populate state store article.

Signed-off-by: Ryan Winter <[email protected]>

Author: ryanwinter

articles/iot-operations/create-edge-apps/howto-populate-state-store.md

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+---
+title: Populate the state store
+description: Learn how to populate the state store with data
+author: PatAltimore 
+ms.author: patricka 
+ms.subservice: azure-mqtt-broker
+ms.topic: how-to
+ms.custom:
+ms.date: 11/8/2024
+ms.service: azure-iot-operations
+---
+
+# Populating the state store
+
+The state store runs on the cluster and is accessed via MQTT broker using the MQTT5 protocol. There are currently two main ways of using the state store:
+
+1. Using the Azure IoT Operations SDKs to interact with the state store in your edge applications.
+1. Using the CLI tool to push data into the state store from an external computer.
+
+## Azure IoT Operations SDKs
+
+The SDKs are the recommended way to interact with the state store when developing edge applications. To read more about the SDKs and their available functions, refer to [Azure IoT Operations SDKs](overview-sdk-apps.md).
+
+## State store CLI
+
+The state store CLI tool allows you to interact with the state store from a shell running on any machine.
+
+1. Generate an x.509 certificate chain for authenticating with MQTT broker
+1. Create a `BrokerAuthentication` using x.509 certificates
+1. Create a `BrokerListener` as a LoadBalancer to enable off-cluster access
+1. Open ports so allow access to the MQTT broker.
+
+For instructions on downloading and using the tool, refer to [state store CLI GitHub](https://github.com/Azure-Samples/explore-iot-operations/tree/main/tools/state-store-cli).
+