Find out how to enhance system discoverability by unlocking 50 AWS IoT factor kind attributes

Introduction

If you’re utilizing or planning to make use of AWS IoT Core to handle your fleet of Web of Issues (IoT) gadgets and questioning the way to seek for and uncover a specific system or a set of gadgets based mostly on their identities and capabilities, then utilizing attributes for AWS IoT factor sorts is without doubt one of the really useful methods to make system discovery simpler.

A ‘factor’ is the logical title for entities just like the IoT-enabled gadgets in AWS IoT Core. Whereas provisioning a factor, you possibly can connect searchable attributes to allow simpler identification and looking inside 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 linked lights the place a Lighting-as-a-Service supplier (LaaS) or their clients (by means of self-service portals) want to find out from their lighting put in base, what number of are of a specific product-type, model-number, wattage, luminosity, coloration, and manufacturing batch.

AWS IoT Core restricts attaching solely 3 searchable attributes to a factor, and this might not be sufficient if you should uncover gadgets based mostly on further attributes. On this weblog publish, we’ll present the way to mitigate this problem utilizing a mix of AWS IoT Core factor sorts and AWS IoT System Administration fleet indexing.

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

Conditions

This weblog publish requires a fundamental understanding of the system provisioning function of AWS IoT Core and the fleet indexing function of AWS IoT System Administration.

Walkthrough

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

Let’s provision a factor ‘MyFirstThing’ and fix 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 kind’ to the factor.

‘Factor kind’ means that you can retailer description and configuration data that’s widespread to all issues related to the identical factor kind. This simplifies the administration of issues within the registry. For instance, as a substitute of assigning attributes to every mild bulb individually, you possibly can create a factor kind referred to as ‘LightBulb’ and affiliate attributes of a light-weight bulb like serial quantity, luminosity, wattage, and extra. Furthermore, should you change the factor kind of the prevailing factor to ‘LightBulb,’ it will inherit the attributes of the factor kind and you might specify values for every of the attributes outlined within the ‘factor kind.’

Although assigning a factor kind 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 publish, we now have already created a factor kind ‘LightBulb’ with searchable attributes, reminiscent of producer, serial quantity, and wattage, and assigned it to ‘MyFirstThing.’ We’ve got additionally hooked up 3 non-searchable attributes (coloration, firmware kind, luminosity) as you possibly can see within the following snapshot.

Now, let’s attempt to search issues utilizing the ‘checklist issues’ command from the AWS CLI. We will see that looking 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

        }

    ]

}

Nevertheless, looking with ‘non-searchable’ attributes, the command returns nothing because the attributes added by means of factor kind are categorized as non-searchable.

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


{
    "issues": []
}

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

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

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

Now, let’s allow fleet indexing (skip this step if already enabled) utilizing AWS IoT console, however it can 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 test packing containers proven on the earlier display permit indexing and search queries based mostly on system shadows, connectivity standing, and System Defender violations that are out of the scope of this publish and therefore usually are not 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, ‘coloration’ having worth ‘white’ and you will note that the issues with the matching attribute worth will seem because the search outcome on the backside of the display as proven following.

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

aws iot search-index –query-string ‘attributes.coloration=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"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Nevertheless, additionally it is essential to notice that AWS IoT System Administration fleet indexing is meant for administrative functions, permitting directors to prepare, examine, and troubleshoot fleets of gadgets and must be used for such actions solely.

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

Conclusion

On this publish, I’ve proven you the way to improve system discoverability utilizing AWS IoT factor sorts and AWS IoT System Administration fleet indexing. Factor sorts allow you to connect further attributes (non-searchable) to issues, and regardless of these attributes being non-searchable, you need to use the fleet indexing function to look based mostly on non-searchable attributes, enabling you to conveniently filter and discover these gadgets out of your massive fleet of IoT gadgets.

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