Subscribe
  • Home
  • /
  • IOT
  • /
  • New features in Azure IoT Hub enhance device management

New features in Azure IoT Hub enhance device management


Johannesburg, 04 Jul 2018
Microsoft adds more building blocks for IOT applications built on Azure IoT Hub.
Microsoft adds more building blocks for IOT applications built on Azure IoT Hub.

Azure IoT has debuted two features in IoT Hub: automatic device management, and module identities and module twins. The new features enable scenarios to enhance device management capabilities within IOT applications built on Azure IoT Hub.

Chrissie Chi, program manager at Azure IoT, says automatic device management allows users to automate many of the repetitive and complex tasks of managing large device fleets over the entirety of their life cycles.

Users can target a set of devices based on their properties, define a desired configuration, and let IoT Hub update devices whenever they come into scope.

This is performed using an automatic device configuration, which follows the principle of desired state configuration, allowing developers to define a desired state and letting the system handle the complexities of updating targeted device twins, managing conflicts, automatically updating devices that come into scope, and summarising compliance.

With Azure IoT Hub device identity and device twin, users will be able to use the back-end application to configure a device and provide visibility on the device's conditions, a module identity and module twin provide these capabilities for individual components of a device.

"On capable devices with multiple components, such as operating system-based devices or firmware devices, it allows for isolated configuration and conditions for each component. Module identity and module twin provide a management separation of concerns when working with IOT devices that have modular software components."

Many modules, one device identity

She says device twin and module twin can be used together to isolate the development between different components. Originally in the development of an IOT solution development, a device twin is shared between different developers for device management.

"There was no isolation between components. With the introduction of module identity and module twin, developers can instantiate up to 20 module identities under one device identity, which implicitly creates 20 mapping module twins."

Chi says with these introductions, Microsoft is adding to existing device management primitives in IoT Hub, namely device twins and identities, queries, direct methods, and jobs.

To learn more about these new features, click here.

Share