Azure IoT Central Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for Azure IoT Central. This guide provides comprehensive information to help you build, manage, and monitor your IoT solutions at scale.

Introduction to Azure IoT Central

Azure IoT Central is a fully managed SaaS (Software as a Service) IoT platform that makes it easy to connect, monitor, and manage your IoT devices.

It simplifies the development of IoT solutions by providing:

  • Device connectivity: Securely connect devices using industry-standard protocols.
  • Device management: Register, provision, and manage devices at scale.
  • Data visualization: Monitor device data with customizable dashboards and analytics.
  • Rule-based alerting: Set up rules to trigger actions based on device telemetry.
  • Extensibility: Integrate with other Azure services and external applications.

IoT Central is built on top of Azure IoT Hub, Azure Time Series Insights, and other Azure services, abstracting away the complexity of underlying infrastructure.

Getting Started with IoT Central

Begin your IoT Central journey with these essential steps.

Creating an Application

To start, you need to create an IoT Central application. You can do this through the Azure portal or directly via the IoT Central portal.

  1. Navigate to the Azure IoT Central portal.
  2. Sign in with your Azure account.
  3. Click "Create new application".
  4. Choose a template or start with a blank application.
  5. Provide your application name, URL, and select a region.
  6. Click "Create".

Your application will be ready within minutes.

Setting Up Your Device

Connecting a device involves registering it and configuring its authentication credentials.

You'll typically need to:

  1. Define a Device Template to model your device's capabilities (telemetry, properties, commands).
  2. Register your device within the IoT Central application, associating it with a device template.
  3. Obtain connection credentials (e.g., connection string or X.509 certificate) for your device.
  4. Configure your physical device or simulation to connect to IoT Central using these credentials.

For detailed instructions, refer to the Device Provisioning section.

Device Management

Effectively manage your fleet of IoT devices.

Registering Devices

You can register devices individually or in bulk.

Individual Registration:

  • Go to "Devices" in your IoT Central application.
  • Click "+ New".
  • Select the device template and give your device a name and ID.

Bulk Registration:

  • Go to "Devices" and click the "Import" button.
  • Download the CSV template, fill it with your device details, and upload it.

Device Templates

Device templates define the capabilities of your devices, including:

  • Telemetry: Sensor readings (e.g., temperature, humidity).
  • Properties: Device status and configuration (e.g., firmware version, desired settings).
  • Commands: Actions that can be sent to devices (e.g., reboot, update firmware).

You can create custom templates or use predefined ones.

Device Groups

Device groups allow you to organize and manage devices based on shared characteristics (e.g., device type, location, status).

Common use cases:

  • Targeting a specific set of devices for a firmware update.
  • Applying a rule to all devices in a particular region.
  • Viewing data from a specific group of devices on a dashboard.

Data Monitoring & Analytics

Gain insights from your connected devices.

Dashboards

Create customizable dashboards to visualize your device data in real-time.

  • Add various tiles to display telemetry, properties, and alerts.
  • Visualize data using charts, gauges, maps, and tables.
  • Share dashboards with your team.

Rules

Define rules to monitor device telemetry and properties. When a rule condition is met, you can trigger actions.

Example actions:

  • Send an email notification.
  • Trigger a webhook to an external service.
  • Invoke a cloud-to-device command.

Analytics

Leverage built-in analytics to understand device behavior and identify trends.

IoT Central integrates with Azure Time Series Insights for powerful historical data analysis and anomaly detection.

Device Provisioning

Securely onboard your devices to IoT Central.

Symmetric Keys

A simple and common method for device authentication. Each device has a unique key shared with IoT Central.

When registering a device, IoT Central can auto-generate primary and secondary symmetric keys.

// Example connection string format
HostName=your-iot-hub.azure-devices.net;DeviceId=your-device-id;SharedAccessKey=your-device-key

X.509 Certificates

A more secure method using public key cryptography. This is often used for production environments.

You can use certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA) or self-signed certificates.

Configuration involves uploading the root CA certificate or the device's intermediate certificates to IoT Central.

Integrations

Connect IoT Central to other services for enhanced functionality.

Power BI

Export your IoT device data to Power BI for advanced business intelligence and reporting.

Data Explorer

Use the built-in Data Explorer to query and visualize your device data.

API & SDKs

Interact with your IoT Central application programmatically using REST APIs and SDKs available for various languages (Python, Node.js, C#, Java).

This allows for automation of tasks like device registration, application management, and data retrieval.

Refer to the API Reference for detailed endpoint information.

Security

Security is paramount in IoT. IoT Central provides robust security features:

  • Device Authentication: Secure device identity using symmetric keys or X.509 certificates.
  • Transport Layer Security (TLS): Encrypts data in transit.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Manage user permissions within your IoT Central application.
  • Auditing: Track user and device activity for security monitoring.

Pricing

Azure IoT Central offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model based on the number of devices and the amount of data processed.

A free trial is available. Visit the Azure IoT Central pricing page for the latest details.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is the difference between Azure IoT Hub and Azure IoT Central?

A: Azure IoT Hub is an IoT platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that provides device connectivity and management. Azure IoT Central is a fully managed SaaS application platform built on top of IoT Hub, offering a simplified, end-to-end IoT solution with a user-friendly interface.

Q: How can I migrate from IoT Hub to IoT Central?

A: While there isn't a direct migration tool, you can recreate your IoT Hub setup within IoT Central by defining device templates and registering devices. You can also use IoT Central's APIs to programmatically onboard devices.

Q: Can I connect custom hardware to IoT Central?

A: Yes, any device that can communicate using the MQTT, AMQP, or HTTPS protocols and authenticate with IoT Central can be connected.