Build Your Own IoT Platform: Develop a Flexible and Scalable Internet of Things Platform

Table of Contents
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: So… You Want to Build Your Own!
	The Background of IoT and Our Focus
	How Many Platforms Are Out There?
		Platforms Supporting Network Servicing
		Platforms Sitting Between Networks and Applications
		Application Layer Development Platforms
	What Should a Good IoT Platform Have?
	Why Should You Build Your Own IoT Platform?
	Summary
Chapter 2: The Building Blocks of an IoT Solution
	The Functional Blocks of an IoT Solution
		Detailed Block Diagram of an IoT Platform
			Edge Interface, Message Broker, and Message Bus
			Message Router and Communication Management
			Time-Series Storage and Data Management
			Rule Engine
			The REST API Interface
			Microservices
			Device Manager
			Application and User Management
		Is Everything from This Block Architecture Mandatory?
	What Is the Proposed Approach?
	Summary
Chapter 3: The Essentials for Building Your Own Platform
	Deciding Cloud Instance Specifics
		Additional Specifications
		Where Do We Get This Cloud Instance?
	What About Our Own Machine?
	Expanding on the IoT Platform Block Diagram
		Edge Interface, Message Broker, and Message Bus
		Message Router and Communication Management
		Time-Series Storage and Data Management
		REST API Interface
		Microservices
		Rule Engine
		Device Manager and Application Manager
	Our Own IoT Platform Block Diagram
	Summary
Chapter 4: Let’s Create Our Platform Wish List
	Connecting with the Platform in Real Time
		Using MQTT As the Message Broker
	How Do We Want to Store the Data?
		Data Storage Schema
	Accessing Platform Resources Through APIs
	Data Access APIs
	Elementary Microservices and Utilities
	Routing and Filtering Data and Messages
	Updated Block Diagram of Our IoT Platform
	Summary
Chapter 5: Here We Go!
	Initializing the Cloud Instance
		Register and Create
		Selecting an Operating System Image
		Choose a Plan
		Choosing a Datacenter Region
		Finalizing and Creating the Instance
		Connecting to Our Cloud Instance
	Installing Basic Software Stacks
		Installing Apache
		Installing MySQL
		Installing PHP
	Securing the Instance and Software
	It’s Easier with a Domain Name
		Add Virtual Hosts to Our Web Server
		Installing SSL Certificates
	Installing Node.js and Node-RED
		Modifying Node-RED Settings
		Securing Our Node-RED Editor
	Summary
Chapter 6: The Message Broker
	What Is MQTT?
		Publish and Subscribe Paradigm
	Other Features of a Message Broker and MQTT
		Quality of Service
		Keep Alive Period
		Last Will and Testament
		The Retained Message
	The Best Part: WebSocket
	Are We Using the Best Message Broker Option?
	When to Utilize a Message Broker and When Not To
	Installing a Message Broker
		Securing a Message Broker
	Summary
Chapter 7: Building the Critical Components
	Creating a Time-Series Core Database
	Installing Required Nodes in Node-RED
	Creating First Flow for Our Platform
		Adding MQTT Publish Capability
	REST API Message Publisher
	Creating the Database Listener
	REST API Message Retriever
	Verifying That Everything Is Working As Expected
	Running Node-RED in the Background Continuously
	Summary
Chapter 8: Configuring the Message Broker
	The Difference Between WebSocket and Normal MQTT
	Why Is WebSocket Important?
		Adding WebSocket to Our MQTT Configuration
		Testing WebSocket
	Let’s Add User Access Controls
		Let’s Check If This Is Working
	Using the Forever Tool with the Message Broker
	Summary
Chapter 9: Creating a REST Interface
	Data Access APIs
		Adding Time-Based Filters
	Data Deletion APIs
		Removing Data Records Completely
	Adding Microservices to the Platform
		Getting the Current Timestamp
		Random Code Generator
		Adding New Modules to Node-RED
		UUID Generator
	Email and Text Message Microservice APIs
		Configuration of Nodes
		SMS Sending Utility
		Email-Sending Utility
	Summary
Chapter 10: Rule Engine and Authentication
	Start with the Rule Engine Logic
		Creating a Database
		Building the Flow Sequence
		Testing the Rule Engine
	Rule Management APIs
		Enable and Disable a Specific Rule
		Enable and Disable All Rules
		Create a New Rule
	Building Another Rule Engine with Node-RED
	Adding Authentication to the Data API
		What Are Our Options?
		What Is the Plan?
		Adding Authentication Middleware
		Enable and Test Authentication
	Our Core Platform Is Ready Now
	Summary
Chapter 11: Documentation and Testing
	Preparing a Valid OpenAPI Specification Document
		Platform API Specification File Explained
		Preparing Distribution Package for Final Upload
		Upload API Docs and Make It Live
	Authorize and Test API
	Summary
Chapter 12: Connecting Your Hardware
	Why Learn Hardware?
	Available Hardware Options
		Importance of Bespoke Designs
	How Do You Choose?
	Connectivity Considerations
	Topologies and Arrangements
		A Few Options to Consider
	Communication Protocols
		Using the REST API
		Using MQTT
		Finding the Golden Mean
	Connecting to the Platform
	Summary
Chapter 13: Let’s Build a Better Mousetrap
	How It All Started
		What Does “Better” Mean?
		The Approach
	System Architecture
	Hardware Selection
		Key Components
		Connectivity Choice
	Front-End Application
	Cloud Application Back End
	Additional Services
	Project Takeaways
	Summary
Chapter 14: Unlimited Possibilities
	Why Unlimited
	The Three Ideas
		1. The 1btn (a.k.a. One Button)
		2. Smart Streetlamps
		3. Garbage Collection Management
	Other Ideas and Possibilities
	Summary
Chapter 15: What We Built and the Takeaways
	Increasing Security for the Cloud Instance
	What About SQL Injection Through APIs?
	Should We Have Used MongoDB Instead of MySQL?
	Some Experts Might Still Try to Talk You Out of This
	How Is Our Platform Different from AWS, Google, and Azure?
	There Is a New Version of MQTT
	My Platform Is Ready. Now What?
	The Next Big Thing
	If You Need to Find More Resources
	Finally…
Index