AWS IoT Core

Last updated on June 23, 2023

AWS IoT (Internet of Things) Core

It is a managed cloud service that connects IoT devices to other devices and AWS cloud services easily.
It can support billions of devices and routes trillions of messages to AWS services without managing an infrastructure securely and reliably.

It offers connectivity between devices and the AWS cloud, continuous processing of data sent from connected devices and application interaction with connected devices.
It supports the following protocol to help you manage and support your IoT devices
- - MQTT (Message Queuing and Telemetry Transport)
  - MQTT over WSS (WebSockets Secure)
  - HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol – Secure)
  - LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network)

allows you to easily and quickly connect your hardware device or mobile application to AWS IoT Core
helps your devices connect, authenticate, and exchange messages with AWS IoT Core using the MQTT, HTTP, or WebSockets protocols

is a fully managed cloud-based test capability for validating IoT devices during development.
provides pre-built tests that help developers validate their IoT devices

forms the pillar of communication between connected devices and cloud capabilities
supports Publish and Subscribe Pub/Sub) messaging pattern over secure MQTT and WebSockets protocols, and publish over HTTPS protocol

a high throughput Pub/Sub messaging agent that securely transmits messages to and from all of your IoT devices and applications
supports messaging patterns ranging from one-to-one command and control messaging to one-to-one million (or more) broadcast notification systems

provides mutual authentication and encryption at all points of connections
AWS IoT Core supports the AWS method of authentication (called SigV4), X.509 certificate-based authentication, and customer-created token-based authentication (through custom authorizers.)
- - connections using HTTP can use any of these methods
  - connections using MQTT use certificate-based authentication
  - connections using WebSockets can use SigV4 or custom authorizers

establishes an identity for devices and tracks metadata, such as the devices’ attributes and capabilities.
assigns an identity to each device that is consistently formatted regardless of the type of device or how it connects
supports metadata

adds shadows to AWS IoT thing objects which can make a device’s state available to apps and other services whether the device is connected to AWS IoT or not
it consists of the last reported state and desired future state of each device even when the device is offline. The last reported state of a device can be retrieved or you can set a desired future state through the API or use the rules engine.
also called the virtual version of the device
using Device Shadow, you can store the state of your devices for free up to a year. An update must be done on the Device Shadow at least once per year so that it will persist forever; otherwise, they will expire.

enables continuous processing of data sent by connected devices
can be configured to filter and transform data and route the data to other AWS services

helps customers connect wireless devices that use low-power, long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) technology.
eliminate the need to develop or operate an LNS
reduce gateway and device onboarding friction
accelerate IoT application development

helps you track and manage your fleet of IoT devices using their location data
you don’t have to rely on high-power consuming GPS hardware using this feature
can choose an appropriate location technology that works within your engineering constraints
allows you to enhance business processes, simplify and automate maintenance efforts, and unlock new use case

is a shared network that helps connected devices work better through improved connectivity options
operated by Amazon without charging their customers
can help simplify new device setup
it also allows extending the low-bandwidth working range of devices
help devices stay online even if they are outside the range of their home connection

To fully support your IoT solution, AWS IoT consists of the following services:

you only pay for the specific components that you use
no minimum or mandatory usage service fee
separate billing will be received for connectivity, messaging, Device Shadow usage (device state storage), registry usage (device metadata storage), and rules engine usage (message transformation and routing)