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<p>Recall that in a <a href="/mwc-arm-devices-open-data/">previous post</a>, we discussed a collection of <a href="http://arm.com">ARM</a>-based devices and open data sources that comprised the basis for <a href="http://wot.io">wot.io's</a> demonstration at <a href="http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/what-to-expect/highlights-from-2015/">Mobile World Congress 2015</a> last Spring. Today we will continue our deeper look into the technology behind that <a href="http://labs.wot.io/wot-io-with-arm-at-mwc-2015">demonstration</a> by examining the device management platforms that were employed.</p>
<h2 id="managingdeviceswithstreamtechnologiesiotxtendtrade">Managing Devices with Stream Technologies IoT-Xtend&trade;</h2>
<p>In a large organization or municipality, the issue of just simply <em>managing</em> all of the connected devices is usually the first challenge one encounters before all of the resulting data can be collected and analyzed.</p>
<p>This is where <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com">Stream Technologies</a> comes in. Their <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com/connectivity/">IoT-Xtend&trade; Platform</a> is an award winning connected device management platform designed to monitor, manage and monetize device endpoints, manage subscriptions, and provide robust billing and Advanced Data Routing. Xtend provides Multi Network Technology capability in one comprehensive platform. Xtend serves and supports complex multi-tenant and multi-tiered sales channels. Its web-based user interface can be used to view which devices are actively transferring data and allow for the management, routing, and metering of data.</p>
<p>Previously we described how we created embedded applications to run on each of the demonstration devices and could then connect to our device management platform.</p>
<p>In fact, what we were doing was leveraging the extensive device integration capabilities of <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com">Stream</a> and their <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com/connectivity/">IoT-Xtend&trade; Platform</a>. Specifically, Stream has integrated numerous cellular, satellite, LPWA, and Wi-Fi devices into their platform. In cases like our demonstration, where an integration did not already exist, creating a new integration was simply a matter of sharing the schema to which our messages would conform, and the communication protocol it would be using.</p>
<p>So the notification messages being sent from the devices to IoT-Xtend looked something like this for devices containing GPS sensors (like the <a href="https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/c027">u-blox C027</a>):</p>
<pre><code>{
"sim_no": SIM_ID,
"quality_idx": QUALITY,
"gps_time": TIME,
"dec_latitude": LAT,
"dec_longitude": LON,
"number_sat": SATELLITES,
"hdop": HDOP,
"height_above_sea": HEIGHT
}
</code></pre>
<p>When the device is powered on, it connects to Stream using its LISA-C200 CDMA cellular modem and begins to send it's location data from the GPS receiver. Because its SIM card has been provisioned and managed in IoT-X, the device telemetry data is received by and made visible in the IoT-X web-based user interface.</p>
<p><img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/stream.png" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="connectingstreamiotxtendtradetothewotiodataserviceexchange">Connecting Stream IoT-Xtend&trade; to the wot.io Data Service Exchange</h2>
<p>wot.io and Stream have fully integrated the Stream IoT-Xtend&trade; device management platform with the wot.io data service exchange&trade;. This means that notification and telemetry data from the managed devices can be routed to and from any wot.io data services for analysis, visualization, metering and monitoring, business rules, etc.</p>
<p>In part 3 of this series, we will explore a few of the many data services demonstrated at Mobile World Congress.</p>
<h2 id="armmbeddeviceserver">ARM mbed Device Server</h2>
<p>Of course, wot.io is all about choice and selecting the best-of-breed services fit for specific needs. As such, one might be interested in exploring one of the other device management platforms on the data service exchange.</p>
<p>One such option is <a href="https://www.mbed.com/en/development/cloud/mbed-device-server/">ARM mbed Device Server</a>. We have already <a href="http://labs.wot.io/tag/armmbed/">written extensively</a> about our close integration of ARM mbed Device Server to the wot.io data service exchange.</p>
<p><img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/Screen-Shot-2015-11-30-at-3-08-29-PM.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Whether your ARM mbed Device Server needs are to bridge the CoAP protocol gap, combine it with other connectivity or device management platforms, manage device identities and authorizations, send complex command-and-control messages to devices, or simply subscribe to device notifications, or to host production-scale deployments and handle your data service routing needs, wot.io has you covered.</p>
<h2 id="connectingstreamiotxtendtradewitharmmbeddeviceserver">Connecting Stream IoT-Xtend&trade; with ARM mbed Device Server</h2>
<p>In addition to a direct integration between IoT-Xtend&trade; and wot.io, the devices managed in Stream Technologies IoT-Xtend&trade; platform can also be integrated with other device management platforms. In particular, at Mobile World Congress we demonstrated a configuration in which devices were registered in both the <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com/iotx/">Stream IoT-Xtend&trade;</a> and <a href="https://www.mbed.com/en/development/cloud/mbed-device-server/">ARM mbed Device Server</a> platforms.</p>
<p>Real-world IoT solutions will often involve multiple device management platforms. In such situations, it is often desirable to consolidate the number of interfaces used by operations staff, or to leverage the unique strengths of different platforms. For example, an organization or municipality deploying a smart city initiative may elect to use IoT-Xtend&trade; for its SIM-management and billing-related capabilities while standardizing on ARM mbed Device Server for device provisioning and security. Or as another example, perhaps they would like to standardize on ARM mbed Device Server, but a vendor or partner uses another device management platform like IoT-Xtend&trade;.</p>
<p>wot.io provides enterprise customers with the powerful ability to interoperate between and across device management platforms, sharing both device data and command and control messages with data services in either direction.</p>
<h2 id="nexttime">Next Time...</h2>
<p>In our final post in this series, we will discuss some of the data services that were used to analyze, visualize, and manipulate the Smart City data coming from the devices managed by IoT-Xtend&trade; and ARM mbed Device Server, and the London Datastore project.</p>