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Michael O'Brien
Michael O'Brien

Posted on • Originally published at embedthis.com

Ioto Device Management for Volume Device Builders

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in our daily lives has led device manufacturers to seek ways to incorporate cloud-based management into their products. However, building a cloud-based device management solution is a complex task that requires expertise in various domains, including embedded development, communications, cloud computing, and user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design.

To create a solution using Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT, for instance, requires knowledge of numerous AWS services. Therefore, it can be challenging to develop a cloud-based device management solution that is secure, scalable, and cost-effective to maintain.

So we created Ioto to be the most secure, scalable IoT solution for volume device builders.

Creating Ioto

With over two decades of experience in device management and the development of device agents, EmbedThis has a wealth of knowledge in creating secure and effective solutions for device builders of all sizes.

Our GoAhead and Appweb embedded web servers are two of the most popular device agents and have been widely used in the industry. As cloud-based remote management becomes increasingly important, we wanted to create the best possible platform for scalable and secure device management both locally and via the cloud.

The result is Ioto, a comprehensive cloud-based solution for device-based and cloud-based management that includes an embedded device agent, cloud device management service, device builder portal, and user device manager port.

What is Unique about Ioto?

The EmbedThis Ioto solution is a complete, end-to-end device management solution that includes an embedded device agent, cloud device services, builder portal, and user device managers. It is built upon the reliable and secure AWS IoT infrastructure, ensuring that it is scalable, cost-effective, and secure for device management. Ioto offers a comprehensive platform for managing devices locally and remotely via the cloud.

The Ioto Solution

Ioto includes the following core components:

  • Ioto Device Agent
  • Ioto Device Manager
  • Device Builder Portal
  • Device Clouds
  • Ioto Device Service

The Ioto Device Agent is embedded in devices and communicates securely with the Ioto Device Manager for local management or via the Ioto Cloud Service for cloud-based management.

The Ioto Device Manager is a customizable, white-labeled device management platform for users to monitor and manage their devices. It can be branded with the your own logo and design elements to create a seamless experience for your customers. It can be embedded in your device for local device-based management or hosted in the cloud for cloud-based management.

The Device Builder Portal is a tool that allows device manufacturers to design, configure, and manage their device management solutions. It is used to subscribe and download device agents, create Device Clouds and manage manufactured devices.

Home

Ioto Device Agent

Embedthis Ioto is a small but powerful embedded agent for local and remote device management. It boasts impressive speed and a comprehensive range of management protocols and capabilities.

Ioto includes an HTTP web server, embedded database, MQTT client, HTTP client, JSON parsing, AWS IoT cloud integration, easy provisioning, and OTA upgrading. It can be used for local management through its embedded web server or integrated with the cloud through comprehensive AWS IoT integration. Ioto offers a versatile and flexible solution for managing devices in a variety of environments.

Ioto Agent

In addition to its range of features and capabilities, Ioto also has a very small memory footprint of only 200K of code, making it ideal for use on Linux and FreeRTOS systems. It can also be easily ported to other platforms, providing flexibility and versatility for device management on a variety of systems.

Agent Components

Ioto provides the following components:

  • HTTP/1.1 server with dynamic rendering, authentication, cookies, sessions and file upload
  • HTTP/1.1 client
  • MQTT/3.1.1 client
  • Embedded database
  • JSON/5 parser and query engine
  • Transport Layer Security (TLS/SSL) with ALPN support
  • AWS IoT Integration with AWS IoT and AWS DynamoDB
  • AWS service integration with S3, Lambda, Kinesis and CloudWatch
  • Transparent database synchronization to AWS DynamoDB (like Global Tables)
  • Safe, secure runtime core
  • Streamlined certificate and key provisioning
  • Over-The-Air updates and upgrades
  • User authentication management
  • Complete documentation and samples
  • Full Source code

Ioto Device Manager

The Ioto solution provides a configurable web app from which your users can monitor and manage their devices.

Device Manager

The Device Manager can be embedded in your device for local management or deployed from the cloud for cloud-based management. The Builder portal is used to create and configure device managers.

The Ioto Manager is a generic (white-label) cloud-based device manager that can be extensively customized to manage your devices with your logo, product name, color and font theme, device data and device specific screens and interface including browser-based and cloud-side custom logic.

The Ioto Manager is extremely flexible, however, there are limits, and you may eventually want to create your own manager application from the ground up, that uses the Ioto APIs to provide a bespoke management experience for your devices.

Why AWS IoT for Cloud-based Management?

EmbedThis has chosen AWS IoT as the foundation for its Ioto cloud management solution for several key reasons:

  • Scalability: AWS IoT can handle a large number of devices and handle the data generated by them, making it suitable for use in large-scale IoT deployments.

  • Security: AWS IoT has built-in security measures such as encryption, authentication, and access controls to protect device data and communication. Further, AWS supports over two dozen regions, so your data can be hosted in your AWS account near you.

  • Integration with other AWS services: AWS IoT can be easily integrated with other AWS services such as Amazon Kinesis, Amazon S3, and Amazon Machine Learning, allowing for further processing and analysis of device data.

  • Cost-effectiveness: AWS IoT offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model, allowing users to only pay for the resources they consume, making it cost-effective for device management.

  • Reliability: AWS has a proven track record of reliability, with multiple availability zones and disaster recovery measures in place to ensure smooth operation of its services.

With Ioto, you get the best of both worlds. A complete end-to-end IoT solution and the rock-solid foundation of AWS IoT.

Want More?

To learn more about EmbedThis Ioto, please read:

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