How to Use Groups

Using Groups, you can organize your systems (for example, your fleet of routers) into groups that share common attributes in order to better visualize, organize and configure your systems. This is especially useful if you have a large number of systems in your account. You can create Groups to keep track of your fleet by attributes such as label, gateway model, firmware version, or any combination of these.

As an account administrator, you can create a Group and then create or edit profiles that control what Group users can do within the Groups. Once the profiles are defined, you can then add users to Groups and assign the related profiles to the users. See Setting Access Rights.

Groups support hierarchy, allowing you to create parent/child Groups to better visualize your fleet.

A system can also belong to more than one Group. For example, if you have a fleet of AirLink XR90 routers with the label “California” that are running firmware version 5.3.66, you can create one Group for all systems with the label “California” (to organize systems by geography) and another Group for all XR90 routers running firmware version 5.3.66 (to identify systems running the current firmware release*).

*this is the current firmware release at the time of publication.

Groups can be empty—Groups don’t need systems to exist. You might want to create empty Groups for your organizational structure in advance, and then registering new routers directly into the appropriate Groups.

Below is an example of how you might organize a Group of routers by label, gateway model, and firmware version. The example also shows how one router (such as “XR90-3”) can belong to multiple Groups.

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Why Use Groups?

Managing a large fleet of individual devices can quickly become impractical. Groups in AirVantage solves this by letting you organize, monitor, and configure devices collectively based on shared characteristics. The following examples explain some of the benefits of using Groups.

Time savings: Instead of spending hours updating firmware on 500 devices individually, you can filter by an “Outdated_Firmware” Group and upgrade all devices simultaneously. Operations scale effortlessly.

Access control: Grant your California regional manager access only to California devices by adding them (based on the system labels) to the “California_Region” group. The manager will see only their devices—nothing from Oregon, Texas, or other regions. No risk of accidental cross-region changes.

Automatic organization: As devices change (firmware upgrades, location moves, deployment status), group membership updates automatically. A router that upgrades from firmware 5.2.46 to 5.3.66 instantly moves from “Outdated” to “Current” groups without manual intervention.

Visibility: Dashboard widgets filtered by “Public_Safety_CA” Group show real-time status for just those critical devices. This lets you spot outages affecting specific customers or regions immediately.

Prerequisites

Using Groups requires Groups-specific read/write permissions or the system administrator role.

To create and manage Groups, you need:

Groups Write permission OR Administrator role
Access to the Configure menu

For example, as a user, your administrator grants you a “Groups Read/Write” profile for California region Groups. This lets you create child groups under a top-level “X Region” and manage users within those Groups.

If you are an AirVantage user who can’t access Groups, contact your system administrator.

Viewing Groups

Main Groups Page

To view Groups, go to Configure > Groups. Click a Group name to view the Group’s details.

Note: If you don’t see the Groups page, ask your system administrator for access. Non-administrator users must be added to a Group and have Groups Read access to be able to view Groups. See Setting Access Rights below.

The main Groups page lets you view Groups, click Group names to view Group details, add Groups, delete Groups and sort columns. Depending on your level of permissions, some of these tasks may not be available. Contact your system administrator if you do not have access to the tasks you want.

Monitor > Systems Filters

Under Monitor > Systems, you can filter the system list table by Groups.

To sort the system list by Group:

In Monitor > Systems, select Groups from the Filters list.
Select a Group name. Only one Group can be selected, and only Groups to which you have access are available on the list.

The table will show you all the systems in that Group.

Under Monitor > Systems and other pages that feature the page filter, you can filter the entire view—widgets and system view—for a selected Group. The widgets will update automatically.

After filtering the page, you can launch operations only for the systems in that Group (if your user profile permits you to launch operations). If you launch an operation for a system that you do not have access to, the operation will fail.

Setting Access Rights

You can create user profiles that will control what users can do within Groups. After you have created these profiles, you can add users to a Group and assign the profile(s) to each user that will define their Groups-level rights. Note that these user profiles are the same types of user profiles that you can create and apply for users at the company level. See also Administration and Managing Profiles.

