Skip to main content

Venues

Venues allow you to organize and manage multiple physical locations within your IronWifi network. Each venue represents a distinct location (office, retail store, hotel, campus building, etc.) with its own access points, location data, and network settings.

What are Venues?​

A venue is a physical location where you deploy WiFi infrastructure. Venues help you:

  • Organize Multi-Location Networks - Manage WiFi across multiple sites from a central console
  • Track Access Points by Location - See which APs are deployed at each venue
  • Monitor Location-Specific Activity - Filter reports and analytics by venue
  • Store Location Data - Maintain GPS coordinates and contact information for each site
  • Simplify Network Management - Group related infrastructure logically

Use Cases​

Multi-Location Businesses​

  • Retail Chains - Manage WiFi across multiple store locations
  • Hotel Groups - Track guest WiFi usage per property
  • Restaurant Franchises - Monitor network health across locations
  • Office Buildings - Organize networks by floor or building

Enterprise Networks​

  • Corporate Campuses - Separate networks by building or department
  • Educational Institutions - Organize by campus, building, or facility
  • Healthcare Systems - Manage networks across multiple facilities
  • Manufacturing - Track networks across different plants or warehouses

Service Providers​

  • MSPs - Manage client sites as separate venues
  • Hospitality WiFi - Track multiple property deployments
  • Public WiFi Networks - Organize by location or franchise

Venue Properties​

Basic Information​

FieldDescriptionRequired
Venue NameDescriptive name for the location (e.g., "Downtown Store", "Building A")Yes
DescriptionAdditional notes about the venue (max 1000 characters)No
Venue IDUnique identifier automatically assignedAuto

Contact Information​

FieldDescriptionFormat
Phone NumberContact number for this locationMinimum 7 digits, max 20 characters

Location Data​

FieldDescriptionValid Range
LatitudeGPS latitude coordinate-90 to 90
LongitudeGPS longitude coordinate-180 to 180
IP AddressPublic IP address for this locationIPv4 or IPv6

Associated Data​

FieldDescription
Access PointsCount of APs assigned to this venue
Geo-LocationsHistorical location and IP data
Last SeenMost recent activity at this venue

Viewing Your Venues​

  1. Navigate to Venues in the IronWifi Console
  2. View list of all venues with:
    • Venue name
    • Number of access points
    • Last activity
    • Location information

Venue List View​

The venues list shows:

  • All venues for your organization
  • Pagination controls (25 venues per page by default)
  • Quick access to edit or view details

Managing Venues​

Viewing Venue Details​

  1. Click on a venue name in the list
  2. View complete venue information:
    • Contact details
    • GPS coordinates
    • Public IP address
    • Associated access points
    • Geographic location history
    • Civic address information

Updating Venue Information​

  1. Navigate to the venue details page
  2. Click Edit
  3. Update any of the following fields:
    • Venue name
    • Phone number
    • Latitude and longitude
    • IP address
    • Description
  4. Click Save
tip

Keep venue information up-to-date for accurate reporting and easier troubleshooting. Update the phone number and location data whenever changes occur.

Deleting a Venue​

  1. Navigate to the venue details page
  2. Click Delete Venue
  3. Confirm the deletion
Cascading Delete

Deleting a venue will remove:

  • All access point associations
  • Geographic location records
  • Venue name mappings

This action cannot be undone. Ensure you want to permanently remove this venue before proceeding.

Access Point Association​

Linking Access Points to Venues​

Access points are automatically or manually associated with venues based on your network configuration. Each AP can belong to one venue at a time.

Viewing Venue Access Points​

  1. Open the venue details page
  2. View the Access Points section
  3. See all APs currently associated with this venue

Benefits of AP-Venue Association​

  • Location-Based Reporting - Filter authentication logs by venue
  • Easier Troubleshooting - Identify which physical location has issues
  • Capacity Planning - Track AP density per venue
  • Network Visualization - Understand your network topology

Location Tracking​

GPS Coordinates​

Store precise location data for each venue:

  1. Enter Latitude and Longitude coordinates
  2. Coordinates must be valid:
    • Latitude: -90 to 90
    • Longitude: -180 to 180
  3. Use decimal degrees format (e.g., 40.7128, -74.0060)

Finding GPS Coordinates​

Using Google Maps:

  1. Open Google Maps
  2. Right-click on the location
  3. Select the coordinates to copy them
  4. Paste into IronWifi venue settings

Using Address Lookup: Many geocoding services can convert addresses to coordinates:

  • Google Geocoding API
  • OpenStreetMap Nominatim
  • MapBox Geocoding

Public IP Address​

Store the public IP address for each venue to:

  • Track network changes
  • Assist with troubleshooting
  • Monitor location-specific connectivity
  • Maintain historical IP records

Geographic Location History​

IronWifi maintains a history of geographic locations and IP addresses for each venue:

Viewing Location History​

  1. Open venue details
  2. View Geo-Locations section
  3. See historical records including:
    • Public IP addresses
    • Latitude/longitude coordinates
    • Country and administrative divisions
    • First seen and last seen timestamps

Civic Address Information​

Each geo-location includes civic address data:

  • Language - Address language code
  • Country - Country code
  • A1 - State/province
  • A2 - County/district
  • A3 - City/town

Multi-Location Network Management​

Organizing Multiple Venues​

Best Practices:

  1. Consistent Naming - Use clear, standardized names

    • Good: "NYC Office - 42nd Street", "Dallas Store #123"
    • Avoid: "Office1", "Location B"

