Deploying IoT Hub and handling device data

Posted on by Panther

Introduction

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an ecosystem of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity capabilities. With the increasing adoption of IoT, there has been a rise in the demand for IoT Hub deployment. IoT Hub is a cloud service that enables communication between IoT devices, back-end services, and applications.

In this tutorial, we will discuss how to deploy IoT Hub and handle device data. The tutorial is divided into three parts. In the first part, we will discuss setting up an IoT hub with Azure. In the second part, we will discuss how to simulate a device and send data to the IoT hub. Finally, in the third part, we will discuss how to retrieve data from the IoT hub.

Setting up an IoT hub with Azure

Azure IoT Hub is a cloud service that enables reliable and secure communication between IoT devices and the cloud. Here are the steps for setting up an IoT hub with Azure.

1. Sign in to Azure

Navigate to the Azure portal and sign in with your account credentials. If you don’t have an Azure account, you can create a free account.

2. Create an IoT hub

Once you have signed in to Azure, create a new IoT hub by following these steps:

  1. Navigate to the IoT Hub service in Azure.

  2. Click the “Add” button at the top of the page.

  3. Enter a name for the IoT hub. Choose a name that is descriptive and meaningful.

  4. Select a subscription, resource group, and region for the IoT hub.

  5. In the “Pricing and scale tier” section, choose the pricing tier that best fits your needs.

  6. Click the “Review + create” button to review your settings.

  7. Finally, click the “Create” button to create the IoT hub.

3. Configure the IoT hub

After you have created an IoT hub, you will need to configure it before you can use it to manage your devices. Here are the steps for configuring your IoT hub:

  1. Navigate to the IoT hub in Azure.

  2. Click on the “Shared access policies” tab.

  3. Click on the “iothubowner” policy.

  4. Copy the “Connection string-primary key” value.

4. Create a container registry

To deploy an IoT Edge module, you will need to have a container registry. Here are the steps for creating a container registry in Azure:

  1. Navigate to the Azure portal.

  2. Click the “Create a resource” button.

  3. In the search box, type “Container Registry” and press Enter.

  4. Select the “Container Registry” option.

  5. Click the “Create” button.

  6. Enter a name for the container registry.

  7. Choose a subscription, resource group, and region for the container registry.

  8. Choose the “Standard” pricing tier.

  9. Click the “Review + create” button to review your settings.

  10. Finally, click the “Create” button to create the container registry.

5. Create an IoT Edge device

The next step is to create an IoT Edge device, which is a virtual representation of your physical IoT device. Here are the steps for creating an IoT Edge device:

  1. Navigate to the Azure portal.

  2. Click the “Create a resource” button.

  3. In the search box, type “IoT Edge” and press Enter.

  4. Select the “IoT Edge” option.

  5. Click the “Create” button.

  6. Enter a name for the IoT Edge device.

  7. Choose a subscription, resource group, and region for the IoT Edge device.

  8. Click the “Review + create” button to review your settings.

  9. Finally, click the “Create” button to create the IoT Edge device.

6. Configure the IoT Edge device

After you have created an IoT Edge device, you will need to configure it before you can use it to manage your devices. Here are the steps for configuring your IoT Edge device:

  1. Navigate to the IoT Edge device in Azure.

  2. Click on the “Set Modules” tab.

  3. Click on the “Add” button.

  4. Enter a name for the module.

  5. Choose the “IoT Edge Module” option.

  6. Click on the “Create options” link.

  7. Enter the following JSON configuration:

{
  "Env": {
    "myValue": "hello world"
  },
  "Image": "<your container registry name>/edgeapp:v1.0",
  "Cmd": [ "/bin/sh", "-c", "npm start" ]
}

  1. Click on the “Create” button to create the module.

  2. Finally, click on the “Configure” button to configure the IoT Edge device.

Simulating a device and sending data to the IoT hub

In this section, we will discuss how to simulate a device and send data to the IoT hub. Here are the steps for simulating a device:

1. Install the Azure IoT device SDK

To simulate a device and send data to the IoT hub, you will need to install the Azure IoT device SDK. Here are the steps for installing the Azure IoT device SDK:

