Quickstart: Deploy your first IoT Edge module to a virtual Linux device

Applies to: IoT Edge 1.5

Try Azure IoT Edge in this quickstart by deploying containerized code to a virtual Linux IoT Edge device. IoT Edge lets you remotely manage code on your devices so you can send more of your workloads to the edge. For this quickstart, use an Azure virtual machine for your IoT Edge device. It lets you quickly create a test machine and delete it when you're done.

In this quickstart, you learn how to:

• Create an IoT Hub.
• Register an IoT Edge device to your IoT hub.
• Install and start the IoT Edge runtime on a virtual device.
• Deploy a module remotely to an IoT Edge device.

This quickstart walks you through creating a Linux virtual machine that's configured to be an IoT Edge device. Then, you deploy a module from the Azure portal to your device. This quickstart uses a simulated sensor module that generates temperature, humidity, and pressure data. The other Azure IoT Edge tutorials build upon the work you do here by deploying additional modules that analyze the simulated data for business insights.

If you don't have an active Azure subscription, create a trial subscription before you begin.

Prerequisites

Set up your environment for the Azure CLI.

• If you prefer to run CLI reference commands locally, install the Azure CLI. If you're running on Windows or macOS, consider running Azure CLI in a Docker container. For more information, see How to run the Azure CLI in a Docker container.

  • If you're using a local installation, sign in to the Azure CLI by using the az login command. To finish the authentication process, follow the steps displayed in your terminal. For other sign-in options, see Sign in with the Azure CLI.

  • When you're prompted, install the Azure CLI extension on first use. For more information about extensions, see Use extensions with the Azure CLI.

  • Run az version to find the version and dependent libraries that are installed. To upgrade to the latest version, run az upgrade.

A resource group to manage all the resources you use in this quickstart. This quickstart and the following tutorials use the example resource group name IoTEdgeResources.

`az group create --name IoTEdgeResources --location chinanorth2`

Create an IoT Hub

Start the quickstart by creating an IoT Hub with the Azure CLI.

The free tier of IoT Hub works for this quickstart. If you've used IoT Hub in the past and already have a hub created, you can use that IoT hub.

The following code creates a free F1 hub in the resource group IoTEdgeResources. Replace <hub-name> with a unique name for your IoT Hub. Creating an IoT Hub might take a few minutes.

az iot hub create --resource-group IoTEdgeResources --name <hub-name> --sku F1 --partition-count 2

If you get an error because there's already one free IoT Hub in your subscription, change the SKU to S1. Each subscription can only have one free IoT hub. If you get an error that the IoT Hub name isn't available, it means that someone else already has a hub with that name. Try a new name.

Register an IoT Edge device

Register an IoT Edge device with the IoT hub you just created.

Create a device identity for your IoT Edge device so that it can communicate with your IoT hub. The device identity lives in the cloud, and you use a unique device connection string to associate a physical device to a device identity.

Because IoT Edge devices behave and are managed differently from typical IoT devices, declare this identity as an IoT Edge device using the --edge-enabled flag.

1. In the Azure CLI, enter the following command to create a device named myEdgeDevice in your hub.

   az iot hub device-identity create --device-id myEdgeDevice --edge-enabled --hub-name {hub_name}
   

   If you get an error about iothubowner policy keys, make sure that your Azure CLI is running the latest version of the azure-iot extension.

2. Check the connection string for your device, which links the physical device to its identity in IoT Hub. It includes the name of your IoT Hub, the name of your device, and a shared key that authenticates connections between them. You use this connection string again in the next section to set up your IoT Edge device.

   az iot hub device-identity connection-string show --device-id myEdgeDevice --hub-name <hub-name>
   

   For example, the connection string should look similar to HostName=contoso-hub.azure-devices.cn;DeviceId=myEdgeDevice;SharedAccessKey=<DEVICE-SHARED-ACCESS-KEY>.

Configure your IoT Edge device

Create a virtual machine with the Azure IoT Edge runtime.