For example, as an account administrator, create two profiles that include the required “Read”/“Write” permissions in the Groups entity:

Groups Read
Groups Read/Write

Users with Read access to a Group can view:

Group definitions
Users and their assigned profiles

If users with Read access also have Systems View and Gateways View permissions, they can view the list of systems included in a Group.

Users with Read and Write access to a Group can:

View Group definitions
View Users and their assigned profiles
Edit the Group, including editing the Group name and filters
Manage Group users (add users and profiles).

If users with Write access also have Systems View, Gateways View, and Operations permissions, they can view the list of systems included in a Group, and launch operations for those systems.

For users without Read or Write access, Groups will appear as shown below.

For more information, see Add users to a group.

As a company administrator, you will continue to have access to everything, including all the systems and Groups. Groups-level rights will not affect your current administrator rights.

Under Administration > Users, the Groups column shows you which users can access which Groups.

After a user is added to a Group, the user will only see systems from their authorized Groups. For example, under Monitor > Systems, only systems from authorized Groups will appear in the List View. Everything related to systems will be determined by the Groups: Operations, APIs, Dashboard widgets, system List View, and Groups page.

A user can have rights at both the company and Groups level. However, only one set of rights will apply.

Groups-level rights grant access and only apply to the systems in the Group

Company-level rights grant access and only apply to systems that are not in a Group

Creating Groups

About Top-Level Groups

Before you begin creating new Groups, please be aware of how Groups hierarchies function. Most notably, top-level Groups cannot be modified by users other than the system administrator. Only the system administrator can change top-level Group definitions and add users and profiles to Groups.

Top-level Groups do not have a parent Group and are read-only for users. If a child Group has a parent Group that a user does not have access to, then that child Group appears to be a top-level Group from that user’s perspective. This type of top-level Group cannot be modified by a user, even if they have the correct access rights. Users who need to add other users to access systems in their Groups must create a child Group and add the required users there.

As a system administrator, this behavior lets you control the systems that users can access and potentially modify. For example, users with Groups read/write access cannot modify a filter in a top-level Group to add systems that they should not have access to. Users with read/write access can only create child Groups, and these child Groups can only include the systems that are in the parent Group.

To create a new Group:

Go to Configure > Groups.
Click Add Group. The New group panel appears.
If required, under Parent, click to select a Parent Group for the new Group.
Enter a Name for the Group.
Under Filter, click to select an attribute that will define the Group. See Filter Criteria below.
Click to select or enter some data for the attribute. Selecting an attribute will automatically update the system preview panel.

For example, if you have selected Label, select the desired label. Any systems with that label will be added to the group. Based on the results you get, adjust the filter’s definition and logic to find the systems you want in the new Group.
Click Add criterion and repeat steps 5 and 6 to create multiple filters, if required.
Click Create. The systems are added to the new Group, based on the filters you have defined.

If any system attributes change (if a system’s label is deleted, or its firmware revision changes), the Group is updated automatically.

Creating a Child Group

Child groups inherit systems from their parent Group. As a non-administrator Groups user, you can add a child Group that will only narrow the group of systems, not expand it.

To create a Child Group:

Go to Configure > Groups.
In the desired Parent Group’s Name column, click Add.

The New group panel appears, showing you the parent Group and the parent Group filters.
Add filters to the new child Group, as described in “To create a new Group” above.
Click Create.

Filter Criteria

Label

You can create a Group that contains systems that have the same label(s).
The labels must already be applied to the systems. To apply labels to your systems, see Configure and How To Update Systems to Add Unique Labels.
You include only one Label filter per Group, but you can add multiple labels to a single filter.
To refine your results for systems that have multiple labels, choose a condition:
- “include any” (the system has ONE OR MORE selected labels)
- “include all” (the system has ALL selected labels)

Gateway model

You can create a Group that contains systems containing all routers (gateways) of the same model (all AirLink XR90 routers, for example).

