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articles/iot/iot-introduction.md

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ms.service: iot
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services: iot
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ms.topic: overview
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ms.date: 11/29/2022
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ms.date: 03/24/2023
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ms.author: dobett
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ms.custom: [amqp, mqtt]
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#Customer intent: As a newcomer to IoT, I want to understand what IoT is, what services are available, and examples of business cases so I can figure out where to start.
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---
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# What is Azure Internet of Things (IoT)?
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The Azure Internet of Things (IoT) is a collection of Microsoft-managed cloud services that connect, monitor, and control billions of IoT assets. In simpler terms, an IoT solution is made up of one or more IoT devices that communicate with one or more back-end services hosted in the cloud.
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The Azure Internet of Things (IoT) is a collection of Microsoft-managed cloud services that let you connect, monitor, and control billions of IoT assets. In simpler terms, an IoT solution is made up of IoT devices that communicate with cloud services.
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The following diagram shows a high-level view of the components in a typical IoT solution. This article is focused key groups of components: devices, IoT cloud services, other cloud services, and solution-wide concerns. Other articles in this section provide more detail on each of these components.
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:::image type="content" source="media/iot-introduction/iot-architecture.svg" alt-text="High-level IoT solution architecture diagram" border="false":::
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## IoT devices
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An IoT device is typically made up of a circuit board with sensors attached that use WiFi to connect to the internet. For example:
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An IoT device is typically made up of a circuit board with sensors attached that uses WiFi to connect to the internet. For example:
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* A pressure sensor on a remote oil pump.
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* Temperature and humidity sensors in an air-conditioning unit.
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There's a wide variety of devices available from different manufacturers to build your solution. For a list of devices certified to work with Azure IoT Hub, see the [Azure Certified for IoT device catalog](https://devicecatalog.azure.com). For prototyping, you can use devices such as an [MXChip IoT DevKit](https://microsoft.github.io/azure-iot-developer-kit/) or a [Raspberry Pi](https://www.raspberrypi.org/). The Devkit has built-in sensors for temperature, pressure, humidity, and a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer. The Raspberry Pi lets you attach many different types of sensor.
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Microsoft provides open-source [Device SDKs](../iot-hub/iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md) that you can use to build the apps that run on your devices. These [SDKs simplify and accelerate](https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/benefits-of-using-the-azure-iot-sdks-in-your-azure-iot-solution/) the development of your IoT solutions.
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Microsoft provides open-source [Device SDKs](../iot-hub/iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md) that you can use to build the apps that run on your devices.
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To learn more, see [IoT device development](iot-overview-device-development.md).
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## Communication
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## Connectivity
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Typically, IoT devices send telemetry from the sensors to back-end services in the cloud. However, other types of communication are possible such as a back-end service sending commands to your devices. The following are some examples of device-to-cloud and cloud-to-device communication:
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Typically, IoT devices send telemetry from the sensors to cloud services in your solution. However, other types of communication are possible such as a cloud service sending commands to your devices. The following are some examples of device-to-cloud and cloud-to-device communication:
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* A mobile refrigeration truck sends temperature every 5 minutes to an IoT Hub.
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* The back-end service sends a command to a device to change the frequency at which it sends telemetry to help diagnose a problem.
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* A cloud service sends a command to a device to change the frequency at which it sends telemetry to help diagnose a problem.
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* A device sends alerts based on the values read from its sensors. For example, a device monitoring a batch reactor in a chemical plant, sends an alert when the temperature exceeds a certain value.
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* Your devices send information to display on a dashboard for viewing by human operators. For example, a control room in a refinery may show the temperature, pressure, and flow volumes in each pipe, enabling operators to monitor the facility.
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The [IoT Device SDKs](../iot-hub/iot-hub-devguide-sdks.md) and IoT Hub support common [communication protocols](../iot-hub/iot-hub-devguide-protocols.md) such as HTTP, MQTT, and AMQP.
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IoT devices have different characteristics when compared to other clients such as browsers and mobile apps. The device SDKs help you address the challenges of connecting devices securely and reliably to your back-end service. Specifically, IoT devices:
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IoT devices have different characteristics when compared to other clients such as browsers and mobile apps. The device SDKs help you address the challenges of connecting devices securely and reliably to your cloud services. Specifically, IoT devices:
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* Are often embedded systems with no human operator.
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* Can be deployed in remote locations, where physical access is expensive.
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* May have intermittent, slow, or expensive network connectivity.
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* May need to use proprietary, custom, or industry-specific application protocols.
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## Back-end services
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To learn more, see [Device infrastructure and connectivity](iot-overview-device-connectivity.md).
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In an IoT solution, the back-end service provides functionality such as:
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## Cloud services
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In an IoT solution, the cloud services provide functionality such as:
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* Receiving telemetry at scale from your devices, and determining how to process and store that data.
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* Analyzing the telemetry to provide insights, either in real time or after the fact.
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* Controlling the state of your devices and monitoring their activities.
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* Managing the firmware installed on your devices.
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For example, in a remote monitoring solution for an oil pumping station, the cloud back end uses telemetry from the pumps to identify anomalous behavior. When the back-end service identifies an anomaly, it can automatically send a command back to the device to take a corrective action. This process generates an automated feedback loop between the device and the cloud that greatly increases the solution efficiency.
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For example, in a remote monitoring solution for an oil pumping station, the cloud back end uses telemetry from the pumps to identify anomalous behavior. When a cloud service identifies an anomaly, it can automatically send a command back to the device to take a corrective action. This process generates an automated feedback loop between the device and the cloud that greatly increases the solution efficiency.
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## Azure IoT examples
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Some cloud services, such as IoT Hub and the Device Provisioning Service, are IoT specific. Other cloud services can provide generic services to your solution such as storage and visualizations.
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For real-life examples of how organizations use Azure IoT, see [Microsoft Technical Case Studies for IoT](https://microsoft.github.io/techcasestudies/#technology=IoT&sortBy=featured).
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## Solution-wide concerns
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For an in-depth discussion of IoT architecture, see the [Microsoft Azure IoT Reference Architecture](/azure/architecture/reference-architectures/iot).
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Any IoT solution has to address the following solution-wide concerns:
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## Next steps
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* [Security](iot-security-best-practices.md) including physical security, authentication, authorization, and encryption
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* Solution management including deployment and monitoring.
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* High availability and disaster recovery for all the services in your solution.
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* Scalability for all the services in your solution.
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For some actual business cases and the architecture used, see the [Microsoft Azure IoT Technical Case Studies](https://microsoft.github.io/techcasestudies/#technology=IoT&sortBy=featured).
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## Next steps
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For some sample projects that you can try out with an IoT DevKit, see the [IoT DevKit Project Catalog](https://microsoft.github.io/azure-iot-developer-kit/docs/projects/).
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Suggested next steps to explore Azure IoT further include:
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For a more comprehensive explanation of the different services and how they're used, see [Azure IoT services and technologies](iot-services-and-technologies.md).
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* [IoT device development](iot-overview-device-development.md)
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* [Device infrastructure and connectivity](iot-overview-device-connectivity.md)
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* [Azure IoT services and technologies](iot-services-and-technologies.md).

