MQTT is an OASIS standard messaging protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT). It is of the most popular protocols in the Internet of Things domain. AWS supports MQTT, which is the default communication method between devices and AWS IoT Core service. But there are some significant differences between the implementation of the MQTT protocol at AWS and the OASIS specification. QoS (Quality of Service) levels define the assurance for message delivery.

Someone asked me for help in reducing the AWS IoT cost. That person provided the maximum yearly expense per device and asked how to achieve it. I could not give any hints based on that single piece of information. It looks like a common misunderstanding, so I decided to share my thoughts on this topic. Starting the conversation with “I can spend X USD per year” does not move the cost optimization exercise an inch further.

There are several ways to store the physical location of IoT devices. In the case of static gadgets (smart home appliances, for example), we can leverage the AWS IoT Thing Groups. Thing Group represents a logical subset of the fleet. We use Thing Groups in various scenarios, one of which is to describe the physical location of assets. We can send a no-one-home MQTT message to all devices in the hall group to switch them into the desired state.

Knowing infrastructure costs is critical to validate a business case, but there is no way to assign AWS infrastructure costs generated by connected Devices directly to IoT Things representing them. To solve that challenge: Create a Billing Group with desired Tags, Add IoT Things to that Billing Group. AWS generates a cost allocation report with usage and costs aggregated by Tags. Use Tags representing business units and applications to organize your expenses.

Can we use the same certificate for multiple connected devices? I received that question during my last presentation. The short answer is: yes, we can. The long answer is: no, we should not! I explained my reasoning in this video. Feel free to message me with any IoT-related questions! Can we use the same certificate for multiple connected devices? I received that question during my last presentation. The short answer is: yes, we can.

The AWS IoT Thing Type is described using Attributes and Tags. I created a short video describing this topic. Sometimes people confuse Attributes and Tags of the Thing Type, so I decided to write how I use them. I use Attributes to describe the characteristics of connected devices. I typically use values like: firmware version hardware version vendor I use Tags to describe the characteristics of AWS infrastructure. I typically use values like: