Are you monitoring your IoT devices?

If you’re not that tech-inclined and unsure what an IoT device is, let me break it down for you. IoT devices are nonstandard computing devices that connect wirelessly to a network which allows it to transmit data, such as the various devices on the internet of things (IoT). IoT has made it possible for the physical world to meet the digital world which allows them to work with each other. It offers many benefits to organizations by enabling them to automate and simplify their daily tasks. 

You probably thinking, why should I monitor my IoT device and how does it benefit me or my business, let’s dive into why continuous monitoring is very crucial for IoT devices. Connected device administration is significant for accessing and maintaining gadgets that perform tasks and data reporting in mission-critical applications. These devices must be observed for security and uptime and upgraded with patches and improvements. 

 

Why is IoT device management important?

Many challenges can ruin the effective deployment of an IoT framework and its associated devices, counting security, interoperability, power/processing capabilities, adaptability, and accessibility. Most of these can be tended to with IoT device management, either by receiving standard conventions or utilizing services advertised by a seller. If an error occurs, the system might be able to send a notification to a service technician notifying them what is wrong and what parts they will need to fix in order to prevent the error. This can save the technician from coming on-site to diagnose the error and then having to travel to a warehouse to get the part needed to fix the error.

 

The basics of IoT Device Management

• Provisioning
  
  

This is the primary step in IoT administration. This step is for first-time setup so you’ll need to form an account, set up the network connection, and so on. Provisioning is comparable to configuration, as we'll talk about later on. Both of these processes include customizing your device. Provisioning modifies the device from its unique, off-the-shelf settings to those required for the gadget to be integrated into your network. Setup can be performed anytime.

• Authentication
  
  

This is the method of confirming a device’s identity because it is now integrated with the IoT framework, and verifies users at login. Appropriate IoT device identity administration and verification guarantees that only authorized devices are connected in order to avoid interruptions and keep proprietary data private.

• Configuration
  
  

This is a strategy for customizing the functionality of your IoT device. For example, you'll be able to include extra advancement and insights to a device, optimize its highlights with extra code or, change its settings for modern requirements. Since devices and networks are like living beings, they frequently need further configuration beyond that initial provisioning stage. It is critical to be able to configure one or more devices proficiently, safely, and remotely, anytime the need arises.

• Control
  
  

Once devices are authenticated, configured, installed, and associated with the network, you would like to be able to control them remotely. In most scenarios, the behavior of devices will be set up within the provisioning and authentication stages to automate the device’s processes. In any case, administrators will also require IoT device control capabilities in order to access devices over the network in multiple ways over time.

 

Continuous Monitoring Goals

Continuous monitoring aka ConMon helps organizations to track, identify, and understand key metrics and also resolve application or infrastructure issues in real-time.

• Enhance transparency and visibility of IT and network operations, especially those that can trigger a security breach, and resolve it with a well-timed alert system.
   
• Monitor software operations e.g., performance issues, identify the cause of the error and apply appropriate solutions before significant damage to uptime and revenue.

 

You definitely need to keep tabs on everything to ensure that everything is working as intended. You can make use of tools such as Splunk to improve & monitor security or Nagios in order to monitor all your mission-critical infrastructure components, apps, operating systems, network protocols, system metrics & network infrastructure. Or alternatively you can use Prometheus paried with a visualization tool such as Grafana for observing and monitoring all your applications while responding to system-wide performance changes & optimize resource utilization. You can use any of these powerful tools in order to continuously monitor all your devices. 

In short, you need to stalk your IoT devices & network as a whole in order to ensure that everything is working as intended.