Order of learning the services

Question

Hi, In a typical scenario (if there is even one!) What would be the sensible order to learn the Azure IoT services. And what would be the typical order they are deployed ?

e.g.

IoT Hub

IoT Central Applications

Device Update for IoT Hubs

IoT Hub Device provisioning services

Answer 1

That's an interesting question. Azure IoT has a rich ecosystem, and while there isn’t one exact path that fits all scenarios, there is a sensible order for learning and deployment based on common use cases like device-to-cloud telemetry, provisioning, management, and update cycles.

Here is what I'd suggest:

1. Azure IoT Hub
   • Learn what IoT Hub is: a central message hub for bi-directional communication between IoT applications and the devices.
   • Understand device-to-cloud and cloud-to-device messaging.
   • Learn about message routing, device twins, and desired vs. reported properties.
   • Why first? It’s the core of Azure IoT. Everything else depends on it.
2. Azure IoT Hub Device Provisioning Service (DPS)
   • Understand how to provision devices at scale securely and dynamically.
   • Learn about enrollment groups, attestation methods (e.g., TPM, X.509), and provisioning workflows.
   • Why second? You’ll want to learn how to onboard devices efficiently after understanding how they talk to IoT Hub.
3. Azure IoT Central (optional/alternative path)
   • Learn about this SaaS-based alternative to building your own backend.
   • Understand how it abstracts much of the heavy lifting of IoT Hub, DPS, telemetry dashboards, rules, etc.
   • Why third? It's a higher-level abstraction and is great for POCs or simpler production environments.
4. Device Update for IoT Hub
   • Understand how to deliver over-the-air (OTA) updates to devices.
   • Learn about update compliance, groups, and compatibility.
   • Why fourth? Once your devices are deployed, you need a way to patch or upgrade them remotely.
5. Other Services (as needed)
   • Azure Time Series Insights (for telemetry visualization)
   • Azure Digital Twins (for modeling environments)
   • Azure Stream Analytics / Functions (for real-time data processing)

As far as a typical deployment order goes, you'd generally use the following approach:

1. Design phase: Define use case, devices, expected data, architecture (cloud + edge).
2. Start with Azure IoT Hub: set up IoT Hub as the message broker and telemetry core.
3. Add Device Provisioning Service: integrate DPS to automate secure device provisioning.
4. Develop or integrate devices: devices are programmed to connect to IoT Hub using SDKs or Azure IoT Edge.
5. Implement telemetry, commands, and state management: use device twins and direct methods to manage state and operations.
6. If Using IoT Central – build Central App: optional, but may replace steps 2–5 in a simplified way.
7. Enable device update for IoT Hub: configure OTA updates as devices are in the field.
8. Connect additional services: add data storage, analytics, dashboards, and AI/ML pipelines as needed.

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hth

Marcin