IoT apps and solutions are taking over the world gradually, and the need for IoT platforms and infrastructure that facilitates IoT development is also increasing.
Multiple challenges haunt developers while building an IoT solution. Connecting different devices and making them form an ecosystem is by far the biggest challenge.
And when you don’t have a powerful platform to back your application, things become even more challenging.
IoT developers are constantly on the hunt for a platform that could take the pain out of the task and make their life easy.
Thankfully, Amazon realized that and launched the AWS IoT platform.
What is Amazon Web Services IoT?
AWS IoT platforms facilitate IoT development by providing cloud solutions to connect devices, store data, and analyze complex IoT data.
In a nutshell, this is what the AWS IoT platform does-
- Provides end-to-end device control.
- Provides data control.
- Makes application management easy as pie.
- Facilities you to connect your IoT device with other devices, Amazon cloud applications, and IoT solutions.
- AWS IoT platform also streamlines the scaling of applications.
- Offers superior security options.
Whether you want to build a small IoT application or a large industrial IoT solution, there is nothing that should deter you from utilizing AWS IoT.
AWS IoT core
AWS IoT Core is the cloud service that powers the entire AWS IoT platform. AWS IoT Core is a large suite of offerings that forms the backbone of the AWS IoT platform.
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AWS IoT core enables developers to link devices and communicate with each device or altogether, get data and work on it, use built-in Alexa devices and other Amazon applications, etc.
In short, the AWS IoT Core is the ideal cloud infrastructure one may need for efficient IoT development.
Here is a detailed list of various service you get with AWS IoT-
Device Defender
AWS IoT device defender allows identification, authentication, and authorization of devices. On top of that, it is also responsible for data encryption. AWS device defender facilitates developers to add a thick security layer to their IoT solutions. You can adjust the device defender to secure the entire solution and inform you of any security risks like DDoS attacks.
AWS IoT Sitewise
AWS IoT Sitewise makes the AWS IoT platform even more powerful by enabling device data gathering. Data once collected via secure on-site gateways is sent to AWS servers.
Amazon FreeRTOS
Amazon FreeRTOS is an operating system precisely built for IoT solutions. The OS is a best-fit for microcontrollers as it allows low-power communication with devices. It comes with every program and software you will need for seamlessly connecting devices with the AWS IoT core. As the name suggests, the OS is free and open source.
AWS IoT Greengrass
AWS IoT Greengrass is a service that gives AWS IoT core superpowers. It allows the devices in an IoT solution to communicate and operate even when not connected to the internet.
AWS IoT Analytics
AWS IoT Analytics is responsible for working with data. It processes huge volumes of data to fetch information that could be helpful. It can work with a large amount of data coming from a large number of IoT devices.
The service can carry out assorted operations on raw data to transform it into something desired.
AWS IoT Device Management
AWS IoT device management simplifies device deployment and management in an IoT solution. It acts as an ultimate interface to control and maintain all the devices.
AWS IoT Things Graph
AWS IoT things graph is a service intended to link devices visually and assist in building efficient IoT solutions. With AWS IoT things graph, you can visualize and regulate all your devices in a single visual.
AWS IoT Events
AWS IoT events are responsible for handling IoT sensors. The services handle almost all aspects of IoT sensors like- identifying events, responding to events, monitoring sensors, providing insights, and integrating with other services.
The service could be set to respond to sensor events using assorted programs.
Features of AWS IoT
Among various other IoT infrastructure solutions, AWS IoT has been able to stand out just because of the vast number of advantages it offers to users.
Here are some of the best feature you get with Amazon AWS IoT:
AWS IoT device SDK: AWS IoT device SDK, aka software development kit, is a solution by AWS IoT that allows you to build IoT apps with no trouble. From helping you connect your device to AWS IoT core to authenticating it, the SDK is the end-to-end solution for efficient IoT development with AWS IoT.
The SDK comes with a lot of handy guides, client libraries, and support for the most popular IoT proving languages like C, Arduino, and JS. AWS IoT device SDK makes use of various protocols for various operations like HTTP, WebSockets protocol, and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport.
Message Broker: Another feature of AWS IoT is the message broker. As the name suggests, the message broker is responsible for efficient communication between devices and applications via messages. Some of its advantages are as follows:
It lets you manage the individual connection permissions with fine access control.
Constraining or allowing information exchange by the device as per need.
A wide range of devices could message each other with the Message broker.
Security: With no data transfer happening without authentication, ensuring secure communications among devices is no harder. Alongside authentication, AWS IoT also uses a plethora of security certificates to keep messages and information safe.
Registry: Registry in AWS IoT enables you to add a device and keep track of it with unique IDs and metadata.
Jobs: Jobs is a very useful feature that comes along with AWS IoT. In a nutshell, Jobs are remote operations that could be carried out on devices connected.
Updating device systems using OTA is one example of such remote operations. On top of that, the Jobs feature also allows transferring files to assorted devices.
Jobs document contains programs or functions that the device should execute. This file is often placed in an Amazon S3 bucket.
Rules Engine: The rules engine is a powerful feature that comes along with AWS IoT. It helps to build IoT apps that could collect and work on information gathered from connected IoT devices from all over the globe.
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With the Rules engine, you could define certain rules and examine, transform and transmit messages to any connected device or a cloud service. There is a lot you could do with the Rules engine like transforming information and writing rules that work according to the message. There are a plethora of functions available to achieve different tasks.
Device Shadow: Device shadow is like the magical feature that allows you to communicate with your IoT device even if they are offline. The device shadow creates a shadow of the device on the cloud, and the shadow refers to the most recent state of the device. It is possible to set future states for devices and make the AWS device SDK act according to state.
Alexa: AWS IoT enables developers to use Alexa voice service and this eliminates the need for building Alexa enabled devices from scratch.
Alexa integration is possible with resource-restricted devices and other products and small devices.
Why use AWS IoT?
AWS IoT is an end-to-end solution for developers in need of a platform that could help them build and scale IoT apps smoothly.
The platform is multipurpose. Whether you wish to build a home IoT system or a commercial IoT application, the app has everything you will need for efficient and productive IoT development.
AWS IoT is a cloud-based service and in terms of ease of use, it’s far better than other platforms. And even if you get to stick somewhere, a large community of AWS IoT lovers will always be there to help you.
Security is yet another plus point of AWS IoT. From users to devices, everyone and everything is secured in AWS IoT infrastructure. AWS IoT uses multiple security protocols and provisions to allow you to secure your devices as per the need.
Secure tunneling allows two-way secure communication among IoT devices.
The AWS IoT services come with reasonable pricing. It’s a scalable platform for IoT development.
All in all, the AWS IoT platform provides developers with all the infrastructure and services one would need for IoT development.