  2. Complete Information - Fill in all fields

    • Phone numbers for on-site contact
    • GPS coordinates for mapping
    • Public IP for network troubleshooting

  3. Regular Updates - Keep venue data current

    • Update phone numbers when staff changes
    • Verify coordinates if venues relocate
    • Track IP address changes

Filtering Reports by Venue​

Use venue information to filter:

  • Authentication Reports - See logins per location
  • Session Data - Track active users by venue
  • Network Usage - Monitor bandwidth per location
  • Access Point Status - Check health per venue

Multi-Venue Operations​

Centralized Management:

  • View all venues from a single console
  • Compare performance across locations
  • Identify outlier venues with issues
  • Plan capacity based on venue-specific data

Location-Specific Troubleshooting:

  1. Identify the affected venue
  2. View associated access points
  3. Check recent authentication logs for that venue
  4. Review network settings specific to that location

API Integration​

Venues can be managed programmatically via the IronWifi REST API.

API Endpoints​

GET    /api/{company_id}/venues              - List all venues
GET    /api/{company_id}/venues/{venue_id}   - Get venue details
PATCH  /api/{company_id}/venues/{venue_id}   - Update venue
DELETE /api/{company_id}/venues/{venue_id}   - Delete venue

List All Venues​

curl -X GET https://console.ironwifi.com/api/{company_id}/venues \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Query Parameters:

  • page - Page number (default: 1)
  • page_size - Items per page (default: 25)

Get Venue Details​

curl -X GET https://console.ironwifi.com/api/{company_id}/venues/{venue_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Returns complete venue information including access point count and geo-location data.

Update Venue​

curl -X PATCH https://console.ironwifi.com/api/{company_id}/venues/{venue_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "venue_name": "Updated Venue Name",
    "venue_phone": "+1-555-0123",
    "latitude": 40.7128,
    "longitude": -74.0060,
    "description": "Main office location"
  }'

Updatable Fields:

  • venue_name
  • venue_phone
  • latitude
  • longitude
  • ip_address
  • description

Rate Limits:

  • Updates: 50 requests per minute
  • Deletes: 20 requests per minute

Delete Venue​

curl -X DELETE https://console.ironwifi.com/api/{company_id}/venues/{venue_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Permissions​

Access to venue management is controlled by role-based permissions:

PermissionAccess Level
venues.readView venue information and list venues
venues.fullFull access: view, update, and delete venues

Contact your administrator to request venue management permissions.

Best Practices​

1. Naming Conventions​

Use consistent, descriptive names:

Recommended Formats:

  • [City] - [Location Type] - [Identifier] (e.g., "Boston - Store - #42")
  • [Building Name] - [Floor/Area] (e.g., "HQ Tower - Floor 3")
  • [Client Name] - [Site] (for MSPs: "Acme Corp - Warehouse B")

2. Documentation​

Use the description field for:

  • On-site contact information
  • Special network configurations
  • Access instructions
  • Maintenance notes

3. Location Accuracy​

  • Verify GPS coordinates for accurate mapping
  • Use at least 4 decimal places for precision
  • Test coordinates in Google Maps before saving

4. Regular Audits​

  • Review venue list quarterly
  • Remove decommissioned locations
  • Update contact information
  • Verify access point associations

5. Reporting Workflows​

  • Filter reports by venue for location-specific insights
  • Compare performance metrics across venues
  • Identify venues needing infrastructure upgrades
  • Track growth and usage trends per location

Troubleshooting​

Venue Not Appearing in Reports​

Possible causes:

  • No access points associated with the venue
  • No recent authentication activity
  • Filters excluding the venue from results

Solution:

  1. Verify access points are linked to the venue
  2. Check that the venue has recent activity
  3. Review report filter settings

Cannot Update Venue Information​

Possible causes:

  • Insufficient permissions (need venues.full)
  • Invalid data format (coordinates out of range, phone number too short)
  • Duplicate venue name

Solution:

  1. Verify you have venues.full permission
  2. Check field validation requirements
  3. Ensure venue name is unique within your organization

Access Points Not Associated with Venue​

Possible causes:

  • Access points not yet configured
  • Manual association required
  • Network configuration incomplete

Solution:

  1. Check access point configuration
  2. Verify network settings link APs to venues
  3. Contact support if automatic association isn't working

Rate Limit Exceeded​

Symptoms: API requests return 429 Too Many Requests

Solution:

  1. Reduce request frequency
  2. Batch operations where possible
  3. Wait 60 seconds before retrying
  4. Update rate: max 50 requests/minute
  5. Delete rate: max 20 requests/minute

FAQ​

How many venues can I create?​

There is no hard limit on the number of venues. The practical limit depends on your subscription plan and network size.

Can one access point belong to multiple venues?​

No, each access point can only be associated with one venue at a time.

Can I move an access point between venues?​

Yes, update the access point configuration to reassociate it with a different venue. Historical data will reflect the change.

Are venue names unique?​

Venue names must be unique within your organization. Different organizations can use the same venue names.

What happens to reports when I delete a venue?​

Historical data is preserved, but the venue will no longer appear in filters or venue-specific reports. Authentication logs retain the venue ID for historical reference.

Can I import venues via CSV?​

Venue import/export functionality may be available through the API. Contact support for bulk import options.

How do I map venues geographically?​

Use the latitude and longitude fields. Consider integrating with mapping tools via the API to visualize your venue locations on a map.