Hardware

Adding Hardware Equipment

GrowerIQ can integrate with hardware to help you label and track your inventory. Supported Devices - Printer: Zebra Printer ZD421 D - Scale: OHUAS scale with VLINX adapter - Scanner: Zebra scanner gun - Sensor: One that is able to connect to GrowerIQ via our API. Contact support to integrate a sensor. Before You Begin - Ensure that your equipment is one of the supported devices listed above. - Install the equipment on your computer: - Printer Installation Instructions - Scale Installation Instructions Managing Equipment Go to Administration > Equipment. The page lists the equipment in your site. To add a new one: Click the + button in the top green bar. To modify an existing one: Click on it in the list to expand it, then click EDIT. Fill in the fields to set up the equipment. Once the required fields have been filled out, the SAVE button becomes active. Click it to add the equipment to your site. | | | | --- | --- | | Field | Description | | Type | The type of euipqment you want to add. This affects the way the system will try to interact with it and where you'll be able to use it. | | Name | The name of the equipment as it will appear throughout your site. We recommend giving a descriptive name, such as "Grow Room Label Printer". | | Serial Number | Optional. The serial number stated on your device to make it clear which piece of hardware this equipment entry refers to. | | IP Address | This field is reserved for future use and currently has no function. | | Port Number | This field is reserved for future use and currently has no function. | | MAC Address | Optional. The MAC address of the device (for your reference only) | | Internal IP Address | The IP address you assigned to the device for your local area network (See "Before You Begin" above). This is the IP Address the system will use to find and communicate with it. | | Internal Port Number | The port number the system will use to communicate with the device. (Once the system has found the device through its IP address, it needs to connect to one of its virtual ports.) - For Zebra barcode printers the port number must be 9100 - For OHAUS scale with the VLINX adapter, the port number must 9761 | | Room | Optional. The room/general location of this device. The menu is populated with the Rooms you've set up. |

Installing a Printer on Your Computer

Before you can start using a printer with GrowerIQ, you'll need to install it on your computer and configure the network settings correctly. Once installed on your computer, you can add it to your GrowerIQ site. Note: Do not connect the Zebra printer to your computer until instructed below. In this article: - Run the setup wizard - Set up the physical connection - Configure the printer on your network - Finishing Up 1. Run the Setup Wizard Download and run the wizard/setup utility. Download Setup Wizard Follow the prompts to get through the setup wizard, without changing any of the fields. At the last step, before clicking Finish in the wizard, select the checkbox Run Zebra Setup Utilities Now. Once the Zebra Setup Utilities (System Prepare Wizard) opens, continue to the next step. 2. Set up the physical connection When prompted to choose a computer port, select USB, since this is how you'll connect your printer. Then click Next. Now you'll set up the physical connection. 1. Plug one end of the USB cable into the printer. 2. Turn the printer on. 3. Plug the other end of the USB cable into your computer. 4. Wait about 30 seconds for the wizard to detect the printer and set it up for you. 5. Click Finish. The Zebra Setup Utilities window will appear for the next step. 3. Configure the printer on your network Click Configure Printer Connectivity to open the connection wizard. Here's what to select and fill out on each step of the wizard: 1. Select Wireless from among the three options. Click Next. 2. For IP Address setup: Pick one (DHCP or STATIC) - Select 'Static' ONLY if you already know the unused IP address that you or your IT team reserved for the printer on your internal network. Then, you can enter the 'Printer 1' as the hostname and complete the remaining fields. Otherwise, select 'DHCP' to allow the network to automatically assign an IP address to the printer. DHCP (The network will automatically assign an available IP address) Static (An unused IP address has been reserved by your IT team) - Click Next. - For the Band setting, select 802.11 a/b/g/n and click Next. - For WLAN Country, select Other and click Next. - Configure initial WiFi settings: 1. For the ESSID, enter your WiFi network's name exactly. 2. For the Security Type, select WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK 3. Click Next. - Configure the WPA security settings: 1. For PSK Type, select String. 2. Enter your WiFi password into the field. 3. Click Next. - Ignore the Advanced Settings button and click Next. - Click Next again. - Select Printer, then click Finish. 4. Finishing Up - The lights on the printer should flash during rebooting. If everything is set up correctly, the network light on the far right of the printer will turn solid green. If it does not, there may be an issue with the network settings. Please go back to STEP 3 and try again, ensuring that the wireless ESSID and WiFi password are entered correctly. If the network light is still not solid green, stop here and do not proceed with the following instructions. Instead, contact our support team for further assistance. - To print a printer configuration page, press and hold the FORM FEED and CANCEL buttons on the printer for a few seconds, then release both. - If you selected the 'DHCP' option earlier, locate the automatically assigned IP address on the printed configuration page. If you selected 'Static,' simply update the assigned IP address in the GrowerIQ web application. - Add the printer to the GrowerIQ web application if you haven't done so yet. Otherwise, update the assigned IP address from the printer configuration page and save the settings. From the left menu bar, navigate to Administration → Equipment To check if the printer is connected to your internal network, simply enter its assigned IP address into the URL field of a new browser window. If the connection is successful, the built-in Zebra printer page will appear, displaying "READY" in green, as shown below. ​ 5. Configure Chrome for GrowerIQ's Printer Access Copy the address shown below. chrome://settings/content/insecureContent In a new tab in Google Chrome, paste that address into the address bar (the text field at the top). Press Enter on the keyboard, and you will be taken to a page with the heading Insecure content. On that page, next to Allowed to show insecure content, click Add. A modal appears. Enter the URL of your GrowerIQ production site and click Add. This allows your production site to access the printer. Click Add again. This time, enter https://uat.np.groweriq.com/ and click Add. This allows your UAT environment to access the printer. Chrome will now know not to block GrowerIQ from communicating with your printer.