Device
- Receive external instructions. You can send these instructions, like commands, OTA updates, etc., via device configuration. The message direction here is only cloud-to-device.
- Send a device’s internal representation. This internal representation can be device health, its firmware version, event triggers, or a device state like the temperature of a sensor or the light is on or off. The message direction here is only device-to-cloud.
Devices are basic IoT entities that can generate telemetry data and respond to commands. IoTConnect stores the device’s telemetry data as device attributes. The platform then acts on, analyzes and visualizes this data. In response, IoTConnect also sends commands if needed.
Why Device Management
Let’s continue with the use case elaborated in the users and roles module. Imagine your IoT solutions manage commercial buildings.
Suppose you have several devices on each floor in a building. You can add device metadata to individual floor devices to identify their locations – such as on the ninth floor. Imagine your buildings have centralized HVAC systems.
Using IoTConnect, you can send commands for the device to turn on the specific function when set conditions are met. For example, activating the heater when the temperature reaches ten degrees Celsius. Once a device receives the command, it follows its pre-programmed logic and changes its internal state accordingly. It will then turn on the heater.
To ensure that devices are in the appropriate state and their configuration is applied correctly, you can report the states of each device (on/off, temperature, etc.) to IoTConnect. This helps validate that the temperature is below or equal to ten degrees.
- Creating a template
- Adding a device
- Creating device attributes
- Implementing commands
- Extracting device properties
- Defining roles
- Executing OTA updates
That’s why you need device management. This user manual guides how to manage devices in IoTConnect.