articles/iot/iot-overview-connectivity.md renamed to articles/iot/iot-overview-device-connectivity.md

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The following diagram shows a high-level view of the components in a typical IoT solution. This article is focused on the connectivity between the devices and the IoT cloud services shown in the diagram.
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:::image type="content" source="media/iot-overview-connectivity/iot-architecture.svg" alt-text="High-level IoT solution architecture diagram that highlights device connectivity areas" border="false":::
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:::image type="content" source="media/iot-overview-device-connectivity/iot-architecture.svg" alt-text="High-level IoT solution architecture diagram that highlights device connectivity areas" border="false":::
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## Primitives
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articles/iot/iot-overview-device-development.md

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Azure IoT Edge runs device code in containers. You can use Azure IoT Edge to deploy code modules to your devices. To learn more, see [Develop your own IoT Edge modules](../iot-edge/module-development.md).
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> [!TIP]
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> Azure IoT Edge enables multiple scenarios. In addition to running your IoT device code in containers, you can use Azure IoT Edge to run Azure services on your devices and implement [field gateways](iot-overview-connectivity.md#field-gateways). For more information, see [What is Azure IoT Edge?](../iot-edge/about-iot-edge.md)
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> Azure IoT Edge enables multiple scenarios. In addition to running your IoT device code in containers, you can use Azure IoT Edge to run Azure services on your devices and implement [field gateways](iot-overview-device-connectivity.md#field-gateways). For more information, see [What is Azure IoT Edge?](../iot-edge/about-iot-edge.md)
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## Development tools
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Now that you've seen an overview of device development in Azure IoT solutions, some suggested next steps include:
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- [Device infrastructure and connectivity](iot-overview-connectivity.md)
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- [Device infrastructure and connectivity](iot-overview-device-connectivity.md)
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- [Device management and control](iot-overview-device-management.md)

articles/iot/iot-overview-device-management.md

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Now that you've seen an overview of device management and control in Azure IoT solutions, some suggested next steps include
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- [IoT device development](iot-overview-device-development.md)
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- [Device infrastructure and connectivity](iot-overview-connectivity.md)
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- [Device infrastructure and connectivity](iot-overview-device-connectivity.md)

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