Windows 10: Device to Device Communication with Azure IoT Hub

Brink · Sep 8, 2016

We’ve already seen how to get your devices to send data to the cloud. In most cases, the data is then processed by various Azure services. However, in some cases the cloud is nothing more than a means of communication between two devices.

Imagine a Raspberry Pi connected to a garage door. Telling the Raspberry Pi to open or close the door from a phone should only require a minimal amount of cloud programming. There is no data processing; the cloud simply relays a message from the phone to the Pi. Or perhaps the Raspberry Pi is connected to a motion sensor and you’d like an alert on your phone when it detects movement.

In this blog post, we will experiment with implementing device-to-device communication with as little cloud-side programming as possible. A common pipeline for device-to-device communication involves device A sending a message to the cloud, the cloud processing the message and sending it to device B, and device B receiving this message. In minimizing that middle step, you can create a functional app that only requires the free tier of Azure IoT Hub. It’s a cheap and effective way to design device-to-device communication. So, can two devices talk to each other with almost no cloud-based programming?

The answer, of course, is yes. In order to do this, it is important to understand how Azure IoT Hub and the Azure IoT messaging APIs work. Currently, Azure IoT messaging involves two different APIs – Microsoft.Azure.Devices.Client is used in the app running on the device (it can send device-to-cloud and receive cloud-to-device messages) and Microsoft.Azure.Devices SDK and the ServiceBus SDK are used on the service side (it can send cloud-to-device messages and receive device-to-cloud messages). However, our design proposes something slightly unorthodox. We will run the service SDK on the device receiving messages, so less code goes into the cloud.

To take advantage of the latest advances in security, we will provision our device to securely connect to Azure with the help of the TPM (see our earlier blog post that introduced TPM).

This approach uses a many-to-one messaging model. It allows for a simple design, but limits our capabilities. While many devices can send messages, only one can receive. In order to only accept messages from a specific device, the receiver will filter the messages by the device id.

How does all this work?

For a full sample, see the code here. There are two solutions within this project, as described above. The use of the SDKs in each solution remains mostly unchanged from the standard design outlined in here. We decided to run the service side SDK on the receiving device – however, there is one roadblock. One of the two service side SDKs, ServiceBus, does not support UWP. Fortunately, another library called the AMPQNetLite offers a UWP compatible alternative that can be used to send and receive messages on the service side. This requires a little more work: we needed to connect to the event hub port that IoT Hub exposes, create a session and build the receiver link.

All the connection information needed to set up a receiver with AMQPNetLite can be found in your instance of IoT Hub. You can also use this library to filter incoming messages by device id. See this sample for further details.

What next?

This experiment intentionally keeps the amount of cloud-based programming to a minimum (zero, really). Even still, this opens a set of new opportunities. With this, an IoT device can be remote controlled by any Windows device. However, this system has limitations. Any complex message filtering is currently not supported. Extending this solution to be cross platform (using Android or iOS devices) also proves to be difficult, as AMPQNetLite is not compatible with Xamarin.

If you’re willing to do more and utilize more cloud services (including paid ones), advanced messaging patterns, sophisticated data analysis and long term storage become possible. In particular, Azure Functions allow you to run the receiving code in the cloud, which obviates the need of running AMPQNetLite on the client device.

This blog post focused on the simplest pipeline for device-to-device communication, but what we have built is by no means the only solution. We’re eager to hear your feedback and welcome your ideas on what more can be done.

Divya Mahadevan, a software engineer intern, contributed to this piece (thanks, Divya!)
Click to expand...

Source: Device to Device Communication with Azure IoT Hub | Building Apps for Windows

:)

Pradeep_Patil · Sep 8, 2016

Free trial version of Microsoft Azure IoT Suite for understanding and experimentation

I want to use Microsoft Azure IoT Suite for understanding and experimentation.

Basically I want to develop a sample application using Azure IoT.

For that I click on link “Free Trial” -> “Try It Now“, options available on Microsoft Azure IoT web site.

Then It take me to the page where I need to sign up with page title as Microsoft Azure.

If I use my personal account to log in to Microsoft Azure web site, on sign up page for Azure IoT it asks me credit card details.

And when I use my professional account (provided by my company) then it does not ask for credit card details, why so?

Also when I login to Microsoft Azure IoT using my professional account and when sign up for Microsoft Azure,

will it get charged to my professional account?

For now I need free trial only.

IoTGirl · Sep 8, 2016

Windows 10 Enterprise IoT

Hi David,

Embedded Mode can be set in Windows Enterprise and Windows Mobile versions. For target options please see the definitions at

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/windows-iot From that page:

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is a full version of Windows 10 that delivers the enterprise manageability and security of Windows 10 Enterprise to IoT solutions. It is designed for powerful industry devices used in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and other
industries. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise runs crucial line of business applications and performs specialized functions in a secure, reliable and streamlined way to support mission-critical devices.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MANAGING AND UPDATING WINDOWS 10 IOT

*Note that Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is a binary equivalent to Windows 10 Enterprise

Windows 10 IoT Mobile

Windows 10 IoT Mobile brings the full functionality of Windows 10 Mobile to the Internet of Things. That includes instantaneous application access, native support for barcode scanning, and other peripherals, as well as enhanced productivity for a variety
of mobile scenarios.

The Mobile Enterprise editions also offer capabilities such as ARM support, multiple user profiles, and advanced lockdown to enable scenarios across retail, healthcare, manufacturing and other vertical industries.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WINDOWS 10 IOT MOBILE

*Note that Windows 10 IoT Mobile is a binary equivalent to Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise

Windows 10 IoT Core

Windows 10 IoT Core is optimized for small-footprint, low-cost IoT devices that bring intelligence to the edge. It is designed to power purpose-built devices like gateways that enable IoT solutions. Windows 10 IoT Core also brings enterprise-grade security,
manageability, and connectivity of Windows to a new class of devices.

Below are the steps to bring your IoT Core powered devices to life:

Click to
Download IoT Core

Learn more about how to create applications and build proof of concepts and leverage step-by-step instructions, sample
code, documentation, community projects and more…

Ready to sell your product?
Commercialize your device or
Find your local distributor.

Actually, IoT Core does not have a menu, that is the default application that comes installed on the sample image from Microsoft. When you create your device you would replace that default experience with the purpose driven application for your solution.
As for securing an IoT device, it really depends on its purpose and environment but for information on IoT Core you can find documentation at WindowsOnDevices.com. Specifically

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/iot/docs/buildingsecuredevices

Sincerely,

Windows 10: Device to Device Communication with Azure IoT Hub

Device to Device Communication with Azure IoT Hub

Device to Device Communication with Azure IoT Hub

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