Management interface settings

Access to the web interface of the Allegro Network Multimeter is handled by an out-of-band network connection separately connected to the device via a wired connection or wireless. This section allows to configure the settings of the wireless and the wired access.

Wireless management interface

The wireless access can be disabled or enabled, regardless of an connected WiFi device since such a device can be connected later at any time. The wireless management interface can work in two modes:

• Join existing network: In this mode, the Allegro Network Multimeter will connect to your existing WiFi network. To do so, enter the name (SSID) of the network and the password. Your WiFi access point should list the IP it assigns to the Allegro Network Multimeter.
• Manage own network: In this mode, the device will setup an own access point so that you can connect your laptop or smartphone directly to the device and access the management interface. In this mode, the web interface can be accessed by entering the URL “https://allegro/” into your web browser.

Additionally, two other options are available in this mode:

• Channel: A fixed WiFi channel can be selected so the access point only uses this channel instead of automatically chosing the best available channel.
• Disable default gateway: If enabled, the access point will not announce to be the default gateway/route for this network. If so, the device can only be accessed by using the IP address 192.168.4.1. If this option is disabled, the name server running on the device will also resolve the name “allegro/” to make it easier to access to the device. This option is useful if there is still another connection active which should still be used, like a mobile connection or the internal company network.

LAN management interface

For wired connection there are three operation modes:

• Join existing network: Similar to the wireless connection, in this mode the device gets an IP from the network connected to the management port. The router or DHCP server in your network should list the IP of the Allegro Network Multimeter.
• Manage own network: In this mode, the device will run a DHCP server on the management port so that you can connect another computer via a wire to the system. Be aware that the network port should not be connected to your main network as running multiple DHCP servers will very probably disturb the network. In this mode, the web interface can be accessed by entering the URL “https://allegro/” into your web browser.
• Use static IP: It is also possible to configure a fixed IP for the wired management port. You can enter any IP for the port. The IP must end with a slash followed by the subnet size. Example: /24 stands for a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Optionally you can enter the IP of your gateway computer and the IP of the DNS server. You can leave them empty if you want directly connect the device to another computer with no router involved. In this mode, the web interface can be reached by the static IP you have configured.

Secondary management interface

You can attach an USB Ethernet adapter to any USB port of the Allegro Network Multimeter and use this as an additional management interface. This management interface can be operated with a static IP address only. In the address input field please enter the IP address followed by a slash and the subnet size. Optionally you can enter the IP of your gateway computer and the IP of the DNS server. You can leave them empty if you want directly connect the device to another computer with no router involved. This feature is not supported by the Allegro 200.

Host name

By default, the host name is in the format “allegro-mm-xxxx” where the last four characters depend on the actual device. Because of this multiple multimeters can be used in the same network. It is however possible to choose an own host name. Enter a new name and save the changes. If the name field is empty, the default name will be used again after the next reboot.

LLDP

If enabled, the Allegro Network Multimeter will transmit LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) information for the management MAC and IP addresses on the management interface. The LLDP system name will contain the hostname of the Allegro Network Multimeter and the LLDP system description will contain the platform type (e.g. Allegro-200-rev1) and the currently installed firmware version.