Desktop Gateways
Overview
Desktop Gateways are Windows-based software agents installed on computers within your facility. Each agent uses the computer's built-in Bluetooth adapter (or a USB BLE dongle) to continuously scan for nearby BLE personnel badges and report observations to the mustering system backend.
Unlike the browser-based BLE Scanner, Desktop Gateways run as background services that send data automatically without requiring a browser to be open. They are well suited to permanent deployments at fixed locations such as reception desks, security stations, or entrance areas where a computer is always running.
Each Windows installation also starts a NISC Desktop Gateway tray application at user sign-in. The tray icon provides a local status and settings window where you can confirm the receiver ID, check the last heartbeat or error, and update the Azure endpoint and auth token without editing files manually.
The Desktop Gateways page lets you:
- View the health and status of all registered gateway agents in real time.
- Onboard new gateways by recording their receiver ID, display name, and physical location.
- Review the runtime configuration being distributed to all gateway agents.
Accessing the Page
Navigate to Desktop Gateways in the main menu. You must be logged in to access this page.
The page loads gateway health data, the shared configuration, and the list of available floors automatically when it opens. Click Refresh at any time to reload all data.
Gateway Health Dashboard
Summary Cards
Four summary cards at the top of the page give an at-a-glance overview:
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total desktops | Number of gateway agents registered in the system. |
| Online | Number currently reporting a heartbeat within the expected interval. |
| Off-site / paused | Number whose site-detection check determined they are not on the monitored network and have paused scanning. |
| Reporting observations | Number actively sending BLE observation data (messages per minute greater than zero). |
Gateway Health Table
The health table lists every registered desktop gateway with the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Gateway | The display name given to this gateway at onboarding time. |
| Status | Current operational state: online (heartbeat received recently), offline (heartbeat overdue), or another agent-reported state. |
| Site state | Whether the agent believes it is on-site (ON_SITE) or off-site (OFF_SITE). Agents pause scanning when off-site to avoid reporting from home networks or remote locations. |
| Building | The building this gateway is assigned to, if set. |
| Floor | The floor within the building. |
| Msgs/min | The rate at which BLE observation messages are currently being sent to the backend. A value of zero means the agent is connected but not detecting any badges. |
| Last heartbeat | The date and time the agent last confirmed it was running. If this is more than a few minutes ago the agent may be offline or the machine may be asleep. |
| Uptime | How long the agent service has been running continuously, shown as hours and minutes. |
Tip: If a gateway shows as online but Msgs/min is zero, check that Bluetooth is enabled on that computer and that BLE badges are within range.
Monitoring Gateway Health
What "Online" Means
A gateway is considered online if it has sent a heartbeat within the configured heartbeat interval (shown in the Runtime Configuration panel). If a machine is shut down, goes to sleep, or loses network connectivity, the status will change to offline after the interval passes.
What "Off-Site" Means
Each gateway agent checks its network environment against a list of approved SSIDs, BSSIDs, DNS suffixes, and subnets configured by your administrator. If none of the approved conditions match, the agent concludes it is not on the facility network and suspends scanning. This prevents observations from being sent when a laptop is taken home or to another location.
When a machine returns to an approved network, the agent automatically resumes scanning after the configured recheck interval.
Note: Off-site gateways still appear in the health table so you can confirm the agent is running, just paused. If a machine that should be on-site is showing OFF_SITE, check that the computer is connected to the correct Wi-Fi network or wired segment.
Heartbeat Interval
The heartbeat interval determines how often each agent sends a "still running" message to the backend. The default is shown in the Runtime Configuration panel. If you do not see a heartbeat update within twice this interval, investigate whether the machine is powered on and network-connected.
Onboarding a New Desktop Gateway
When a new computer is set up with the Desktop Gateway agent software, it begins sending heartbeats immediately and auto-registers itself in the backend. Onboarding is only required to assign a floor and precise map position.
- Install and start the Desktop Gateway agent on the Windows computer.
- Find the gateway's Receiver ID. This is shown in the local tray app status window or in the agent's log file. It is typically in the format
niscdesktop01or similar, and is derived from the machine's hostname. - On the Desktop Gateways page, fill in the Manual Onboarding form on the right side of the page:
- Receiver ID — the ID from step 2 (required).
- Receiver name — a human-readable label for this gateway, such as "Main Entrance Left" (optional; the Receiver ID is used if left blank).
