Provisioning IoT devices at scale with Azure DPS

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Provisioning IoT devices at scale typically involves automating the setup process for each device to connect them to the cloud securely. Azure DPS (Device Provisioning Service) enables you to provision devices at scale using zero-touch, just-in-time provisioning to the right IoT hub without requiring human intervention, which is critical when dealing with a large number of devices.

Below is a Pulumi program in TypeScript that will create a new instance of the Azure Device Provisioning Service with a linked IoT Hub. This program uses the `azure-native` provider, which is the preferred Pulumi provider for Azure resources.

To use this program, you need to have an Azure Subscription, and you must be authenticated through Azure CLI or set your credentials so that Pulumi can communicate with Azure on your behalf. You also need the Pulumi CLI installed and have a Pulumi project set up.

Here's what the following program does:

1. **Import Azure Native Modules**: Includes necessary modules from the `azure-native` package to build IoT resources.
2. **Create a Resource Group**: The logical grouping for all the resources to be provisioned.
3. **Create an IoT Hub**: Your central message hub for bi-directional communication between your IoT application and the devices it manages.
4. **Create an IoT DPS**: Creates an instance of the Device Provisioning Service and links it to the previously created IoT Hub for managing the provisioning of your IoT devices.

```typescript
import * as pulumi from '@pulumi/pulumi';
import * as azure from '@pulumi/azure-native';

const config = new pulumi.Config();

// Get location from config, or use West US as default.
const location = config.get('location') || 'westus';

// Create an Azure Resource Group
const resourceGroup = new azure.resources.ResourceGroup('my-resource-group', {
  location,
});

// Create an Azure IoT Hub
const iothub = new azure.devices.IotHubResource('my-iot-hub', {
  resourceGroupName: resourceGroup.name,
  location: resourceGroup.location,
  sku: {
    name: 'S1',  // Change this value based on your requirement.
    capacity: 1,  // You may want to adjust this for scale.
  },
});

// Create an Azure IoT Device Provisioning Service
const dps = new azure.devices.IotDpsResource('my-iot-dps', {
  location: resourceGroup.location,
  resourceGroupName: resourceGroup.name,
  sku: {
    name: 'S1',
    capacity: 1,
  },
  properties: {
    iotHubs: [{
      connectionString: pulumi.interpolate`HostName=${iothub.properties.hostName};SharedAccessKeyName=iothubowner;SharedAccessKey=${iothub.properties.authorizationPolicies.apply(p => p[0].primaryKey)}`,
      location: iothub.location,
    }],
  },
});

export const resourceGroupName = resourceGroup.name;
export const iotHubName = iothub.name;
export const dpsName = dps.name;
```

The provided program performs the following steps:

- It creates a new resource group to contain all related resources.
- It instantiates an IoT Hub with a single S1 SKU unit. If you require a different capacity or pricing tier, you may adjust the `sku` properties accordingly.
- It creates a DPS instance with a reference to the IoT Hub created earlier.
- It exports the names of the created resource group, IoT Hub, and DPS for your reference.

This code snippet sets up the foundational infrastructure needed to onboard IoT devices at scale. From here, further configurations such as defining enrollment groups, attestation mechanisms, and so on can be implemented as needed for your specific use case.

Reminders:
- Review the code to ensure it aligns with your project's setup and desired configurations.
- Consult the Azure pricing page for any cost-related considerations when choosing SKUs and capacities.
- Follow Azure's best practices for security, like the principle of least privilege, when setting permissions and access policies for your IoT solutions.