The IoT Edge runtime is deployed on all IoT Edge devices and has three components. The IoT Edge security daemon starts each time an IoT Edge device boots and bootstraps the device by starting the IoT Edge agent. The IoT Edge agent facilitates deployment and monitoring of modules on the IoT Edge device, including the IoT Edge hub. The IoT Edge hub manages communications between modules on the IoT Edge device, and between the device and IoT Hub.

During runtime configuration, provide a device connection string. This string is retrieved from the Azure CLI. This string associates your physical device with the IoT Edge device identity in Azure.

Deploy the IoT Edge device

This section uses an Azure Resource Manager template to create a new virtual machine and install the IoT Edge runtime on it. If you want to use your own Linux device instead, you can follow the installation steps in Manually provision a single Linux IoT Edge device, then return to this quickstart.

Use the Deploy to Azure button or CLI commands to create an IoT Edge device based on the prebuilt iotedge-vm-deploy template.

• For bash or Azure CLI users, copy the following command into a text editor, replace the placeholder text with your information, then copy into your bash or Azure CLI window:

  az deployment group create \
  --resource-group IoTEdgeResources \
  --template-uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/iotedge-vm-deploy/main/edgeDeploy.json" \
  --parameters dnsLabelPrefix='<REPLACE_WITH_VM_NAME>' \
  --parameters adminUsername='azureUser' \
  --parameters deviceConnectionString=$(az iot hub device-identity connection-string show --device-id myEdgeDevice --hub-name <REPLACE_WITH_HUB_NAME> -o tsv) \
  --parameters authenticationType='password' \
  --parameters adminPasswordOrKey="<REPLACE_WITH_PASSWORD>"
  

• For PowerShell users, copy the following command into your PowerShell window, then replace the placeholder text with your own information:

  az deployment group create `
  --resource-group IoTEdgeResources `
  --template-uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/iotedge-vm-deploy/main/edgeDeploy.json" `
  --parameters dnsLabelPrefix='<REPLACE_WITH_VM_NAME>' `
  --parameters adminUsername='azureUser' `
  --parameters deviceConnectionString=$(az iot hub device-identity connection-string show --device-id myEdgeDevice --hub-name <REPLACE_WITH_HUB_NAME> -o tsv) `
  --parameters authenticationType='password' `
  --parameters adminPasswordOrKey="<REPLACE_WITH_PASSWORD>"
  

This template takes the following parameters:

After deployment completes, JSON-formatted output in the CLI contains the SSH information to connect to the virtual machine. Copy the value of the public SSH entry of the outputs section. For example, your SSH command should look similar to ssh azureUser@edge-vm.chinanorth2.cloudapp.chinacloudapi.cn.

View the IoT Edge runtime status

The rest of the commands in this quickstart take place on your IoT Edge device itself, so that you can see what's happening on the device. If you're using a virtual machine, connect to that machine now using the admin username that you set up and the DNS name that was output by the deployment command. You can also find the DNS name on your virtual machine's overview page in the Azure portal. Use the following command to connect to your virtual machine. Replace <admin-username> and <DNS-name> with your own values.

ssh {admin username}@{DNS name}

Once connected to your virtual machine, verify that the runtime was successfully installed and configured on your IoT Edge device.

1. Check if IoT Edge is running. The following command returns a status of Ok if IoT Edge is running or provides any service errors.

   sudo iotedge system status
   

   Tip

   You need elevated privileges to run iotedge commands. Once you sign out of your machine and sign back in the first time after installing the IoT Edge runtime, your permissions are automatically updated. Until then, use sudo in front of the commands.

2. If you need to troubleshoot the service, retrieve the service logs.

   sudo iotedge system logs
   

3. View all the modules running on your IoT Edge device. Since the service just started for the first time, you should only see the edgeAgent module running. The edgeAgent module runs by default and helps to install and start any additional modules that you deploy to your device.

   sudo iotedge list
   

Your IoT Edge device is now configured. It's ready to run cloud-deployed modules.

Deploy a module

Manage your Azure IoT Edge device from the cloud to deploy a module that sends device telemetry data to IoT Hub.

A key capability of Azure IoT Edge is deploying code to your IoT Edge devices from the cloud. IoT Edge modules are executable packages implemented as containers. In this section, you deploy a pre-built module from the IoT Edge Modules section of Microsoft Artifact Registry.

