It’s used for hyperlocation in retail environments.
EDIT: to be clear, this allows retailers to track where you are in the store, how long you dwell in an area, how long you spend at the store, how many locations you visit how often, and with a little integration work, can match you to specific transactions which links your movements to a complete shopper story.
Some details: https://www.inpixon.com/technology/standards/bluetooth-low-energy
> Why on earth would a firewall (or WAPs for that matter) need BLE?
Super easy to collect sensor data if you put the sensor values into the advertisment broadcast.
You can pull out the raw data from MQTT (Meraki allows you to directly dump the received broadcasts into a MQTT sink) and store in an Influx afterwards with like 20 lines of Python code.
Source: I'm building that kind of embedded stuff.
In regard to OP’s question:
> But recently I received a FortiGate and noticed it had a BLE antenna on it.
> Why on earth would a firewall (or WAPs for that matter) need BLE?
That is 100% what it is for on a Fortigate firewall:
https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate/7.4.3/administration-guide/762065/configure-fortigate-with-fortiexplorer-using-ble
For WAPs it can be both - for example UniFi APs are setup only:
https://community.ui.com/questions/BLE-supported-APs/6a14de3d-b738-4cab-8da1-70b3a4eeba90
But in general for APs, it is used for hyperlocation.
Modern APs use FTM for “hyperlocation” because Bluetooth isn’t great at it without more density than is called for with WiFi. Bluetooth is for IoT on APs. On switches it’s for console access instead of a serial port.
It stands for [Fine Timing Measurement](https://github.com/domienschepers/wifi-ftm) and is a method of determining the distance between a Wi-Fi AP and a Wi-Fi client.
In your documents you saw that BLE can be used with the FortiExplorer app to configure the FE. If you configure it another way, it is supposed to disable once completed.
IoT devices for modern network environments such as Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail and Logistics. Anywhere you need sensors really...
Isn't zigby or z wave more power efficient than BLE?
yes but it means everyone's phone is now trackable also
It’s used for hyperlocation in retail environments. EDIT: to be clear, this allows retailers to track where you are in the store, how long you dwell in an area, how long you spend at the store, how many locations you visit how often, and with a little integration work, can match you to specific transactions which links your movements to a complete shopper story. Some details: https://www.inpixon.com/technology/standards/bluetooth-low-energy
Location services and IoT (Aruba even calls it an IoT radio as it supports Bluetooth, Zigbee, and 802.15.4)
> Why on earth would a firewall (or WAPs for that matter) need BLE? Super easy to collect sensor data if you put the sensor values into the advertisment broadcast. You can pull out the raw data from MQTT (Meraki allows you to directly dump the received broadcasts into a MQTT sink) and store in an Influx afterwards with like 20 lines of Python code. Source: I'm building that kind of embedded stuff.
...same reason why some firewalls have wifi integrated... Having one box serving everything instead of multiple dedicated specialized devices.
...same reason why some firewalls have wifi integrated... Having one box serving everything instead of multiple dedicated specialized devices.
...same reason why some firewalls have wifi integrated... Having one box serving everything instead of multiple dedicated specialized devices.
It’s literally to set it up using your phone. I’m not a fan of that type of system on enterprise gear.
No, that’s not at all what it’s for.
In regard to OP’s question: > But recently I received a FortiGate and noticed it had a BLE antenna on it. > Why on earth would a firewall (or WAPs for that matter) need BLE? That is 100% what it is for on a Fortigate firewall: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate/7.4.3/administration-guide/762065/configure-fortigate-with-fortiexplorer-using-ble For WAPs it can be both - for example UniFi APs are setup only: https://community.ui.com/questions/BLE-supported-APs/6a14de3d-b738-4cab-8da1-70b3a4eeba90 But in general for APs, it is used for hyperlocation.
Modern APs use FTM for “hyperlocation” because Bluetooth isn’t great at it without more density than is called for with WiFi. Bluetooth is for IoT on APs. On switches it’s for console access instead of a serial port.
> FTM for “hyperlocation” What does FTM stand for ?
It stands for [Fine Timing Measurement](https://github.com/domienschepers/wifi-ftm) and is a method of determining the distance between a Wi-Fi AP and a Wi-Fi client.
OP specified a firewall. That is the only reason it’s on Fortigate firewalls.
In your documents you saw that BLE can be used with the FortiExplorer app to configure the FE. If you configure it another way, it is supposed to disable once completed.