- Floor — select the floor of the building where this computer is located. This links the gateway's observations to a specific floor on the floor plan.
- X position and Y position — the approximate position of the computer on the floor plan, expressed as a percentage from 0 to 100 of the floor plan's width and height. 50 / 50 places the gateway in the centre of the floor.
- Desktop beacon transmitter ID — if the computer itself has a BLE beacon attached or built in that other gateways can detect, enter its transmitter ID here. This is optional and used for asset tracking of the computer itself.
- Asset / desk name — an optional label for the computer or desk, used in asset tracking.
- Click Save onboarding.
The gateway will appear in the health table after its next heartbeat. Floor and position information will be reflected on the floor plan.
Tip: X and Y positions are percentages, not pixels. If the floor plan image is 1000 pixels wide and the desk is 300 pixels from the left edge, enter 30 for X. Use the floor plan page to verify placement after onboarding.
Runtime Configuration
The Runtime Configuration panel shows the settings currently being distributed to all Desktop Gateway agents. These settings are managed by your system administrator and apply to every gateway in the deployment.
Reporting Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Heartbeat interval | How often (in seconds) each agent sends a keep-alive message to confirm it is running. |
| Batch interval | How often (in seconds) each agent collects BLE scan results and sends them to the backend as a batch. Shorter intervals mean more up-to-date location data but higher network traffic. |
BLE Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Scan interval | The total duration (in seconds) of one BLE scan cycle. This is the period between the start of successive scans. |
| Scan window | The portion of each scan interval (in seconds) during which the Bluetooth adapter is actively listening. A scan window shorter than the scan interval allows the adapter to handle other Bluetooth activity between scans. |
| Advertise interval | How often (in milliseconds) the agent advertises its own presence as a BLE device (if that feature is enabled). |
| Scan mode | The Bluetooth scanning mode used by the agent (for example, low latency or low power). |
Site Detection Settings
Site detection controls when the agent decides it is on the monitored facility network and should actively scan.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Allowed SSIDs | Wi-Fi network names (SSIDs) that indicate the agent is on-site. If the computer is connected to any of these Wi-Fi networks, it is considered on-site. |
| Allowed BSSIDs | Specific access point hardware addresses (BSSIDs) that confirm on-site status. More precise than SSIDs. |
| Allowed DNS suffixes | DNS domain suffixes assigned by the network (for example, corp.nisc.local). If the computer's DNS configuration includes any of these suffixes, it is considered on-site. |
| Allowed subnets | IP address ranges (CIDR notation) that indicate on-site status. If the computer has an IP address within any of these ranges, it is considered on-site. |
| Recheck interval | How often (in seconds) the agent re-evaluates whether it is on-site after a change is detected. |
| Off-site grace period | How many seconds the agent waits after losing all on-site signals before suspending scanning. This prevents brief Wi-Fi dropouts from pausing observations. |
Note: If you need to add a new Wi-Fi network, subnet, or DNS suffix to the allowed list, contact your NISC system administrator. Changes to site detection configuration are deployed to all agents automatically.
Troubleshooting
A gateway shows as offline Check that the Windows computer is powered on, not in sleep mode, and connected to the network. On the computer, verify the Desktop Gateway service is running in Windows Services (services.msc). If the service has stopped, start it and the gateway should reappear as online within one heartbeat interval. The tray app will also show the last reported error, including missing auth token or endpoint issues.
A gateway is online but Msgs/min is 0 The agent is running and connected, but not detecting any BLE badges. Confirm:
- Bluetooth is enabled on the computer (check Windows Settings > Bluetooth).
- The computer is within range of personnel who are wearing registered badges.
- The badge batteries are not depleted.
A gateway shows OFF_SITE when it should be ON_SITE The agent's network environment does not match any entry in the site detection configuration. Confirm the computer is connected to an approved network. If the network details have recently changed (new SSID, new subnet), the configuration may need to be updated by an administrator.
I onboarded a gateway but it does not appear on the floor plan Make sure a floor was selected during onboarding. Without a floor assignment, the gateway cannot be plotted on the floor plan. You can re-onboard the gateway with the same Receiver ID and a floor selected; the system will update the existing record.
The health table is empty No Desktop Gateway agents are registered. Ensure the agent software is installed and running on at least one Windows computer, then onboard it using the Manual Onboarding form.