The module that you deploy in this section simulates a sensor and sends generated data. This module is a useful piece of code when you're getting started with IoT Edge because you can use the simulated data for development and testing. If you want to see exactly what this module does, you can view the simulated temperature sensor source code.

Use these steps to deploy your first module.

1. Sign in to the Azure portal and go to your IoT Hub.

2. From the menu on the left, under Device Management, select Devices.

3. Select the device ID of the target IoT Edge device from the list.

   When you create a new IoT Edge device, it displays the status code 417 -- The device's deployment configuration is not set in the Azure portal. This status is normal, and means that the device is ready to receive a module deployment.

4. On the upper bar, select Set Modules.

   Select the modules you want to run on your device. You can choose from modules that you've built yourself or images in a container registry. In this quickstart, you deploy a module from the Azure container registry.

5. In the IoT Edge modules section, select Add then choose IoT Edge Module.

6. Update the following module settings:

   Setting	Value
   IoT Module name	SimulatedTemperatureSensor
   Image URI	mcr.microsoft.com/azureiotedge-simulated-temperature-sensor:latest
   Restart policy	always
   Desired status	running

7. Select Next: Routes to continue to configure routes.

8. Add a route that sends all messages from the simulated temperature module to IoT Hub.

   Setting	Value
   Name	SimulatedTemperatureSensorToIoTHub
   Value	FROM /messages/modules/SimulatedTemperatureSensor/* INTO $upstream

9. Select Next: Review + create.

10. Review the JSON file, and then select Create. The JSON file defines all the modules that you deploy to your IoT Edge device.

    Note

    When you submit a new deployment to an IoT Edge device, nothing is pushed to your device. Instead, the device queries IoT Hub regularly for any new instructions. If the device finds an updated deployment manifest, it uses the information about the new deployment to pull the module images from the cloud then starts running the modules locally. This process can take a few minutes.

After you create the module deployment details, the wizard returns you to the device details page. View the deployment status on the Modules tab.

You should see three modules: $edgeAgent, $edgeHub, and SimulatedTemperatureSensor. If one or more of the modules has Yes under Specified in Deployment but not under Reported by Device, your IoT Edge device is still starting them. Wait a few minutes and refresh the page.

If you have issues deploying modules, learn more in Troubleshoot IoT Edge devices from the Azure portal.

View generated data

In this quickstart, you create a new IoT Edge device and install the IoT Edge runtime on it. Then, you use the Azure portal to deploy an IoT Edge module to run on the device without making changes to the device itself.

In this case, the module that you pushed generates sample environment data that you can use for testing later. The simulated sensor is monitoring both a machine and the environment around the machine. For example, this sensor can be in a server room, on a factory floor, or on a wind turbine. The message includes ambient temperature and humidity, machine temperature and pressure, and a timestamp. The IoT Edge tutorials use the data created by this module as test data for analytics.

Open the command prompt on your IoT Edge device, or use the SSH connection from Azure CLI. Confirm that the module you deployed from the cloud is running on your IoT Edge device:

sudo iotedge list

View the messages sent from the temperature sensor module:

sudo iotedge logs SimulatedTemperatureSensor -f

Clean up resources

To continue with the IoT Edge tutorials, use the device you registered and set up in this quickstart. Otherwise, delete the Azure resources you created to avoid charges.

If you created your virtual machine and IoT hub in a new resource group, you can delete that group and all the associated resources. Double-check the contents of the resource group to ensure there's nothing you want to keep. If you don't want to delete the whole group, you can delete individual resources instead.

Delete the IoTEdgeResources group. Deleting a resource group might take a few minutes.

az group delete --name IoTEdgeResources --yes

Confirm the resource group is deleted by viewing the list of resource groups.

az group list

Next steps

In this quickstart, you created an IoT Edge device and used the Azure IoT Edge cloud interface to deploy code onto the device. Now, you use a test device that generates raw data about its environment.

In the next tutorial, you'll learn how to monitor the activity and health of your device from the Azure portal.