In a child Group, the selected gateway models cannot be different from the models defined by the parent Group’s filter. Otherwise the error “A group cannot contain different gateway models from its parent groups” appears.
Enter the exact, case-sensitive model name for which you want to create a Group. For example: XR90, XR80, XR60, RX55, RV55, MP70, LX60, LX40.
To include or exclude certain models, choose the conditions “is” or “is not”. For example, use “is not” RX55 to select all models except the 4G model.

Firmware revision

You can create a Group that contains systems running identical firmware revisions. This is a useful way to track routers at the same firmware revision before beginning an upgrade, similar to how you would use the Upgrade Status widget. As each router is upgraded, the Group will update itself, and when the Group is empty, you will know that the upgrade campaign is complete.
Enter the firmware revision for which you want to create a Group. For example, 4.18.1 for ALEOS-powered routers or 5.3.66 for AirLink OS-powered routers.
To include or exclude specific firmware revisions, choose conditions “is” or “is not”. This is useful for identifying routers that have not been upgraded to the latest firmware. For example, create a Group with firmware revision “is not” the latest version to track upgrade progress. The Group empties as routers upgrade.

See also How to upgrade firmware on gateways and routers?

You can also select combinations of attributes. For example, selecting Gateway model XR90 AND Label “California” AND Firmware revision “5.3.66” would allow you to add all XR90 routers with the label “California” that are running firmware revision 5.3.66.

Filter Troubleshooting

If, after entering a filter, you get:

too many systems: add more filters.
too few systems: remove filters or change “include all” to “include any”
no devices: Check your spelling (maybe there’s a typo in your label) and format (firmware revisions must be exact; for example, 4.18.1 for ALEOS-powered routers or 5.3.66 for AirLink OS-powered routers. Entering 5.3 won’t get any results).

Filters do not always have to generate results. Empty Groups are permitted. You can create empty groups using a future firmware revision, or gateway model that you’re expecting to add to your fleet.

Add Users to a Group

Administrators and users with “Groups Write” permission can add users to a Group. The process of adding users also includes adding profiles to those users to control who can view or edit the Group, and control what users can do to the systems within the Group.

Depending on your permissions, you may not be able to add users to a Group. For example, if you cannot add users to a top-level group, you will have to create a child Group that allows you to add users.

Before starting, confirm that your users exist (see Administration > Users) and that the profiles for those users are configured (see Administration > Profiles). For more information, see Administration and Managing Profiles.

To add users to a Group:

When editing a Group, click Access.
In the Access tab, click Add users….
In the Add users panel, under Users, select one or more users. Click Select users… to search for a specific user.
Under Profiles, select one or more profiles that will control what the users can do within that Group. For example, Groups Read or Groups Read/Write. In this example, you could also select Configuration Management so that the users can configure systems in that Group.

Common profile combinations:
- “Groups Read” + “Systems View” for view-only users
- “Groups Read/Write” + “Systems View” + “Operations” for full management
Click Add.
Verify that the users now appear in the Access tab with assigned profiles.

The next time those users log in, they will be able to view only the Groups to which they have access and be able to take actions according to their assigned rights.

Users require both Groups Read and Write access to view Groups and modify them.

User access can be affected by whether a Group is a parent or child Group.

Users added to a Group will have access to that Group’s child Groups using the same profiles they were assigned in the parent Group. You can add additional profiles for a user in the child Group. However, if a user wants to modify a child Group’s definition, then they must have Group Write permission in the immediate parent Group.

Deleting Users

To delete a user:

When editing a group, click Access.
In the Access tab, under Actions, click .
Click Confirm. The user loses access immediately.

You cannot delete a user or remove a profile from the user if that user or profile exists in a parent Group. If a user has access via a parent Group, remove them from the parent Group instead.

Edit Groups

To edit Groups, you must have Groups Read/Write access, AND the Group cannot be a top-level Group. Top-level Groups can be edited only by System administrators.

To edit an existing group:

Go to Configure > Groups.
Click the desired group. The group details appear.
If you have the required group access rights, you can edit the following options:
- Edit the group Name
- Edit or add a Filter
If you have the required group access rights, you can edit the Group users.
Click Save or click Revert to cancel any changes.

