Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

General

What is Cisco DNA Spaces?

Enterprises operating in the physical world have limited to no visibility into the behavior of people and connected assets within their buildings. Cisco DNA Spaces solves this physical blindspot problem by sensing location intelligence from all underlying Cisco wireless network and translating them into business ready insights. It also offers a variety of digitization toolkits, SDKs, APIs and partner apps with end-end monitoring and support to turn these insights into action. In summary, Cisco DNA Spaces extends your wireless network from going beyond connectivity into digitizing your properties. 

What Cisco hardware does Cisco DNA Spaces support?

Cisco DNA Spaces supports all Cisco wireless infrastructure : Aironet/Catalyst & Meraki, forward and backward compatible. Based on your type of infrastructure, we have a way to connect you to Cisco DNA Spaces cloud. 

What level of data granularity is supported by Cisco DNA Spaces?
Cisco DNA Spaces supports varying accuracy levels from presence to hyperlocation, dependent on your existing network infrastructure and how you’ve distributed your Access Points. Real time location is computed based on the location hierarchy defined in Cisco DNA Spaces.
What are the user roles and access available for Cisco DNA Spaces?
Cisco DNA Spaces comes with a default admin user account and password. An admin user can define role based access for other users from your enterprise and invite, edit, and delete user privileges. When adding new users to your account, admin can assign location specific (access to one property, multiple properties, group/brand/category based access, etc.) and read-only privileges.

Free Trial

Who is eligible for the free trial of Cisco DNA Spaces?
Any existing Cisco or Cisco Meraki® wireless customer is eligible for the free trial of Cisco DNA Spaces.
Is the free trial available in all countries?
If you are a Cisco customer, the trial is available to you, no matter where you are.
How do I sign up for the Free Cisco DNA Spaces Trial?

You can sign up for the free trial on dnaspaces.cisco.com. Click ‘Start for free’ and follow the steps to get started.

What do I get when I sign up for the free trial of Cisco DNA Spaces?
You get access to the ACT package (except for IoT Services) for 30 days, which includes the following apps: behavior metrics, right now, benchmarks, impact analysis, captive portal, engagements, etc.
How long before I can start seeing insights on Cisco DNA Spaces?
Cisco DNA Spaces starts collecting and processing data from the date of activation. Although you’ll begin to see your data being populated within 24 hours, it is recommended that you wait for a period of at least 3 weeks for our cloud engine to start cleansing the raw location data and churning meaningful business insights.
Do I need to provide any payment information when I sign up for the Free Cisco DNA Spaces trial?
No. Getting started with Cisco DNA Spaces is absolutely free. We offer a no obligations free trial to help you fully explore the benefits of our platform.
What happens upon expiry of the trial period?

We will send you an email notification a week before your trial period ends, giving you a chance to consider your next steps. If you wish to continue using it, you will need to purchase licenses for Cisco DNA Spaces SEE or upgrade to ACT.

Do you offer any benefits or discounts later if I sign up for your free trial?
You can reach out to us or contact your account manager to learn of any promotions or discounts applicable to you.

Deployment

What are the deployment options?
Deployment options include cloud plus on-premises or completely cloud. On-premises is required for hyperlocation compute functionality.
Can I configure my account on my own? Or do I need the help of my IT team?

Cisco DNA Spaces comes with a complete self service setup guide to help you configure your account. This guide is designed to help network administrators, engineers or anyone who is interested in learning how to quickly deploy Cisco DNA Spaces.

Since the setup requires network access, you must be familiar with your network infrastructure details. If you don’t have those, the dashboard settings also allow you to invite any team member to setup your account for your organization.

How can I connect to the cloud? Does Cisco DNA Spaces work with Meraki, Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs), and CMX On-Prem?
Yes. There are four ways to connect to the cloud:
  • Cisco DNA Spaces connector
  • WLC direct connect – AireOS WLC version 8.8MR2 or later/Cisco Catalyst 9800 WLC version IOS-XE 16.10 or later
  • On Prem tethering (CMX version 10.6)
  • Meraki: Built in support. No connector needed
How long does it to take to configure my account?
Time taken will depend on your network infrastructure. Deployments that require the installation of Spaces connector on a virtual machine can take upto 60-90 minutes. Meraki deployments can be completed in under 30 minutes.

