Creating and Managing a Blueprint

A blueprint is a set of configurations and policies applied to one or more devices. Use blueprints to define device behavior for a given use case, keep devices in a desired state, and manage changes to that configuration over time. 

This article covers general blueprint management. See the following articles on the configurations per operating system:

• See Managing Android Devices through a Blueprint  for Android devices.
• See iOS Blueprint settings article for iOS devices.
• See Managing Linux devices for Linux devices.
• See Managing Windows Devices through a Blueprint for Windows devices.

In this article:

• Creating a Blueprint
• Blueprint Sections
• Understanding Blueprint Terms
• Saving, Publishing, and Converging
• Managing a Blueprint
• Editing a Blueprint
• Managing Blueprint Versions
• Downloading the Blueprint Config File
• Deleting a Blueprint

Creating a Blueprint

Before you provision a device, create a blueprint to define the behavior of devices that share the same use case. Navigate to Blueprints Manager and click on Create Blueprint, then choose one of the following options:

• Create New Blueprint: Create a new blueprint.
• Create Blueprint from JSON Config: Create a blueprint from a JSON file. Find the JSON file for an existing blueprint by clicking on that blueprint > ... > Download JSON.
• Download JSON Config: Download a blank JSON config to use as the basis for a new blueprint.

• Create Blueprint from Template: Create a blueprint from a legacy Template. See Migrating from Templates to Blueprints for more information.

    

  When you create a new blueprint, you set the settings and policies for every device linked to that blueprint. When a device's configuration matches the blueprint, it's operating at its desired state. Name and describe the blueprint, then click Continue.

Blueprint Sections

Understanding Blueprint Terms

• Version Number: The blueprint's version. Esper saves a new version each time you make a change.

• Published Status: Indicates whether the changes are published. Blueprints must be saved before they can be published. 

• Sections: The categories of settings that control device configuration, such as Wi-Fi connectivity, app installations, and other software and hardware settings. 

• Tabs: Switch tabs between the different operating systems. 
  
• How to Apply: Blueprints determine which configurations are applied and at what point they're applied. Set an apply policy for each section using the dropdown menu at the top of that section.
  • Always Apply: The strictest provisioning method. Esper applies the blueprint's setting every time the device interacts with the Console, even if the device user or a Console user has since changed it. If a device user changes the volume, the setting reverts the next time the device checks in. If a Console user changes the volume from the Console, the blueprint reverts that change as well. The blueprint creator can still change the volume by updating the setting in the blueprint itself.
  • Provision Only: Esper applies the setting once, at the time of provisioning. This works well for settings like time zone, where devices shipping to different regions need different values but shouldn't be locked afterward.
  • Ignore: Esper doesn't manage this setting. The device keeps whatever value it had by default or before provisioning, and the device user or a Console user with device access can change it at any time. This is useful for settings like brightness, where you want the device user to retain control.

Drift Detection

Drift Detection lets admins see drift at a granular level. Learn more in Blueprint Drift and Drift Audit.

Saving, Publishing, and Converging

After you create or edit a blueprint, click Save. Saving records your changes but doesn't affect the devices linked to the blueprint. After saving, the version number updates. Click on the version number from the blueprint to see its saved history. From here, click Edit Blueprint to make further changes, or click Publish if you're done. When you publish, choose one of the following options:

• Publish: Publish the changes without converging. The blueprint settings won't be applied to devices yet.
• Publish & Converge: Publish the changes and converge them (apply the latest blueprint version to devices) by checking the Publish & Converge devices box. Devices remain in drift until they converge to the new blueprint version. You can also converge devices manually from Devices & Groups.

Managing a Blueprint

To edit a blueprint or perform other actions, click on the ellipsis (...) next to it and select one of the following options:

• Edit Blueprint Details: Change the name and description.
• Edit Blueprint: Edit the blueprint's settings.
• Clone Blueprint: Create a duplicate blueprint.
• Version History: View the version history.
• Delete Blueprint: Delete the blueprint.

Editing a Blueprint

Click on the ellipsis next to the blueprint to open the Actions dropdown. You can also open the blueprint and select Edit Blueprint to enter editing mode, where you can save or cancel your changes. While editing, you may see a message that says Resolve errors to proceed. Note: View the section where the error occurred and look for a warning message describing the issue. Once you resolve the error, you can save, publish, and converge your changes.

Managing Blueprint Versions

Blueprint versions let you track changes made to a blueprint over time. Locate the blueprint in Blueprints Manager and click on its version number to see its history. How versioning works:

In the version view, you can see: 

• Version: The blueprint's versions, recorded each time it was saved or published.
• Devices: The devices linked to that version.
• Saved: The date the version was saved or published.
• Changed by: The user who saved or published the version.
• Comments: Any comments left by the user. To restore an older version, click Restore as New. Esper uses that version's configuration to create a new version. For example, if you're currently on version 3.0 and click Restore as New on version 2.1, the restored configuration becomes version 3.1.

Downloading the Blueprint Config File

Download a blueprint's config JSON to copy it to another tenant. Click on the blueprint, then click on the ellipsis (...). 

Select Download JSON. In the destination tenant, go to Blueprints Manager and choose Create Blueprint > Create Blueprint from JSON Config.

Choose the option that best fits your workflow.

Deleting a Blueprint

To delete a blueprint, locate it in Blueprints Manager, click on the ellipsis (...), and select Delete.

Blueprints assigned to one or more devices can't be deleted. Assign those devices to a new blueprint first, then delete the old blueprint.