Changing filters immediately affects Group membership. Systems are removed from the Group automatically if they no longer match filter criteria.

Delete Groups

WARNING: Deleting a parent Group deletes ALL child Groups permanently, and the operation cannot be undone. Semtech recommends reviewing child Groups first—consider removing child Groups before deleting the parent Group.

To delete a group:

Go to Configure > Groups.
Select the desired group(s).
Click Actions, and then click Delete groups.

Deleting a Group deletes the Group definition, all child Groups, and user access assignments.

Deleting a group does not delete:

systems that belonged to the group

system configuration

system history

the labels. The systems that belonged to the deleted group retain their labels.

Add a System to a Group at Registration

If you have the required Groups access, you can add a new system to one or more existing Groups during registration. See also Register.

Your Groups access does not affect any operations related to registrations, but be aware that your permissions may restrict access to systems after they are registered. You can register a system into a Group, but if you do not have System View access to that Group, you will not be able to view the system after registration.

Regardless of whether you select any Groups at registration, a system can still be automatically added to a Group if it matches a Group’s criteria. For example, if you register an XR90 and a Group consisting of “Gateway model = XR90” exists, then that XR90 will automatically join that group.

If you don’t select any Groups at registration, then you may not have access to the system after registration.

To add a system to a Group at registration:

In the register window, go to Groups.
Click to select a Group from the list.

The list shows you all the Groups to which you have been added as a user.
Repeat step 2 to add any more Groups for the new system.
Configure any other required settings, and then click Register.

After registration, the labels defined in the Groups definition will be added to the newly registered system(s).

Registration will fail if the Groups definition has attributes that do not match the system’s attributes (gateway model or incompatible firmware, for example).

Go to Monitor > Operations to see the results of the Register and Join Device Groups operations that have been launched.

Registration with CSV

The CSV template has a GROUP PATHS column that enables you to register a system into one or more groups. See also How to change settings on multiple devices? and How to edit csv files?.

The accepted value for the GROUP PATHS column is one or more Group paths. A Group path uses unix file path style to define a hierarchy of Group names if you want to add the system to a child Group (/AirLink/XR90/Verizon, for example).

To apply multiple Group paths to a single router, use a pipe ( | ) character to separate the paths within the GROUP PATHS column. Multiple Group paths must be in wrapped in quotes: “/Group1|/Group2”

You cannot use “/” alone. There is no “root” Group concept.

If no Group assignments are required, leave the column empty.

CSV Syntax Rules

VALID	INVALID
/GroupName	GroupName (missing the “/”)
/Parent/Child	/California_Routers (“_” character is invalid for defining paths)
”/Group1\|/Group2”	”/Group1,/Group2” (no commas allowed and missing pipe ( \| ) character)

Sample CSV

GATEWAY[SERIAL NUMBER],GATEWAY[REGISTRATION CODE],NAME,GROUP PATHS
A2329451211B17,K9sjk9890,New_XR60,"/AOS_group/XR60|/canada_region/BC"

Add Systems to an Existing Group After Registration

You can add a system to a group at any time; not just at registration.

To add a system to a group:

Go to Monitor > Systems.
Select the desired system(s).
From the general & life cycle actions menu, select Add to groups…. The Add Group panel appears.
Select the desired group(s). Click check boxes to select multiple devices. Click the header to select all systems.
Click Add.
Check Monitor > Operations for Join Device Groups status.

If the operation applies successfully, any labels defined in the group will be added to the selected systems.

If the group definition has attributes that do not match the system’s attributes, the operation to join the group will fail.

Systems are automatically removed from a Group when attributes no longer match the Group filters.

Automatic Group Updates

Groups update automatically when the following operations are launched:

system attribute changes (for example, the labels changed or firmware version changed)
the group definition changes (for example, the label definition changes, firmware revision changes, gateway model changes, parent group changes)

You can check the Timeline for any REFRESH_GROUPS operations to determine whether a group has been edited.