Networks
Create a network, understand the setup screen and network states, rename it, and find your way around the network page.
A network is where your devices meet. Every network has its own control server, its own IP block, and its own labels, groups and rules; networks are isolated from each other. Creating one is available to the organization's owners and admins.
When should you create a new network?
Several networks in one organization are for environments that must be completely separate: production and staging, for example, or two different customers. You don't need a new network to separate teams within the same environment — that's what people groups and rules are for.
How many networks you can have depends on your plan: Plans and limits.
Create a network
Open the form
Use the form on the organization card on the panel home page, or the Networks tab on the organization's page.
Name it and create
Type a name in Network name and click Create network.
Wait for the setup to finish
The network page opens with the Your network is being provisioned screen while your dedicated control server is set up. This usually takes a few minutes, and the page refreshes by itself when it's ready.
When the network is ready, the organization's owners and admins get a "your network is ready" email.
Network states
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Provisioning | The control server is being set up; devices can't be added yet. |
| Active | The network is running. |
| Suspended | The network is suspended: devices can't connect, no new device key can be generated, and nobody can be removed from the network. Data is kept. |
| Deleting | The network is being removed. |
| Deleted | The network has been removed. |
The last two states are forward-looking: there is no flow today that removes a network — networks are only suspended.
What's where on the network page
The network page's menu has four sections:
| Section | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Devices | Devices, adding devices, assigning labels, approving shared networks |
| Rules | Access rules and the policy version |
| Labels | Machine labels |
| Members | People assigned to the network, people groups |
The summary cards at the top show the number of devices (with how many are online), the number of rules (with label and group counts underneath) and the number of people (organization managers included, and called out underneath). Network admins get a fourth card, Needs attention, with pending work (unlabeled devices, shared networks waiting for approval). Everyone else sees three cards, counting only the devices and rules visible to them. If you have several networks, Switch network moves between them.
Rename a network
A network's name is changed with the Rename link in the header. The name is only a display label: the network's control address (<network-id>.hs.nixscale.com) and device addresses don't change.
Shut a network down
Deleting a network isn't a button in the panel. If you want to stop using one, contact support: the network is suspended, its devices lose access and the data is kept.