Configuring a Test Badge

When you perform the initial badge configuration, set up a single test badge first, confirm that it connects to the network the way you intended, and troubleshoot your badge.properties file if it does not. After you can successfully connect with this test badge, you can configure the remaining badges.

Important: Make sure a single test badge can connect to your network before you configure all your badges. If you download incorrect properties to your badges and they cannot connect, you may need to reset the factory defaults on each individual badge—a labor-intensive process.

Set up a configuration computer using the network settings required to connect to badges that have factory default settings. See Installing and Setting Up for details.
Use the Badge Properties Editor on the configuration computer to create a badge.properties file that specifies how your badges connect to your network.

See Creating a Property File to Download.

Tip: Use the Badge Properties Editor to specify that a DHCP server is assigning IP addresses to the badges dynamically. If your badges require static IP addresses, see About Assigning Static IP Addresses.
Make sure the production Vocera Voice Server is running and the badge is within range of the wireless network to which it is trying to connect.
The badge will attempt to connect to the Vocera Voice Server after updating itself from the Badge Configuration Utility.
On the Vocera configuration computer, choose Programs > Vocera > Badge Utilities > Badge Configuration Utility.
The Badge Configuration Utility opens in a command window, displaying a list of firmware components and properties that the utility will download.
Attach a charged battery to a new badge (a badge that has never been configured).

A new badge automatically looks for the configuration computer (because the IP address of the configuration computer is set to 10.0.0.1) and connects to it. The Badge Configuration Utility displays the start session message, then it automatically starts downloading firmware and properties to the badge.

The Badge Configuration Utility continues to display messages as it downloads the firmware and properties. When the download is complete, the badge reboots and tries to connect to the network using the SSID and other network properties that you specified in the badge.properties file.

If the badge successfully connects to the network, it then tries to connect to the production Vocera Voice Server using the Vocera Voice Server IP Address that you specified in the badge.properties file.
Look at the screen of the badge:
- The message “Logged Out” indicates that the badge is configured properly and has connected to the Vocera Voice Server.
  
  Continue with Configuring the Remaining Badges.
- If the badge does not display “Logged Out” within 30 seconds to one minute, the badge is not configured properly and did not connect to the Vocera Voice Server.
  
  Continue with Troubleshooting Badge Configuration.
Shut down the Badge Configuration Utility.
1. On the configuration computer, click the close icon in the upper-right corner of the command window in which the Badge Configuration Utility is running.
  The Badge Configuration Utility session ends, and the command window closes.
Copy the badge.properties file you created on the configuration computer to the \vocera\config directory of your production Vocera Voice Server.
Do either of the following:
- If your production Vocera Voice Server is running, stop it and then restart it to load the badge.properties file into memory.
- If your production Vocera Voice Server is not running, start it to load the badge.properties file into memory.