The way to enhance machine discoverability by unlocking 50 AWS IoT factor sort attributes

Introduction

If you’re utilizing or planning to make use of AWS IoT Core to handle your fleet of Web of Issues (IoT) units and questioning easy methods to seek for and uncover a selected machine or a set of units based mostly on their identities and capabilities, then utilizing attributes for AWS IoT factor varieties is likely one of the really helpful methods to make machine discovery simpler.

A ‘factor’ is the logical identify for entities just like the IoT-enabled units in AWS IoT Core. Whereas provisioning a factor, you possibly can connect searchable attributes to allow simpler identification and looking out throughout the AWS IoT registry.

Why would somebody wish to search issues from the AWS IoT registry? To reply that query, let’s take the use case of related lights the place a Lighting-as-a-Service supplier (LaaS) or their prospects (via self-service portals) want to find out from their lighting put in base, what number of are of a selected product-type, model-number, wattage, luminosity, shade, and manufacturing batch.

AWS IoT Core restricts attaching solely 3 searchable attributes to a factor, and this is probably not sufficient if it’s worthwhile to uncover units based mostly on further attributes. On this weblog submit, we’ll present easy methods to mitigate this problem utilizing a mixture of AWS IoT Core factor varieties and AWS IoT Gadget Administration fleet indexing.

With fleet indexing, fleet directors can set up, examine, and troubleshoot fleet of units. They’ll question a bunch of units, and mixture statistics on machine information which might be based mostly on completely different mixtures of machine attributes, together with state, connectivity, and machine violations. For instance, you possibly can question info, reminiscent of what number of gentle bulbs of a sure mannequin put in at a sure location are at the moment disconnected and are operating the older model of firmware.

Stipulations

This weblog submit requires a fundamental understanding of the machine provisioning function of AWS IoT Core and the fleet indexing function of AWS IoT Gadget Administration.

Walkthrough

Let’s now see easy methods to add a non-searchable attribute to a factor and easy methods to use fleet indexing for search even whereas utilizing non-searchable attributes.

Let’s provision a factor ‘MyFirstThing’ and fasten searchable attributes to it. As you possibly can see within the following snapshot, you possibly can solely connect 3 searchable attributes.

So as to add extra attributes to this factor, you possibly can connect a ‘factor sort’ to the factor.

‘Factor sort’ means that you can retailer description and configuration info that’s widespread to all issues related to the identical factor sort. This simplifies the administration of issues within the registry. For instance, as an alternative of assigning attributes to each gentle bulb individually, you possibly can create a factor sort known as ‘LightBulb’ and affiliate attributes of a light-weight bulb like serial quantity, luminosity, wattage, and extra. Furthermore, in the event you change the factor sort of the present factor to ‘LightBulb,’ it could inherit the attributes of the factor sort and you possibly can specify values for every of the attributes outlined within the ‘factor sort.’

Although assigning a factor sort to a factor is an optionally available exercise, its utilization unlocks a brand new part of 47 further ‘non-searchable factor attributes.’ With this affiliation, you now have entry to a complete of fifty attributes as highlighted within the following snapshot.

For this submit, we have now already created a factor sort ‘LightBulb’ with searchable attributes, reminiscent of producer, serial quantity, and wattage, and assigned it to ‘MyFirstThing.’ Now we have additionally connected 3 non-searchable attributes (shade, firmware sort, luminosity) as you possibly can see within the following snapshot.

Now, let’s attempt to search issues utilizing the ‘listing issues’ command from the AWS CLI. We will see that looking out with ‘searchable’ attributes, the command returns the matching factor ‘LightBulb_1’.

aws iot list-things --attribute-name "wattage" --attribute-value '40'

{

    "issues": [

        {

            "thingName": "LightBulb_1",

            "thingTypeName": "LightBulb",

            "thingArn": "arn:aws:iot:ap-south-1:************:thing/LightBulb_1",

            "attributes": {

                "Color": "White",

                "Firmware_Type_Version": "Smart_LED.1.0",

                "Luminosity": "100",

                "manufacturer": "xyz_corp",

                "serialnumber": "123",

                "wattage": "40"

            },

            "version": 5

        }

    ]

}

Nonetheless, looking out with ‘non-searchable’ attributes, the command returns nothing because the attributes added via factor sort are labeled as non-searchable.

aws iot list-things --attribute-name "Coloration" --attribute-value 'White'


{
    "issues": []
}

That is the place the AWS IoT Gadget Administration fleet indexing function helps, enabling you to run search queries even on ‘non-searchable’ factor attributes.

With AWS IoT Gadget Administration fleet indexing, you possibly can index, search, and mixture your machine information from the next sources: AWS IoT registry, AWS IoT Gadget Shadow, AWS IoT connectivity, and AWS IoT Gadget Defender violations.

Whereas the fleet Indexing function has the aforementioned as its major capabilities, for this weblog submit we’ll focus solely on indexing and looking out based mostly on factor sort attributes.

Now, let’s allow fleet indexing (skip this step if already enabled) utilizing AWS IoT console, but it surely may also be enabled from the CLI. Choose Settings from the left panel and scroll right down to Fleet indexing and choose Handle indexing as proven following:

On the Handle fleet indexing display, toggle the change to activate fleet indexing as proven following and choose Replace on the backside of display to avoid wasting settings.

Different verify packing containers proven on the earlier display enable indexing and search queries based mostly on machine shadows, connectivity standing, and Gadget Defender violations that are out of the scope of this submit and therefore aren’t chosen right here.

After fleet indexing is enabled, choose Superior search from the AWS IoT Handle Issues console as proven within the following snapshot.

Utilizing the search field, seek for non-searchable attributes, for instance, ‘shade’ having worth ‘white’ and you will notice that the issues with the matching attribute worth will seem because the search end result on the backside of the display as proven following.

You may as well use AWS CLI to run the same fleet index question for units with non-searchable attribute ‘shade’ having worth ‘white,’ whereby factor(s) with matching attribute values are returned, as indicated following.

aws iot search-index –query-string ‘attributes.shade=White’


{
    "issues": [
        {
            "thingName": "LightBulb_1",
            "thingId": "******************************",
            "thingTypeName": "LightBulb",
            "attributes": {
                "Color": "White",
                "Firmware_Type_Version": "Smart_LED.1.0",
                "Luminosity": "100",
                "manufacturer": "xyz_corp",
                "serialnumber": "123",
                "wattage": "40"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Nonetheless, it is usually necessary to notice that AWS IoT Gadget Administration fleet indexing is meant for administrative functions, permitting directors to prepare, examine, and troubleshoot fleets of units and needs to be used for such actions solely.

Fleet indexing and search options are metered by the variety of index updates and search queries executed. Discuss with the pricing web page for additional particulars and in addition refer its limits and quotas right here.

Conclusion

On this submit, I’ve proven you easy methods to improve machine discoverability utilizing AWS IoT factor varieties and AWS IoT Gadget Administration fleet indexing. Factor varieties allow you to connect further attributes (non-searchable) to issues, and regardless of these attributes being non-searchable, you should utilize the fleet indexing function to go looking based mostly on non-searchable attributes, enabling you to conveniently filter and discover these units out of your massive fleet of IoT units.

For extra AWS IoT Core studying assets, please go to the web site.