Azure IoT Edge for Industrial IoT Applications

Azure IoT Edge is a powerful tool for industrial IoT applications. It allows you to run artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models at the edge of your network, reducing latency and improving real-time decision-making.

This is particularly useful for industrial IoT applications, where speed and reliability are critical. For example, in a manufacturing setting, Azure IoT Edge can be used to detect equipment failures before they happen, reducing downtime and increasing overall efficiency.

With Azure IoT Edge, you can deploy a wide range of industrial IoT applications, including predictive maintenance, quality control, and energy management.

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To get started with Azure IoT Edge, you'll need an Ubuntu Core device, which has been specially optimised for IoT and embedded systems.

Azure IoT Hub is the cloud platform that allows you to connect to, configure and deploy Edge workloads directly to your device.

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You can now bring the power of the cloud to the edge of your network using Ubuntu Core and Azure IoT Edge. This combination is ideal for those looking to reduce latency and lower bandwidth.

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Azure IoT Edge is a device-focused runtime that enables you to deploy, run, and monitor containerized Linux workloads. This means you can use it to manage and deploy workloads directly to your device from the cloud.

Ubuntu Core is a version of Ubuntu that has been specially optimized for IoT and embedded systems. It's designed to work seamlessly with Azure IoT Edge to bring the full capabilities of the cloud to your device.

Azure IoT Hub is the cloud platform that allows you to connect to, configure, and deploy Edge workloads directly to your device. This means you can easily manage and monitor your device from the cloud.

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IoT Edge has three main components: IoT Edge modules, the IoT Edge runtime, and the cloud-based interface. These components work together to enable remote monitoring and management of IoT Edge-enabled devices.

The IoT Edge modules are containers that run Azure services, third-party services, or custom code. They're deployed to IoT Edge-enabled devices and execute locally on those devices. You can think of them as the "brain" of the operation, performing specific tasks on the device.

Curious to learn more? Check out: Iot Hub Azure

The IoT Edge runtime is responsible for managing the modules deployed to each device. It's essentially the "operating system" of the IoT Edge setup, ensuring that all the components work together seamlessly. By open-sourcing the IoT Edge runtime under the MIT license, Microsoft gives you more control and flexibility with the code.

IoT Edge is an open edge platform that supports the Moby container management system. This allows you to extend the concepts of containerization, isolation, and management from the cloud to devices at the edge. This is a game-changer for IoT projects that require a high degree of customization and control.

Here's a quick rundown of the key components:

Development and deployment with Azure IoT Edge is a breeze, thanks to its flexibility and scalability. You can use existing developer skillsets and code in a language you know, such as C, C#, Java, Node.js, or Python.

Azure IoT Edge code is consistent across the cloud and the edge, making it easy to switch between environments. This consistency also means you can reuse code and reduce development time.

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With Azure IoT Edge, you can remotely and securely deploy and manage cloud-native workloads to run directly on your IoT devices. This allows you to break up data silos and consolidate operational data at scale in the Azure Cloud.

Azure IoT Edge integrates seamlessly with Azure IoT Central, providing one control plane for your solution's needs. This integration makes it easy to create and configure workloads to be run on specific types of devices.

You can create, configure, and deploy workloads to a set of devices, and even monitor workloads running on devices in the field. This level of control and visibility is essential for managing millions of IoT devices.

Here are some key features of Azure IoT Edge's cloud interface:

By using Azure IoT Edge, you can optimize cloud spend and enable your devices to react faster to local changes and operate reliably even in extended offline periods.

To configure your Azure IoT Edge device, you'll want to follow the Microsoft documentation on deploying Azure IoT Edge modules. This will guide you through installing and working with custom modules for Azure IoT Edge.

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To configure the Edge Agent runtime module, you'll need to set the RuntimeLogLevel environment variable to debug. This will help you view the messages going through the IoT Edge hub and gather insights from verbose logs from the runtime containers.

You can also configure the Edge Hub runtime module by setting the RuntimeLogLevel environment variable to debug. This will allow you to view the messages going through the IoT Edge hub and gather insights from verbose logs from the runtime containers.

