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 easy methods to seek for and uncover a selected machine or a set of gadgets based mostly on their identities and capabilities, then utilizing attributes for AWS IoT factor sorts is among the really helpful methods to make machine 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’ll be able to connect searchable attributes to allow simpler identification and looking inside the AWS IoT registry.

Why would somebody need 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 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 will not be sufficient if it is advisable to uncover gadgets based mostly on further attributes. On this weblog publish, we are going to present easy methods to mitigate this problem utilizing a mix of AWS IoT Core factor sorts and AWS IoT Machine Administration fleet indexing.

With fleet indexing, fleet directors can set up, examine, and troubleshoot fleet of gadgets. They will question a bunch of gadgets, and combination statistics on machine data which might be based mostly on completely different mixtures of machine attributes, together with state, connectivity, and machine violations. For instance, you’ll be able to question data, equivalent to what number of gentle 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 primary understanding of the machine provisioning characteristic of AWS IoT Core and the fleet indexing characteristic of AWS IoT Machine 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 fix searchable attributes to it. As you’ll be able to see within the following snapshot, you’ll be able to solely connect 3 searchable attributes.

So as to add extra attributes to this factor, you’ll be able to connect a ‘factor sort’ to the factor.

‘Factor sort’ permits you to retailer description and configuration data that’s frequent to all issues related to the identical factor sort. This simplifies the administration of issues within the registry. For instance, as a substitute of assigning attributes to every gentle bulb individually, you’ll be able to create a factor sort referred to as ‘LightBulb’ and affiliate attributes of a light-weight bulb like serial quantity, luminosity, wattage, and extra. Furthermore, when you change the factor sort of the prevailing 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 publish, now we have already created a factor sort ‘LightBulb’ with searchable attributes, equivalent to producer, serial quantity, and wattage, and assigned it to ‘MyFirstThing.’ We have now additionally connected 3 non-searchable attributes (shade, firmware sort, luminosity) as you’ll be able to see within the following snapshot.

Now, let’s attempt to search issues utilizing the ‘record issues’ command from the AWS CLI. We are able to 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

        }

    ]

}

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

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


{
    "issues": []
}

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

With AWS IoT Machine Administration fleet indexing, you’ll be able to index, search, and combination your machine knowledge from the next sources: AWS IoT registry, AWS IoT Machine Shadow, AWS IoT connectivity, and AWS IoT Machine Defender violations.

Whereas the fleet Indexing characteristic has the aforementioned as its major capabilities, for this weblog publish we are going to focus solely on indexing and looking based mostly on factor sort 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 save lots of settings.

Different examine bins proven on the earlier display enable indexing and search queries based mostly on machine shadows, connectivity standing, and Machine Defender violations that are out of the scope of this publish 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 note that the issues with the matching attribute worth will seem because the search consequence on the backside of the display as proven following.

It’s also possible to use AWS CLI to run the same fleet index question for gadgets 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, additionally it is vital to notice that AWS IoT Machine 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. Seek advice from the pricing web page for additional particulars and likewise refer its limits and quotas right here.

Conclusion

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

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