Upgrade Account

Can I try out the features of Cisco DNA Spaces Act package?
Recorded and live demos of Cisco DNA Spaces ACT can be made available on request. If you want to double click on a specific capability available within ACT, we are open for PoV’s (Proof of Value). You may directly reach out to us to discuss your requirements.
What features are provided as part of the ACT package?
By upgrading to the ACT edition of Cisco DNA Spaces, you’ll have access to all Cisco DNA Spaces SEE features plus advanced metrics, location hierarchy, captive portal, engage, beacon manager and operational insights and other toolkits, profile rules, APIs and SLA. You can see a side-by-side comparison between SEE and ACT editions here.

Dashboard

What kind of reports can I access with Cisco DNA Spaces SEE?

Cisco DNA Spaces SEE gives you access to the following reports:

WiFi Adoption metrics: Measure and understand the adoption of your Wi-Fi program across properties.

Behavior metrics: Understand behavior of people & assets in your properties and how they impact other KPIs.

Right Now metrics: Gain a real-time view of visitor behavior at your properties.

Will Cisco DNA Spaces have the widget to show passersby vs. visitor behavior?
We have a new feature called business insights which provides very robust metrics and benchmarking for actual visitors (customers, employees, guests). Passerby (probing) data is often not accurate and is not used for Business Insights and reports. However customers who specifically ask for probing data can get access to it separately. The widget will continue to be available in the on-prem component of the solution customers have today.
How do I find out what level of permission I have for DNA Spaces?

Login to your Cisco DNA Spaces dashboard. Under the ‘Admin Management’ section, you will be able to identify the role attached to your login.

Technical

Where is Cisco DNA Spaces data stored?
The data is stored in the Cisco cloud hosted by AWS. The stored data is encrypted at rest.
How many users can Cisco DNA Spaces servers handle?
The architecture of Cisco DNA Spaces is built in such a way that it handles dynamic scaling. Based on incoming traffic, we can dynamically scale to accommodate any number of users. It has a record of the world’s largest successful indoor LBS deployment to date.
How long is data stored in Cisco DNA Spaces?

Data is stored as long as your Cisco DNA Spaces account is active.

Data Security

What happens to the data collected during the trial period? Is it safe?
Trial accounts are offered the same security as our production accounts. Upon the expiry of the trial period, the data is marked for permanent deletion.
Who owns the data that is processed by Cisco DNA Spaces?

The customer has the absolute ownership of data.

What security measures does Cisco DNA Spaces take to protect personal data?
Data is protected through encryption authentication and authorization.
Do you comply with data security laws in China and EU?
Yes, we have different data centers for EU and China adhering to the respective local laws.

Licensing

How can I get licenses for Cisco DNA Spaces?

Cisco DNA Spaces can be ordered as a stand-alone subscription, as part of a Cisco DNA Advantage and Premier subscription, or via upgrade and migration offers.

Cisco DNA Spaces subscription includes both the cloud software as well as cloud tethered on-premise software. A subscription is required for the on-premise software in Cisco DNA Spaces (included in the See and Act subscriptions). CMX 3375 appliance is sold separately.

What are the licensing terms for Cisco DNA Spaces?
Cisco DNA Spaces See and Act are licensed on a per access point basis for a 3, 5, or 7 year term.
Is ordering the same for Cisco DNA Spaces regardless of whether I choose on-premises or cloud?

Yes, ordering is through the same SKU. On-prem can be installed on a VM or using a 3375 appliance (purchased separately).

Will Cisco DNA Spaces Act and See be orderable a la carte, meaning unbundled from Cisco DNA Wireless licensing?
Yes, both packages of Cisco DNA Spaces can be purchased separately.
If I want Operational Insights and I buy a Cisco DNA Spaces Act license (by the access point), how many devices (tags) am I allowed to track under that one AP license?

There is no limit to the number of assets that can be tracked using Operational Insights toolkit in Cisco DNA Spaces Act.

Which license would be required for getting the HISTORY if a device?

ACT license is required to have Cisco maintain the history of a device.

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