Device-to-Cloud Communication Patterns for Azure IoT Solutions

Which Device-to-Cloud Communication Pattern Should You Use?

Question

You are operating an IoT solution for a vineyard where a fleet of drones is used to monitor plants for possible infections.

The drones, which have no direct network access, collect local weather data and they download them to docking stations at the end of their trips.

The docking unit then transfers the data in batches to the central IoT Hub.

Because of the low bandwidth, the docking stations can connect to the IoT network infrequently, for a few minutes only.

You need to design a solution to get the data to the IoT Hub.

Which device-to-cloud communication pattern should you use?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

Correct Answer: A.

Option A is CORRECT because when your devices send data in batches, for any reason, they should upload the data as files, using IoT Hub's device facing endpoint dedicated for this type of operation.

Option B is incorrect because device twin reported properties are typically for short status data sent by the devices, e.g.

battery charge level, connectivity mode etc.

It is not suitable for large amounts of telemetry data.

Option C is incorrect because device-to-cloud messages are intended for devices with permanent and stable connection that they can use to stream telemetry data continuously.

Option D is incorrect because direct methods are a means of cloud-to-device communication.

They are not suitable for the current scenario.

Reference:

Based on the given scenario, the appropriate device-to-cloud communication pattern is Device-to-Cloud messages (C).

Device-to-Cloud messages are the most commonly used communication pattern in IoT scenarios. This pattern allows a device to send telemetry data or other types of messages to the cloud. The messages are then ingested into the cloud service and can be processed, analyzed, and stored as required.

In this scenario, the drones collect local weather data and transfer it to the docking stations. The docking stations can connect to the IoT network infrequently, for a few minutes only. Therefore, the data needs to be transmitted as soon as possible, and Device-to-Cloud messages can handle that efficiently.

Other options such as File upload (A) or Device twin reported properties (B) are not suitable for this scenario because File upload is more suitable for large data sets, and Device twin reported properties are more suitable for tracking the state of a device or configuration changes. Direct methods (D) are used to send commands to the device and are not relevant to this scenario.

Therefore, Device-to-Cloud messages (C) is the most appropriate device-to-cloud communication pattern for this scenario.