Defined Terms

Firmware refers to the drivers in a device. These are fundamental programs that run at the bottom layer of the operating system.

Project

A project refers to the resource space of the IoT platform. Developers need to create independent projects based on their own industries before developing IoT products and applications in the project space.

Product

A product is a collection of devices with the same capabilities or features. In addition to physical devices, a product also includes product information, product models (profile files), codecs, and test reports generated during IoT capability building.

Product Model

A product model (also called profile file) is used to describe the capabilities and features of a device. Developers construct an abstract model of a device by defining a profile file on the IoT platform so that the IoT platform can understand the services, properties, and commands supported by the device.

The IoT platform communicates with NAs using data in JSON format. Therefore, when a device reports data in binary format, developers need to develop codecs on Developer Center to help the IoT platform convert data into different formats.

A device is a physical entity that belongs to a product. Each device has a unique ID. It can be a device directly connected to the IoT platform, or a gateway for sub devices to connect to the IoT platform.

A gateway is a physical entity that manages sub devices and connects sub devices to the IoT platform.

A sub device is a physical entity that connects to the IoT platform through a gateway.

A rule is a preset condition used by the IoT platform to trigger actions. The device will report device data, which is checked against the rules. When a rule condition is met, the IoT platform will trigger corresponding actions such as delivering a command to the device, or forwarding data to other HUAWEI CLOUD services for integration and utilization.

The IoT platform involves applications created by users and network applications (NAs) developed by users. Applications are project entities created by users on the IoT platform. Each application is allocated an application ID and a secret for NA access authentication. An NA is an IoT application developed by users that can be connected to the IoT platform for device management.

Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT)

MQTT is an IoT transmission protocol designed for lightweight release/subscription message transmission. It aims to provide reliable network services for IoT devices in low-bandwidth and unstable network environments.

MQTTS refers to the combination of MQTT and SSL/TLS. The SSL and TLS protocols are used for encrypted transmission.

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP)

CoAP is a software protocol designed to enable simple devices to perform interactive communication on the Internet.

CoAPS refers to CoAP over DTLS. The DTLS protocol is used for encrypted transmission.

Lightweight Machine to Machine (LWM2M)

LWM2M is an IoT protocol defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). It mainly applies to NB-IoT devices with limited resources (such as limited storage and power supply).