Connecting M2M Gateway to Azure IoT Hub

Seamless integration with Microsoft Azure IoT Hub for enterprise-grade cloud connectivity

Video Tutorial: Complete Azure Setup

Prerequisites

• CONPROSYS M2M Gateway device
• Azure account with active subscription
• IoT Hub resource created in Azure Portal

Azure Portal showing IoT Hub configuration dashboard

Step 1: Create IoT Hub

1. Login to Azure Portal
2. Click "Create a resource"
3. Search for "IoT Hub"
4. Configure:
   • Subscription: Your subscription
   • Resource Group: Create new or use existing
   • Region: Select nearest region
   • IoT Hub Name: Unique name
   • Tier: S1 (recommended for production)

Pricing Tiers Comparison

Step 2: Register Device

Using Azure Portal

1. Go to your IoT Hub
2. Click "Devices" under "Device management"
3. Click "Add Device"
4. Enter Device ID (e.g., gateway-001)
5. Leave authentication as "Symmetric key"
6. Click "Save"

Using Azure CLI

Open PowerShell and run:

bash
# Install Azure CLI (if not installed)
winget install Microsoft.AzureCLI

# Login to Azure
az login

# Create IoT Hub device
az iot hub device-identity create \
  --hub-name your-iot-hub \
  --device-id gateway-001

# Get connection string
az iot hub device-identity connection-string show \
  --hub-name your-iot-hub \
  --device-id gateway-001 \
  --output table

Step 3: Configure M2M Gateway

Web-based configuration interface for cloud connectivity

Access Web Interface

1. Open browser to gateway IP address (default: 192.168.1.1)
2. Login with admin credentials
3. Navigate to "Cloud" > "Azure IoT Hub"

Connection Configuration Code

python
# Python example for programmatic configuration
import requests
import json

GATEWAY_IP = "192.168.1.1"
ADMIN_USER = "admin"
ADMIN_PASS = "your-password"

# Azure IoT Hub connection string
CONNECTION_STRING = "HostName=your-hub.azure-devices.net;DeviceId=gateway-001;SharedAccessKey=your-key"

def configure_azure_connection():
    config = {
        "enabled": True,
        "connectionString": CONNECTION_STRING,
        "transmissionInterval": 60,  # seconds
        "batchSize": 100,
        "retryEnabled": True,
        "bufferSize": 1000,
        "tlsEnabled": True
    }
    
    response = requests.post(
        f"http://{GATEWAY_IP}/api/cloud/azure",
        json=config,
        auth=(ADMIN_USER, ADMIN_PASS)
    )
    
    if response.status_code == 200:
        print(" Azure IoT Hub configured successfully")
        print(json.dumps(response.json(), indent=2))
    else:
        print(f" Configuration failed: {response.text}")

configure_azure_connection()

Configure Data Transmission

• Interval: 60 seconds (adjustable 1-3600s)
• Batch Size: 100 messages (max 500)
• Retry Logic: Enabled with exponential backoff
• Buffer Size: 1000 messages (disk-backed)
• Compression: Optional gzip compression

Step 4: Verify Connection

Real-time connection monitoring and telemetry dashboard

Check Gateway Status

• Status indicator should show "Connected" (green)
• View message count in dashboard
• Check last transmission timestamp
• Monitor queue depth

Check Azure Portal

1. Go to IoT Hub resource
2. Click on your device ID
3. View "Messages" tab
4. Should see incoming telemetry with timestamps

Monitoring Script

javascript
// Node.js script to monitor Azure IoT Hub messages
const { EventHubConsumerClient } = require("@azure/event-hubs");

const connectionString = "YOUR_EVENT_HUB_COMPATIBLE_CONNECTION_STRING";
const consumerGroup = "$Default";

async function monitorMessages() {
  const client = new EventHubConsumerClient(consumerGroup, connectionString);
  
  console.log(" Monitoring Azure IoT Hub messages...");
  
  const subscription = client.subscribe({
    processEvents: async (events, context) => {
      for (const event of events) {
        console.log(" Message received:");
        console.log("  Device:", event.systemProperties["iothub-connection-device-id"]);
        console.log("  Time:", event.systemProperties["iothub-enqueuedtime"]);
        console.log("  Body:", event.body);
        console.log("---");
      }
    },
    processError: async (err, context) => {
      console.error(" Error:", err);
    }
  });
  
  // Run for 60 seconds
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 60000));
  await subscription.close();
  await client.close();
}

monitorMessages();

Step 5: View Data

Using Azure IoT Explorer

1. Download Azure IoT Explorer
2. Add your IoT Hub connection string
3. Select your device from the list
4. View telemetry in real-time with charts

Using Azure Portal

1. Go to IoT Hub
2. Click "Monitor" > "Metrics"
3. Add metric: "Telemetry messages sent"
4. View in line charts with time range selector

Message Format

Default JSON format sent to Azure:

json
{
  "deviceId": "gateway-001",
  "timestamp": "2025-11-18T10:30:00Z",
  "location": "Factory-A",
  "values": {
    "temperature": 25.5,
    "humidity": 60.0,
    "pressure": 1013.25,
    "vibration": 0.05,
    "status": "running"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "firmware": "2.4.1",
    "signalStrength": -65
  }
}

Advanced Configuration

Custom Message Properties

javascript
// Add custom properties for Azure IoT Hub routing
const message = {
  body: telemetryData,
  properties: {
    location: "Factory-A",
    equipment: "Compressor-01",
    alarm: "false",
    priority: "normal"
  }
};

Device Twin Configuration

json
{
  "desired": {
    "telemetryInterval": 60,
    "alertThresholds": {
      "temperature": 80,
      "pressure": 10
    },
    "enabled": true
  },
  "reported": {
    "telemetryInterval": 60,
    "firmwareVersion": "2.4.1",
    "lastReboot": "2025-11-18T08:00:00Z"
  }
}

Download Resources

• Azure IoT Hub Setup Guide - Complete walkthrough (4.2MB)
• Security Best Practices - Production deployment guide (2.8MB)
• Sample Code Repository - Python, Node.js, C# examples (3.5MB)
• Troubleshooting Checklist - Common issues resolved (1.2MB)

Troubleshooting

Connection Failed

• Verify connection string is correct (no spaces)
• Check firewall allows port 8883 (MQTT over TLS)
• Ensure gateway has internet access
• Verify DNS resolution works
• Check system time is synchronized (NTP)

Messages Not Arriving

• Check gateway buffer usage in web UI
• Verify Azure IoT Hub quotas not exceeded
• Review message size limits (256KB max per message)
• Confirm device is not throttled
• Check Azure service health status

Authentication Errors

• Regenerate device keys in Azure Portal
• Update connection string in gateway
• Verify device is enabled in IoT Hub
• Check clock sync on gateway (±15 min tolerance)
• Ensure SAS token not expired

Security Best Practices

End-to-end security with TLS encryption and certificate authentication

1. Use TLS/SSL: Always enabled by default (port 8883)
2. Rotate Keys: Change device keys every 90 days
3. Monitor Access: Review device activity logs daily
4. Use DPS: Device Provisioning Service for zero-touch provisioning
5. Certificate Auth: Use X.509 certificates for production
6. Network Isolation: Use VPN or private endpoints
7. RBAC: Implement Role-Based Access Control

Next Steps

• Configure Azure Stream Analytics for real-time processing
• Set up Azure Functions for custom data transformation
• Create Power BI dashboards for visualization
• Configure Azure Monitor alerts and notifications
• Implement Azure Time Series Insights for historical analysis