Sign.

Rooms must have the Requires Check In property checked (i.e. enabled) as shown below:

Setup Neighborhoods (optional) – repeat Steps 1 and 2 above to create a ‘Neighborhood’ UDF which can be used to display the Neighborhood name on the Desk Signs associated with desks in a particular neighborhood.

Step 3 - Connect Embrava DMS to EMS

The purpose of this section is to describe how to connect the Embrava DMS to your EMS instance. Use the following steps to connect the Embrava DMS to your EMS instance using the Signup wizard:

Follow the Wizard until you get to Step 2 – Connect your Platform. Select EMS as your Platform and click Next as shown below:

Enter the Client ID, Secret Key & Platform Service URL which you have noted during Step-1. Click on ‘Test Connection’ to confirm that the Embrava DMS can now communicate with your EMS instance.

Once the connection test is successful, click Complete Step 2 to finalize the Embrava DMS connection with your EMS instance.

Create Desk Sign Configuration:

Once you have successfully connected your Embrava DMS to your EMS instance, you must create a default Desk Sign configuration so that when your Desk Signs are first powered and connected to a network they will pull down and use this configuration from the Embrava DMS.

Create a default Desk Sign configuration by completing Step 3 of the setup wizard as shown below:

Enabled Components – Enable network and card reader components.
Network: Choose the network type the Desk Sign should use to connect to the Embrava DMS. 
Card Reader: Enable the 125KHz or 13.56MHz card reader based on the security badge you will use.

Wi-Fi Details – Specify credentials if connecting the Desk Sign to a Wi-Fi network.

Alert Settings – Different settings that control the state of the Desk Sign. 
Alert mode: Specifying if the device will display workspace or user availability. 
Booking duration: The default booking duration that is used when a user taps their security badge to create a booking on the Desk Sign. A value of ‘0’ creates a reservation for the full day.  
Ending Alert Time: The amount of time remaining in a reservation where the Desk Sign will change to the Ending state to alert the user that their reservation is about to end.  
Enable Clean state: Display the Requires Cleaning state when a checked-in reservation has ended.

Display Settings – Used to control what is displayed on the Desk Sign screen. 
Name Display: Toggle between displaying the name of the event/reservation and the owner of the reservation. 
Anonymize Name: Prevent the name of the reservation from being displayed on screen to keep the reservation private.

Time Settings – Specify the time format and time servers the Desk Sign should use to synchronize and display time.

Workspace Status Settings – Define which colors the Desk Sign should use to depict the workspace status: Available, Reserved, Checked-In or Ending.

Once you have created your default Desk Sign configuration you are ready to map the Desk Signs to a Seat in EMS.

Multiple devices can be added at once using the Bulk import option or individual desk signs can be added using Embrava ID. It is also possible to add desk signs from the dashboard as well.
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The CSV template is available on the page, and the same can be uploaded after adding the Embrava IDs. Once the devices are uploaded click on Complete Step 4.

Under the Prepare Network and Configure Desk Signs tab, you can read about generic information about the network details required for Embrava desk sign and boot up process. Now you can click on Complete Step 5.

Step 6 will take you through the Installation guide and with that you are all set. Click on the Complete Step-6 button and you will be taken to the dashboard.

Integrate with

Overview

The main features of the solution include:

Booking

Embrava DMS

Ad hoc booking

Booking requests