Forem: Inioluwa Oduniyi

How to implement an IoT Hub in Azure

Inioluwa Oduniyi — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 14:24:21 +0000

Have you been having problems implementing an IoT Hub in Azure? Here is an easy guide to implementing an IoT Hub in Azure. Perhaps this sounds new to you, let's do a brief introduction to IoT Hub.

IoT meaning Internet of Things, is the ability of internet connected devices to garner and relay information for data analysis. The key components of IoT include:
Smart devices that have computing capabilities and can collect data
IoT applications which are able to integrate data from various IoT devices and analyze the data for decision making
Users Interface which allows users to manage and control IoT devices.
IoT is used in smart homes, vehicles to monitor performance, industries etc.

An IoT Hub is a managed service hosted in the cloud which acts as a central message hub for bi-directional communication between IoT applications and the devices they manage. In this article, we'll create an IoT Hub and connect it to a device (Rasberry pi) to monitor how an IoT Hub functions. Let's dive right in:

Step 1: Login to your azure portal at portal.azure.com

Step 2: In the search box, type IoT and select IoT Hub from the list of auto-suggested services.

Step 3: On the IoT Hub page, click Create.

Step 4: Fill in the basic details, then click Review and Create leaving other parameters on default.

Step 5: On passing validation, click Create and await deployment.

Step 6: After successful deployment, click Go to resource to view your newly created IoT Hub.

Note that, the IoT Hub has no device connected to it, however, every information or message on it will be blank (0).

Step 7: From the menu of the IoT Hub, click Device management drop down menu and select Devices

Step 8: Click Add device to create a device, fill in the device and save.

Step 9: Click the added IoT device and note the primary connection string. Copy the primary connection string.

Step 10: On your browser, search Azure raspberry pi simulator, click raspberry pi azure IoT simulator.

This displays a raspberry pi whose LED is off, which implies it hasn't been connected.

Step 11: In line 15, edit the placeholder and paste the primary connection string. Click Run, at the bottom of the script.

The device responds by blinking the LED signifying successful connection.

Finally, check the response script below the code script to see how many messages the device is sending to the Hub per time and go to the overview page of your IoT Hub on Azure portal, refresh to see how many messages the IoT device has sent to the Hub.

Congratulations! You just created an IoT Hub and connected a device to it.

Easy steps to creating and working with a blob storage

Inioluwa Oduniyi — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:05:28 +0000

Hi there! Are you having troubles creating and working with a blob storage? Here are few easy sequential steps to creating and working with a blob storage. Stay with me as I carefully guide you through this process. In the meantime, let me walk you through what a blob storage is.
A blob storage is optimized for storing large amount of unstructured data, such as texts, pictures, binary data etc. Data are stored under three tiers, Hot (optimized for storing data that are frequently accessed), Cold (optimized for storing data that are not frequently accessed and are stored for at least 30 days) and Archive (optimized for storing data that are rarely accessed and are stored for at least 180 days).
Here are detailed steps to creating a blob storage.
Step 1: Login to your Azure portal from your browser, portal.azure.com.

Step 2: In the search box/bar, type storage. Click storage account from the list of auto-suggested services.

Step 3: On the storage account dashboard, click create

Step 4: Fill in the basic details. This allows you to customize your storage account to whatever suites you. The basic details include:
a) Project details: In this field you select your subscription group and your resource group (you can create a new one if you don't have an existing one.

b) Instance details: This field permits you to name your storage account, select the region, performance type and redundancy. The region, performance and redundancy can be left on default parameters to save stress.

Step 5: Leaving other parameters on default, proceed to review and create. Click create after validation is passed and await deployment.

Step 6: After successful deployment, click 'go to resource' to view your storage account.

Step 7: On your storage account, click upload to add a file to the storage to ascertain its functions.

Step 8: Now, you need to create a new container, as containers are light-weight virtualized environment that does not require operating system management and can respond to changes on demand. Click 'create new'.

Step 9: Change the anonymous access level to blob. However, if there's an error message, go to blob service and enable the blob anonymous access.

Step 10: Upload a file! Click browse for files to add a file from your storage. Upload the file to your blob storage account.

Step 11: Test your blob storage. On the storage account dashboard click data storage, a drop down menu appears showing containers, file shares etc. Click containers, you'll find the container you created. Click the container and copy the file's url.

Paste it on your local browser (chrome, microsoft edge or firefox).
BOOM! You have just successfully created a blob storage.

Thanks for staying till the end.

Beginner's guide to creating a virtual machine

Inioluwa Oduniyi — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:33:23 +0000

In the vast world of cloud computing, one of the most important service is a virtual machine. In this article, we will be considering steps to creating a virtual machine. However, it is important that we understand the term 'Virtual Machine'. Hence, what is a virtual machine?
A virtual machine (VM) is a software-based simulation of a real computer. It resides as a file or collection of files on a host computer, yet it runs an operating system and apps exactly like a real computer. A virtual machine comprises a virtual processor, memory, storage and networking as a physical computer. It is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that provides total control and customization.
Having understood what a VM is, let's proceed to what the title states.There are various methods of creating a VM but in this article, we will be creating the virtual machine in Azure portal.
Below are the sequential steps needed to create a virtual machine.
Step 1: Go to your browser, type portal.azure.com, this takes you to the login portal of Azure. Login to your Azure portal or create an account if you don't have one.

Step 2: Go to the search box/bar (search resources, services and docs), type virtual, this gives you a list of auto suggested services. Click 'Virtual Machine'.

Step 3: After acessing the virtual machine dashboard, click create, a drop down menu appears and then select Azure virtual machine.

Step 4: Fill in the Basic details. As soon as the creation platform loads, you'll be required to fill in some details that customizes your VM. These details include:
a) Project details: This includes your subscription and resource group. The subscription gives you authorized access on the Azure portal while the resource group allows you to have all your resources in a single unit.

b) Instance details: This allows for flexibility in choosing a name for your VM, the region, availability zone, size etc.

c) Administrator account: A virtual machine is an IaaS that gives you full control. In this field, you input your desired username and password ensuring it complies with Microsoft password policy.

d) Inbound port rules: Here, the public inbound port should be left on default parameters while the inbound port can be selected as RDP and Http.
Step 5: Having filled the basic details, proceed to review and create. Click on create after successful validation and await deployment. After successful deployment, click 'go to resource' to view your VM

Step 6: Click connect to connect your VM using RDP (Remote desktop protocol)

Tadaa! You have successfully created a VM that runs based on your specification.

NOTE: After deploying the VM, ensure you delete it when it's no more in use.
Thanks for reading!