I often say that the IoT Thing is a virtual representation of a physical device or logical entity (for instance, an application). Today, I want to be more specific than that. The IoT Thing stores the metadata describing the IoT Device. By metadata, I mean: Thing Name Thing Attributes Thing Type Thing Group Device Shadow But IoT Thing does not store the identity of a related IoT Device. The X.509 Certificate registered in the AWS IoT Core represents the connected IoT Device.

Introduction Today I will explain how connected devices can establish trust with the AWS IoT Core. To trust someone, we need to confirm their identity. The same is true in the ecosystem of connected devices. AWS IoT Core exposes an MQTT Broker so devices can establish the MQTT connectivity. What if some villain actor creates an MQTT Broker and tries to mislead devices? Is there a way to verify the real identity of the exposed endpoint?

The Architecture Review is a very tricky task not only because of the technical aspects. I find the Architecture Review challenging because of my expectations. When hired to do the Architecture Review, I should find some areas of improvement. I know that isn’t true, but my subconscious can not accept that. The Architecture Review is not about finding something - it is about reviewing the existing design. There are two outcomes of that review:

Introduction In this post, I will describe two approaches to the Industrial Internet of Things deployments and provide my perspective. Hopefully, it will help you choose the proper architecture for your specific case. Before we start, I will briefly define the Edge Gateway. Definition of the Edge Gateway Edge Gateway is a computer located inside a factory or some other facility. That computer is connected to the internal network and can communicate with local devices using industrial protocols.

Introduction AWS IoT Rules Engine enables building serverless backends for Internet of Things applications. In the video below, I explain how the AWS IoT Rules Engine is organized. I show how it can be used to receive, process, enrich, and share messages from connected devices with other AWS services not integrated with IoT Core. Video Diagram AWS IoT Rules Engine overview

My friend wants to start breeding hens. He asked me if I know a solution to remotely open and close a chicken coop door. I replied that is a pretty simple solution - a single GSM-connected device with a door actuator. I would love to explain how to build, program, and connect it to AWS, but I knew that he don’t really care about technical details. Then he replied: “I just need to remember to send an SMS to remotely open and close those doors every day.