If you're running Hudu Radar across multiple sites under one company, you can link each collector to a location asset so that devices and networks discovered by that collector are automatically tagged with the right location. Once this is set up, you won't need to manually set a location on every synced device or network. This guide walks through the one-time admin configuration required.
Visit Radar multi-collector overview and migrating existing adapters into collectors for background on collectors before setting up location linkage.
Linking a collector to an asset location
Before you start, you'll need:
- An asset layout marked use for locations (only one layout account-wide can have this setting)
- At least one saved asset on that locations layout for the company
- An asset link field added to each Radar device asset layout you want location data to populate on
Step 1: mark an asset layout as "use for locations"
This can be done at any time, independent of the rest of this setup.
- Navigate to Hudu Admin > Asset Layouts
- Open the layout you want to use for locations (or create one)
- Enable the Use for locations setting and save
Once enabled, assets on this layout become selectable as location assignments, both for the collector assignment covered in Step 3 and for the existing network Location dropdown.
Only one asset layout can be marked "Use for locations" at a time.
Step 2: configure an asset link field on your Radar device layouts
For each asset layout mapped to a Radar device type, add an asset link field that pulls from your locations layout:
- Navigate to Hudu Admin > Asset Layouts and open the device layout
- Add a new field (or edit an existing one) and set its type to Asset Link
- Set Pull from to the specific layout marked "Use for locations" (not "All asset layouts")
- Check the box labeled Autofill with location of Radar collector (if present)
The Autofill with location of Radar collector (if present) checkbox only appears when "Pull from" targets your locations layout specifically. At least one field needs this checkbox enabled for location data to populate during sync. If more than one field has it enabled, Radar updates all of them.
Step 3: assign a location asset to the collector
- Open Radar for the company and select the collector you want to configure
- Edit the collector's details
- Choose a location asset from the dropdown
- Save
Once saved, the collector's settings show a Location row displaying the assigned asset's name. To change or clear the assignment later, click that row to reopen the same details modal, which is the same place you'd go to rename the collector.
This dropdown only appears once you have a layout marked "Use for locations" with at least one saved asset on it. You can assign a collector's location before finishing Step 2. It's harmless on its own, and sync simply won't populate device fields until a qualifying asset link field exists.
Step 4: scan and sync
This step happens automatically; there's nothing further to configure. Once a collector has a location assigned, the next Radar scan and Hudu sync will, for each device on that collector:
- Match the device type to its asset layout (existing Radar behavior)
- Map Radar data points to asset fields (existing Radar behavior)
- Find the asset link field on that layout with Autofill with location of Radar collector (if present) enabled
- If none exists, skip with no error; if one exists, set its value to the collector's assigned location asset
The same collector-to-location assignment also automatically sets the location on any network discovered under that collector.
FAQ
Your collector's existing assignment and your asset link field configuration are left as-is, but they'll stop working together correctly since they still point at the old layout. To fix it: reassign each affected collector to a location asset on the new layout, and update the "Pull from" setting on your device layouts' asset link fields to point at the new layout (keep the "Autofill with location of Radar collector (if present)" checkbox checked). There's no automatic migration.
Yes, the network Location dropdown is still available. Keep in mind that if the network's collector has a location assigned, that manual value will be overridden the next time the network syncs through Radar.
You can complete these steps in any order without causing errors, but all three need to be in place before location data will actually populate: a locations layout, a qualifying asset link field, and a collector assignment.
Troubleshooting
Check the following:
- An asset layout is marked "Use for locations" and has at least one saved asset
- The collector has a location asset assigned in Radar settings
- At least one asset link field on the device's asset layout has "Pull from" set to the locations layout and the "Autofill with location of Radar collector (if present)" checkbox checked
This is expected behavior if the network's collector has a location asset assigned. Radar reapplies that location automatically on every sync. If you need a network to keep a different location, it should stay on a collector without a location assignment, or be managed outside of Radar's automatic sync.
If the collector's assigned location asset doesn't belong to the locations layout your asset link field is pulling from, Radar skips that update rather than showing an error. If you've confirmed every step above and location still isn't populating, reach out to Hudu Support with the company and collector name so we can check the sync logs.