Cambium Networks opens ‘MarketApps Hub’ to automate customer-specific network management workflows

The network management workflows involved in deploying and operating a large school network are very different from those required for a multi-dwelling unit, hotel, or conventional enterprise. Cambium Networks says its MarketApps Hub has been created to address precisely those differences – and to give its wider community the tools to develop its own purpose-built network applications.

MarketApps Hub is an open application platform built on top of Cambium’s cnMaestro X network management system and its extensive collection of application programming interfaces (APIs). These APIs allow applications to access network data and execute actions through cnMaestro.

“This platform is intended not only for our own developers but also for our community of partners and customers. Today’s AI-based software development tools enable people with the necessary networking and operational expertise to create new applications in hours or days, compared with the months often required to add functionality through a conventional software release cycle,” says Azif Abdusalam, Director of Enterprise Solution Engineering at Cambium Networks.

Cambium provides the platform, community members build the apps

Cambium Networks provides the infrastructure needed to turn these independently developed applications into deployable services. This includes application hosting, security, single sign-on, and governance, as well as a central MarketApps catalogue through which applications can be made available to users. The first 11 applications are available today, with more under development. The company says that a self-service version of the platform through which external developers can submit applications is coming soon.

“The initial MarketApps were created by our solution engineering team working directly with customers to understand their operational processes. The central insight behind the initiative is that different markets require very different workflows – even when the underlying network infrastructure and management platform are the same. The strength of MarketApps is that we can now address these needs effectively,” Azif Abdusalam says.

Purpose-built apps for configuration, topology, and troubleshooting

One of the applications Cambium Networks demonstrated to WiFi NOW is an Intent-Based Network Configurator. The application guides an administrator through three steps covering the deployment type, required devices, and configuration. It then automatically generates a best-practice configuration that can include SSIDs, DHCP pools, Ethernet switches, firewalls, and Cambium Networks’ EasyPass personal pre-shared key – or ePSK – functionality. The completed configuration is pushed directly to cnMaestro without requiring the administrator to create accounts and networks manually.

The application is particularly relevant to MSPs employing engineers with experience across different networking platforms. By converting best-practice principles into a standardised workflow, Cambium says the tool helps ensure that engineers configure comparable deployments consistently, regardless of their individual backgrounds.

The Enterprise Site Topology application provides a view of the entire network, including equipment from other vendors, such as HPE and Cisco. Administrators can filter the topology by parameters including VLAN, signal-to-noise ratio, and connected client. Cambium Networks says this can make complex environments – including deployments with 1,000 units or more – considerably easier to navigate and manage. The application can also flag switch ports operating below their expected speeds, potentially identifying physical problems such as improperly crimped Ethernet cables.

Another application – the Wi-Fi Roaming Analyzer and Coverage Gap Tool – grew out of a problem experienced by a school IT director. “Users were encountering roaming delays of five to ten seconds when moving between classrooms. We solved this with an application that collects telemetry and technical support logs and visualises roaming activity and duration for each access point. The tool identified a 4.7-second 802.1X reauthentication event during roaming where fast roaming should have been used. The administrator updated the firmware, and the issue was resolved,” Azif Abdusalam says.

The longer-term vision: Self-healing networks

The company’s roadmap is to take this process beyond identifying the source of a problem. Future versions could recommend corrective actions and schedule fixes automatically, subject to the administrator’s approval. Cambium Networks’ broader vision is to create increasingly autonomous and ultimately self-healing networks while enabling people who understand particular operational problems to rapidly turn that knowledge into applications. AI-based builder tools accelerate development, while Cambium supplies the APIs and the secure, governed platform needed to deploy and distribute the resulting apps.

Cambium says all applications available through MarketApps Hub are included with cnMaestro X at no additional cost. The ecosystem will support applications developed by Cambium, technology partners, customers, and eventually other members of the Cambium community.

/Claus.