Discrepancies between API output and dashboard

[russell.sage]

Hi I am just starting with the Meraki API and I am using Postman. I send a GET organizations/:organizationId/networks and I get a list of the networks in my organization all great.

I then have a javascript that extracts the network ID's for those networks that have wireless as a product for use in a second request to GET /networks/:networkId/wireless/ssids

What I have noticed however, is that what comes from the API doesn't match the current dashboard.

1. id: "L_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
2. organizationId: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
3. name: "UKSCDYC - Dyce Battery"
4. ▶productTypes: [3]
   1. 0: "camera"
   2. 1: "sensor"
   3. 2: "wireless"

Am I missing a trick?

[Raphael_L]

Is that network bound to a combined template ?

[russell.sage]

We have no configuration templates in the organisation.

[ww^]

Could be that you need to split the network and then combine them without the wireless network

[russell.sage]

How would do that if the dashboard doesn't show a wireless network?

[sungod]

Perhaps it's a side effect of having sensors? They do communicate wirelessly via BLE, presumably using your MV device(s) as gateways in this case.

API and the Dashboard web interface are different and incomplete views of an underlying set of data, it's a sure bet there will be variations in presentation/information.

Tbh I would not be concerned as it seems just a cosmetic difference, does the second API call fail? or just return no SSIDs?

[russell.sage]

So its actually returning 3 SSIDs which as the dashboard has no wireless I can't see either.

I have 52 of 114 networks showing as having "wireless" as a product. Sort of defeats the object of API if the data it sends back has to be manually checked against the dashboard.

I will raise a case with Meraki. Thank you

[sungod]

If it is returning SSIDs it implies that at some time in the past someone created them, maybe these networks were created by cloning another network that had SSIDs.

I'd assume both API and Dashboard are correct, just showing a different view of the same underlying state.

SSIDs/other settings can exist even if there are no APs, that's desirable/correct behaviour, the API would be correct to return them.

Maybe Dashboard is reducing screen clutter by hiding the wireless details from you because there are no APs.

My guess is if you added an AP then Dashboard would show you the same SSIDs that the API is telling you are there - this is quick and easy to check if you have an unallocated AP, just add it to the network and see what happens, you don't need to plug in the AP, just add it logically, do the check, then remove it.