Get Started with Solstice Cloud

Solstice Cloud is a secure and scalable portal that helps organizations to optimize their Solstice-enabled meeting and learning spaces for greater usability, productivity, and return on investment. This is done through its easy-to-use management, monitoring, and analytics capabilities. Solstice Cloud allows administrators to easily deploy, monitor, and update Solstice Pods from anywhere in the world using custom categories, configuration templates, and scheduled software updates. Once deployed, usage data is securely collected from Solstice Pods and can be compared across room type or location to provide insight into room usage, participation, and meeting or class duration.

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Your organization can quickly start using Solstice Cloud at any time by first creating a Solstice Cloud organization, then onboarding your Solstice Pods into the Solstice Cloud management portal from the new Solstice Deploy app. Mersive recommends creating your Solstice Cloud organization using the email address for the person who will be the main Solstice Cloud administrator for the new Solstice deployment. This will be your organization's main administrator account for Solstice Cloud management.

The initial Solstice Cloud administrator account can then invite other users to join Solstice Cloud management for your organization in a variety of user roles. Inviting any additional users from the master account allows those users to access the same set of Pods and data for your organization. For more information, see Manage Users and Roles in Solstice Cloud.

Requirements

  • To onboard Pods into Solstice Cloud, Pods must have internet access and be running Solstice version 3.4 or later.
  • Deployment management capabilities are available for every Solstice Pod on version 4.5 or later.
  • Standard Solstice Cloud capabilities, including deployment management, are available at no charge for every Pod in perpetuity.
  • Full Solstice Cloud capabilities, including deployment monitoring and analytics, require a current Solstice Subscription.

How To

New Solstice Cloud management organizations can now be created directly in Solstice Cloud with any valid email address that isn't already assigned to a Solstice Cloud account. Solstice Pods can then be onboarded directly into Solstice Cloud using the new Solstice Deploy tool.

To create the new Solstice Cloud organization:

  1. Go to the Solstice Cloud organization creation page at cloud.mersive.com/create-org.

  2. Enter a valid Email that is not currently registered in Solstice Cloud management. This will be used for the initial administrator account for the new Solstice Cloud organization.

    Double check the entered email address for typos. A mistyped email address for this account may make the new organization inaccessible without support from Mersive.

  3. Enter a password in Create password. then enter it again in Repeat password.

    The entered passwords must be the same, and must meet the password rules listed by hovering over the question mark tool tip icon above the first password box.

  4. Check the box to agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then click Create Account and Login.
    1. If the entered passwords do not match each other, or do not meet the Solstice Cloud password rules, a new Solstice Cloud organization cannot be created. Fix the highlighted issue and try again.
    2. If the email address entered already has a Solstice Cloud account, you will be directed to instead log in to Solstice Cloud with your existing account.
  5. If the process is successful, you will be logged in to the new Solstice Cloud organization with your new Admin account.
  6. Continue to the next section to onboard Pods with the Solstice Deploy app.

Once you have a Solstice Cloud organization and main administrator account, you are ready to start adding Solstice Pods to be centrally managed in Solstice Cloud. Administrators can download the Solstice Deploy app for Windows or macOS from the Solstice Cloud portal.

  1. Go to cloud.mersive.com and log in to Solstice Cloud with an Admin level account. The Solstice Cloud home page will appear.

  2. Select Get Solstice Deploy in the lower left.
  3. Run the downloaded file (e.g., solsticedeploy-latest.exe) to install Solstice Deploy on your Windows or macOS computer. The Deploy app will start after the installation is complete.

    Before proceeding to the remaining steps, check that you are ready to onboard Solstice Pods to Solstice Cloud: 1) Solstice Pods must be connected to a network via Ethernet with access to the internet. 2) The device running the Deploy app must be connected to the same network and able to communicate with the Pods.

  4. In the Deploy app, enter the email address of a Solstice Cloud administrator account, then click Login.
  5. Enter the password for this admin account and Login with password.

  6. There are two ways to select the Solstice Pods on your network to be added to Solstice Cloud. Select Find Pods to have the Deploy app search the network for Pods to be added to Solstice Cloud.

    1. Use the following Advanced Settings as appropriate:
      • Enter an Admin password to find Solstice Pods with that password configured.
      • If your organization is using SDS for Solstice Pod discovery, enter the Solstice Discovery Service host IP address to help find Solstice Pods.
    2. A search results table will appear, and Pods that are 1) found on the attached network and 2) aren't yet in Solstice Cloud will appear. Some Pods may take longer to appear in the list than others.
    3. Once the list is complete, select the Pods from the list you want to add to Solstice Cloud.
  7. Or to use a list of IP addresses to select Solstice Pods to be added to Solstice Cloud management, use the Enter Pods Manually option.
    1. Enter a comma-separated list of IP addresses for Solstice Pods you want to add to Solstice Cloud. (Copying and pasting is strongly recommended.)
    2. If the listed Pod(s) have an admin password configured, enter it in Admin password.
  8. Once you have designated which Solstice Pods will be added to Solstice Cloud using one of the above options, there are two different ways to add the Pods into Solstice Cloud:
    • Select Enroll Pods to add the listed Solstice Pods in Solstice Cloud without any settings template assignments.
    • Or select Apply default templates and enroll Pods to assign predefined default templates to the listed Solstice Pods as they are added into Solstice Cloud management (for Pods running Solstice 5.0+). Click Yes, I'm sure to confirm this option.

      Applying default templates will overwrite previous Pod configurations, and previous settings will be lost. If any listed Pods have configurations you wish to save, do not apply default templates.

      Default template settings should be configured in Solstice Cloud before applying them to Solstice Pods. Learn more about Templates in Solstice Cloud.

  9. A progress bar appears for each Solstice Pod being added into Solstice Cloud. This process can take some time, depending on the number and type of Pods being onboarded and whether default templates are being applied.
  10. When Deploy has finished trying to onboard all listed Solstice Pods, a results summary appears.
    1. Each summary bar can be expanded to show details for Pods in that category (enrolled or failed). Failure details are provided for Pods that failed the enrollment process.
  11. Solstice Pods that were successfully enrolled will now appear and can be managed in Solstice Cloud.

Next Topic

Create Categories and Assign Pods