To test the Azure IoT Edge Connection, you'll need to view the messages going through the IoT Edge hub and gather insights from verbose logs from the runtime containers. You can do this by setting the RuntimeLogLevel environment variable to debug for the edgeHub module.

Here are the steps to test the Azure IoT Edge Connection:

To configure the basic settings for your IoT Edge device, you'll need to start with the hostname, which is the Azure IoT-Hub name followed by ".azure-devices.net".

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The IoT Edge Device ID is a crucial piece of information that you'll need to enter. This is the unique identifier for your device.

You'll also need to enter the Shared Access Key, which is the Primary Key of the IoT Edge Device.

The gateway hostname is a bit more complex, but essentially it's the hostname declared in the IoT-Edge gateway device. This needs to be resolvable to an IP address, either using DNS or a host file entry on the downstream device.

A CA Certificate is required, specifically the MyEdgeDeviceCA Certificate that you downloaded from the Edge Device VM in Step 16.

Additional reading: The Azure Key

Testing the connection is a crucial step in ensuring that your Azure IoT Edge setup is working as expected. To test the Azure IoT Edge Connection, you can view the messages going through the IoT Edge hub and gather insights from verbose logs from the runtime containers.

To turn on verbose logs on these containers, set the RuntimeLogLevel environment variable in the deployment manifest. This variable is shared between the edgeHub and edgeAgent modules, with the default value set to info.

To view messages going through the IoT Edge hub, set the RuntimeLogLevel environment variable to debug for the edgeHub module. This will allow you to inspect the edgeHub logs and verify that the Edge VM is receiving the uplink messages from the Tpx Azure IoT Edge Connector.

Here's a step-by-step guide to testing the connection:

To validate your Azure IoT Edge setup, you need to check the status of the Agent on your device. Run the Agent's status subcommand and look for azure_iot_edge under the Checks section.

The Agent's status subcommand will display a list of checks, including service checks. These checks help you determine if your Edge Agent and Edge Hub are functioning correctly.

To check the Edge Agent's health, look for the azure.iot_edge.edge_agent.prometheus.health service check, which returns CRITICAL if the Agent is unable to reach the Edge Agent metrics Prometheus endpoint. If it's unable to reach the endpoint, you'll see a CRITICAL status.

If the Edge Agent is healthy, you'll see an OK status for this service check.

Connecting your Azure IoT Edge devices is a crucial step in getting started with the platform. You can create a connection from the UI by clicking ADD CONNECTION, then selecting Azure IoT Edge as the connection type.

To configure the connection, you'll need to fill in the form with the following details: Name, Hostname, Gateway HostName, IoT Edge Device ID, Shared access key, and CA Certificate. You can find the necessary information in your Azure IoT Hub and IoT Edge device settings.

Azure IoT Edge integrates seamlessly with Azure IoT Central, providing a single control plane for your solution's needs. With this integration, you can create and configure workloads to be run on specific types of devices, send workloads to sets of devices, and monitor workloads running on devices in the field.

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Creating a connection is a crucial step in setting up your IoT solution. You can create a connection from the UI by clicking the "ADD CONNECTION" button.

To do this, you'll need to select the connection type as Azure IoT Edge. Fill in the form with the required information, including the name of your connection, hostname, gateway hostname, IoT Edge device ID, shared access key, and CA certificate.

Here's a breakdown of the required fields:

Make sure to fill in all the fields accurately to ensure a successful connection.

Operating in areas with limited connectivity can be a challenge. Azure IoT Edge device management can handle this with ease, automatically syncing the latest state of your devices after they're reconnected to ensure seamless operability.

This means you can rely on your edge devices to function even when they're offline or have intermittent connectivity to the cloud. Azure IoT Edge device management takes care of updating your devices remotely, so you don't have to worry about a thing.

Having cloud intelligence deployed locally on IoT edge devices can also help with offline or intermittent connectivity. This is because you can break up data silos and consolidate operational data at scale in the Azure Cloud.

By deploying Azure IoT Edge on premises, you can optimize cloud spend and enable your devices to react faster to local changes. This is especially useful when operating in areas with limited connectivity.

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