Internet of Things (IoT) in Amazon Web Services (AWS)
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Everything you need to know about IoT in AWS
Hello there, readers!!!! It’s time to revisit the Internet of Things (IoT). In the previous blog, we discussed the domain of the Internet of Things (IoT). If you haven’t already done so, please click the link below. In this blog, I’ll talk about Amazon Web Services (AWS), a well-known cloud provider. Let’s start with AWS IoT because you might be wondering what it has to do with IoT for that please refer to our previous blog provided below.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT) at Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
AWS IoT allows connected devices to communicate with one another as well as with AWS cloud applications. This platform enables secure bidirectional communication between connected devices and the AWS Cloud via the internet.
AWS IoT cloud services are used to connect IoT devices to other IoT devices and AWS Cloud services. The device software provided by AWS IoT is used to connect the IoT devices to AWS IoT-based applications. The connected devices can use AWS Cloud Services if they can connect to AWS IoT.
For a hands-on introduction to AWS IoT, please visit the link provided below.
The diagram above depicts an overview of how AWS IoT integrates with other IoT devices and AWS services.
* Key point to remember: Bandwidth & Data Consumption Are Critical *
Assume we intend to build a large number of connected devices. We must consider that users may place them anywhere, that the amount of data transferred may vary, and that communication may need to be bidirectional. We could end up with devices in a room with access to a stable internet connection with no bandwidth constraints and others out in the open connected via a mobile network. Due to these constraints, we must select a lightweight and elastic protocol that is suitable for a wide range of network conditions and device placement.
How Do Devices and Apps Connect to AWS IoT?
To communicate with or receive messages from AWS IoT, the devices and apps must support specific interfaces. These interfaces may employ command-line interfaces or APIs for communication.
Deploying IoT ecosystem to the cloud
As promised at the start of this blog, AWS’s services that can be used to build IoT applications in the cloud will be discussed now.
But don’t worry, the services and the main architectural patterns will be discussed in more detail in subsequent articles.
- IoT Core
AWS provides a wide range of services that can assist users in developing a solid IoT solution, the most well-known of which is IoT Core.
IoT Core manages MQTT connections between users devices and the cloud in a serverless environment. Users will only be charged for the resources they use, and it will scale automatically based on the requirements.
Users must first create devices in IoT Core before they can create a new connection. Device development is simple. All that is needed is a name for the thing and the certificates that will be used to create an encrypted connection. Users can also categorize IoT devices into distinct groups, assign tags to aid in filtering, and place it in its own billing group to allocate costs.
Certificates are simple to generate: the IoT core will provide the private and public keys with a few clicks (it is highly recommended to store them in an encrypted S3 bucket because they are not accessible after the thing creation process). IoT Core allows users to provision your certificates by uploading them.
The final step before we begin using your new device is to implement a policy.
Policies define what the device is capable of. For example, users could have things that can only publish and subscribe to a subset of topics, while others can only subscribe to receive notifications. These security policies can be changed at any time, and the changes will take effect immediately.
2. Device Shadow
IoT Core gives things shadow capabilities. A device shadow is a JSON document that contains information about the current state of a particular device. The devices can simply publish a message on their own topic endpoint to update it. A thing can have several named shadows and only one unnamed shadow. The application can access the content of the shadows even when its device is offline, and it is sent back to the device when it reconnects.
Devices can benefit from the shadow because it allows them to store status and configuration in a centralized cloud space that only the user’s application can access.
3. IoT Rules
Users may want to trigger events that handle messages sent by devices when topics are updated. This is possible with IoT Rules. Every rule has a name, a SQL-like statement for filtering messages and selecting a subset of fields, and a set of actions to take. Several AWS services can be linked to IoT Rules; here are some examples:
- Use Lambda functions to implement your business logic.
- SNS is used to distribute messages to multiple recipients.
- To decouple your logic, use SQS.
- S3 and DynamoDB are used to store data in persistent storage for later use.
- Kinesis Firehose can handle multiple messages at once.
This last service is also useful if we want to reduce S3 API calls and costs: users don’t want to call an S3 PutObject for every update sent by the devices because it will raise the bills. With Kinesis Firehose, we can use a single API call to store multiple messages in a single S3 object.
4. Monitor Devices
The IoT Core console makes it simple to monitor the general status of the devices. On the service’s homepage, users can see how many things are currently connected, how many messages have been published, and how many rules have been executed.
IoT Core can also be configured to publish activity logs and metrics to Amazon CloudWatch.
Example: Choosing the Appropriate AWS IoT Solutions
For example, AWS IoT can be used to select the most appropriate and cutting-edge technology for the solution. AWS IoT Core can manage and support IoT devices in the field via the following protocols:
- MQTT (Message Queuing and Telemetry Transport)
- MQTT over WSS (WebSockets Secure)
- HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol — Secure)
- LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network)
MQTT and MQTT over WSS protocols are supported by AWS IoT Core for use by devices and clients. It also works with HTTPS-enabled hardware and software.
With the help of AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN, we can connect and manage wireless LoRaWAN (low-power long-range Wide Area Network) devices. There is no longer the need to create and manage a LoRaWAN Network Server with AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN (LNS).
What AWS IoT Interfaces Are Available?
AWS IoT supports the following interfaces:
AWS IoT Device SDKs
Create apps for the devices that allow them to communicate with and receive messages from AWS IoT.
AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN
Use this interface to manage and connect long-distance WAN (LoRaWAN) devices and gateways.
AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI)
Use the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) on Windows, macOS, or Linux to execute AWS IoT commands. These commands allow users to create and manage item objects, certificates, rules, jobs, and policies. To get started, consult the (AWS Command Line Interface User Guide). https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-welcome.html
AWS IoT API
Create IoT apps with the AWS IoT API and HTTP or HTTPS queries. These API operations allow users to create and manage item objects, certificates, rules, and policies programmatically.
AWS SDKs
Using the AWS SDKs, the creation of IoT apps that use language-specific APIs is possible. Users can program in any of the supported languages and use the HTTP/HTTPS API with the help of these SDKs.
The AWS IoT console provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for configuring items, certificates, rules, tasks, policies, and other IoT solution components.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the main areas of interest in the IoT world were discussed; the introduction of the MQTT protocol and AWS IoT Core were carried out, as well as the critical features for building IoT applications on AWS.
Stay tuned for a series of articles in which we will delve deeper into the issues surrounding IoT, of which this is only the first chapter!
