Overview
Tags are the organizational backbone of Mango by Radix IoT. A well-designed tagging strategy makes it possible to filter, group, and dashboard hundreds—or thousands—of data points without losing your mind.
The recommended approach uses a three-tier tagging model:
- Site tag — identifies where the device is located
- Device type tag — identifies what kind of equipment it is
- Device ID tag — identifies which specific device it is
Without consistent tagging, scaling to hundreds of devices makes filtering and dashboarding nearly impossible. Investing time in a tagging strategy early saves exponential effort later.
Prerequisites
- Admin or data source edit permissions in Mango
- At least one data source configured with data points
- A clear understanding of your site/equipment hierarchy
Tip
Plan your entire tagging strategy on a spreadsheet before touching Mango. List every device, its site, device type, device ID, and the tag values you will assign. Getting consensus on paper first prevents costly rework once tags are applied to hundreds of points.
Warning
Platform Manager reads exactly three tag keys, spelled this way: site, deviceType and deviceID. site and deviceType are compared against the Export ID (XID) of the matching Site and Device type records — not against their display names. deviceID is different: it is compared against the device record’s own Device ID field, not its XID — on the device edit form these are two separate fields, and only the Device ID one is the tag-matching value. Platform Manager also matches each point by name against the point names configured in the device type’s layout. Correct tags with non-matching point names produce an empty view and no error. Any other tag key is yours to name however you like; these three are not.
The Three-Tier Tagging Model
Site Tag (Where)
The site tag represents the physical location of the device. This could be a campus, building, floor, or any geographic grouping that makes sense for your organization.
Examples:
site=HQ-Dallassite=Campus-B-Bldg-3site=Warehouse-East
Guidelines:
- Use abbreviations to keep values short
- Never use spaces—use hyphens instead
- Include hierarchy if you have multi-level sites (e.g.,
Campus-B-Bldg-3-Floor-2) - Document abbreviations so new team members understand them
Device Type Tag (What Kind)
The device type tag identifies the category of equipment. This enables you to pull up all RTUs, all generators, or all AHUs across every site.
Examples:
deviceType=RTUdeviceType=GeneratordeviceType=AHUdeviceType=Meter-Electric
Guidelines:
- Agree on vocabulary across your entire team before tagging
- Use manufacturer-neutral terms (e.g.,
RTUnotTrane-RTU) - If you need manufacturer info, add a separate
manufacturertag
Device ID Tag (Which One)
The device ID tag is a unique identifier for a specific piece of equipment. No two devices should share the same device ID.
Examples:
deviceID=RTU-01deviceID=Gen-3-NorthdeviceID=AHU-04-Floor2
Guidelines:
- Include a location hint when possible
- Use sequential numbering within each device type
- Zero-pad numbers for proper sorting (e.g.,
RTU-01notRTU-1)
Warning
Duplicate device IDs across different device types will cause confusion in filtered views and dashboards. Always verify uniqueness before applying. If you have an RTU-01 and an AHU-01, consider prefixing the device ID with the type (e.g., RTU-01, AHU-01) so the ID stands alone unambiguously.
Tip
Tags have no XIDs of their own, but the site and deviceType tag values must equal the Export ID (XID) of the matching Site and Device type records in Platform Manager. Choose those XIDs deliberately and standardize them in your spreadsheet before deployment: change one later and every point still tagged with the old value drops out of Platform Manager’s views.
Applying Tags to Data Points
Follow these steps to tag your data points:
- Navigate to the data point you want to tag and click Edit
- Open the Tags tab of the edit form
- Add key=value pairs for each tier:
site=HQ-DallasdeviceType=RTUdeviceID=RTU-01
- Click Save
Bulk tagging: Use the data point table view, select multiple points with the checkboxes, and apply tags to all selected points at once. This is the fastest way to tag an entire data source.
Naming Convention Best Practices
A consistent naming pattern for XIDs and point names prevents confusion as your system grows.
| Element | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| XID | Site_DeviceTypeDeviceNum_PointName | HQ_RTU01_SupplyTemp |
| XID | Site_DeviceTypeDeviceNum_PointName | CampusB_Gen3_Voltage_L1 |
| Point Name | DeviceType-DeviceNum PointName | RTU-01 Supply Temp |
Rules of thumb:
- Keep names under 50 characters
- Use underscores in XIDs (no spaces allowed)
- Use hyphens in tag values
- Avoid special characters other than hyphens and underscores
Warning
Enforce a single naming convention across your entire team and document it. Inconsistent casing (SupplyTemp vs supplytemp), synonyms (fuel level vs fuel percentage), and inconsistent units create fragmented data that breaks dashboards and reports. Pick one term for each concept, standardize the casing, include the engineering unit in the name if helpful, and reject anything that does not match.
Using Tags to Build Dynamic Dashboards
Tags unlock the full power of Mango dashboards:
- Watch lists can filter by tag combinations. For example:
site=HQ-DallasANDdeviceType=RTUshows only RTU points at headquarters. - Dashboard components bound to watch lists update automatically when points are added or removed from the filtered set.
- Adding a new device with the correct tags means it appears on existing dashboards without any dashboard changes. Tag it correctly, and the dashboards pick it up.
This is the key benefit of tags over hard-coded point references: your dashboards scale with your system.
Scaling: What Happens at 500+ Devices
Consistent tagging pays off dramatically at scale:
- Bulk operations — Select all points with
deviceType=RTUand update a setting across every RTU in one action - Bulk permission assignment — Filter points by
site=Campus-A, then assign a site role’s read permission to that selection (tags organize; they do not grant access by themselves) - Reporting — Generate reports by site, by device type, or by individual device without manually selecting points
- Troubleshooting — Filter for
deviceType=Meter-Electricacross all sites to compare performance
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Consequence | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Spaces in tag values | Filtering breaks or returns unexpected results | Use hyphens instead of spaces |
| Inconsistent capitalization | Tags don’t match filters (rtu vs RTU) | Agree on a case convention and stick to it |
| Missing tags on some points | Points don’t appear in filtered views or dashboards | Audit with the data point table—sort by tag columns to find gaps |
| Overly generic device IDs | Can’t distinguish between devices of the same type | Include location hint + sequential number |
| No documentation | New team members invent their own conventions | Maintain a tagging reference document |
Verification Checklist
- ☐ Every data point has a
sitetag - ☐ Every data point has a
deviceTypetag - ☐ Every data point has a
deviceIDtag - ☐ No tag values contain spaces
- ☐ Capitalization is consistent across all tags
- ☐ Device IDs are unique (no duplicates)
- ☐ XIDs follow the agreed naming convention
- ☐ A watch list filtered by tags returns the expected points
- ☐ Tagging conventions are documented and shared with the team
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Possible Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Watch list returns no results | Tag key or value has a typo | Check exact spelling and case in the data point tag fields |
| Some points missing from filtered view | Points are missing one or more tags | Open the data point table, sort by the tag column, and fill in gaps |
| Dashboard shows wrong devices | Tag values are inconsistent (e.g., rtu vs RTU) | Standardize capitalization across all points |
| New device not appearing on dashboard | Tags not applied or watch list cache | Verify tags on the new points and refresh the watch list |
| Bulk tag operation didn’t apply | Points were not selected before applying | Re-select points in the data point table and reapply |