  1. Navigate to the Azure IoT device SDK website.

  2. Select the programming language you are using.

  3. Download and install the Azure IoT device SDK for your programming language.

2. Create a new device in the IoT hub

After you have installed the Azure IoT device SDK, you will need to create a new device in the IoT hub. Here are the steps for creating a new device:

  1. Navigate to the IoT hub in Azure.

  2. Click on the “IoT devices” tab.

  3. Click on the “New” button.

  4. Enter a name for the new device.

  5. Click on the “Create” button to create the new device.

  6. Click on the new device to view its properties.

  7. Copy the “Connection string-primary key” value.

3. Update the device code

Now you will need to update the device code to include the connection string for your device. Here is an example of the device code:

var connectionString = "{your device connection string}";

var client = require('azure-iot-device').Client.fromConnectionString(connectionString);

var Message = require('azure-iot-device').Message;

var interval;

function startSendingMessage() {

  interval = setInterval(function(){

    var message = new Message('data from device');

    console.log("Sending message: " + message.getData());

    client.sendEvent(message, printResultFor('send'));

  }, 1000);

}

function stopSendingMessage() {

  clearInterval(interval);

}

client.open(function (err) {

  if (err) {

    console.error('Could not connect: ' + err.message);

  } else {

    console.log('Client connected');

    startSendingMessage();

  }

});

function printResultFor(op) {

  return function printResult(err, res) {

    if (err) console.log(op + ' error: ' + err.toString());

    if (res) console.log(op + ' status: ' + res.statusCode + ' ' + res.statusMessage);

  };

}

4. Run the device code

After you have updated the device code, you can run it to simulate a device and send data to the IoT hub. Here are the steps for running the device code:

  1. Open a terminal or command prompt.

  2. Navigate to the directory where you saved the device code.

  3. Run the command to start the device: node device.js

5. Verify that data is being sent to the IoT hub

Finally, you can verify that data is being sent to the IoT hub by navigating to the IoT Hub in Azure and clicking on the “Messages” tab. You should see the data from your device being displayed.

Retrieving data from the IoT hub

In this section, we will discuss how to retrieve data from the IoT hub. Here are the steps for retrieving data from the IoT hub:

1. Create a new application in Azure

To retrieve data from the IoT hub, you will need to create a new application in Azure. Here are the steps for creating a new application:

  1. Navigate to the Azure portal.

  2. Click the “Create a resource” button.

  3. In the search box, type “Function App” and press Enter.

  4. Select the “Function App” option.

  5. Click the “Create” button.

  6. Enter a name for the application.

  7. Choose a subscription, resource group, and region for the application.

  8. Click the “Review + create” button to review your settings.

  9. Finally, click the “Create” button to create the application.

2. Create a new Azure Function

After you have created a new application, you will need to create a new Azure Function. Here are the steps for creating a new Azure Function:

  1. Navigate to the Azure Function app in Azure.

  2. Click on the “Functions” tab.

  3. Click on the “New function” button.

  4. Select the “HTTP trigger” option.

  5. Enter a name for the function.

  6. Choose “Anonymous” for the Authorization level.

  7. Click on the “Create” button to create the function.

3. Update the function code

Now you will need to update the function code to retrieve data from the IoT hub. Here is an example of the function code:

module.exports = function (context, req) {

  context.log('JavaScript HTTP trigger function processed a request.');

  const connectionString = '{your IoT hub connection string}';

  const { EventHubClient } = require('@azure/event-hubs');

  const connectionString = '{your IoT hub connection string}';

  const eventHubClient = EventHubClient.createFromConnectionString(connectionString);

  eventHubClient.receive("0", function (context, event) {

    context.log(`Event received: ${event.body}`);

    context.res = {

      body: `Received event: ${event.body}`

    };

    context.done();

  });

};

4. Test the function

After you have updated the function code, you can test the function by navigating to the function in the Azure portal and clicking on the “Test” tab. You can enter a test message and click on the “Run” button to test the function. You should see the data from your device being displayed.

5. Retrieve data from the IoT hub

Finally, you can retrieve data from the IoT hub by navigating to the function app in Azure and clicking on the “Logs” tab. You should see the data from your device being displayed.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we discussed how to deploy IoT Hub and handle device data. We covered setting up an IoT hub with Azure, simulating a device and sending data to the IoT hub, and retrieving data from the IoT hub. With this knowledge, you should be able to deploy IoT Hub and handle device data with ease.

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