Microsoft Partnership?

General
1

Could anyone spread some light on what happened with the Microsoft Partnership?


> Connect devices and send data from Particle to Azure for a simple, secure, and complete IoT solution

From what i can tell Azure IoT Hub now supports almost every IoT device out there (ok maybe not all…) except the Particle ones. Simple direct connection from the Photon is not possible due to the lack of a SDK that probably is due to the lack of TLS support. WebHooks support is dated and not reflecting how the Azure IoT Hub works

I just love the Particle Photon and i have probably given away 20-30 pcs to people just to spread the word. But the lack of Azure IoT support is having me look elsewhere.

Any information is appreciated :smile:

2 Likes
2

You can use Particle with Azure as I am now but they updated the Azure IOT to only work with AES secure transactions so you have to send data to Azure via Particle Publish events that are secure.

Here is a guide on how you can setup Photon & Azure to work together:

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The sample you refer to is almost 1.5 years old and exactly proves my point. It uses that dated Azure WebHook support which does not support Azure IoT Hub. Instead it only supports Azure EventHub which is not Microsoft Azures platform for IoT.

So my question remains - what happened with the Microsoft Partnership? Are we getting support for Azure IoT Hub?

If we look at Microsofts very extensive open source page for Azure IoT SDKs (https://github.com/Azure/azure-iot-sdks/) there is not one mention of their partner Particle. Is it just me finding that a bit strange?

4

The issue is that the Photon does not and never has supported sending MQTT data with AES encryption.

As far as I understand you can still using Azure IOT, the only difference is that the data is being sent to the Azure Event Hub via Particle Publish instead of direct from the Photon via MQTT with AES encryption.

If you need MQTT with AES support look at the Adafruit Wiced board which does support MQTT with AES but it does not provide the Particle Cloud functionality if that is important to you.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution from my research.

I send data to Azure Even Hub’s > Azure Stream Analytics > Azure Table Storage > Microsoft Power BI to visualize the data that is stored in the Azure Table Database. That’s a pretty strong platform that can handle a million incoming events per second.

If you want free and easy to use then check out www.Ubidots.com

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I know i can send data to Azure Event Hub using WebHook and the reason behind direct communication not being supported. I clearly say that in my original post, please read it again :wink:

What i am trying to find out is why Particle does not support Azure IoT Hub in the WebHook functionality. It would clearly be a simple fix taking a couple of hours.

So the question remains - what happened with the Microsoft Partnership? Are we getting support for Azure IoT Hub in the WebHook? If there is no longer a partnership - why not be frank about it?

6

I and many others have asked the same question many times before.

The answer we got is that there are more important things being worked on right now and the Event Hub as a input point seems to work for most.

We can ask @Dave if there is any new plans on supporting this feature in the near future though :smiley:

If you have to have it now then consider the Adafruit Wiced Feather board since it does support the feature your looking for :smiley:

I’m on your side though, I would like to see this direct support also.

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I have many boards supporting Azure IoT Hub and are using them with Azure IoT Hub with great sucess. There are many other options but this is me trying to find out where Particle stands on this as i like the Photon. As stated before i think you are misunderstanding what i am asking about.

My question was and still is related to the partnership with Microsoft that right now only seem to consist of a very old press release.

But lets hope @Dave can read my original post and answer :smile:

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Hey All!

It’s in the pipeline and something we’re actively working on / working out details. @jeiden is the person with all the answers if you’re curious. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
David

1 Like
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@Dave @jeiden Any timeline for when we can expect to be able to try this?

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Thanks for answering, appreciated.

Yes, i am curious as i am about to jump ship... So @jeiden - any information to share?

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@vandelay Magnus, that’s my Son’s name also.

So what platform do you see yourself going with if Particle does not fit your needs for working with Azure IOT Hub?

How are you using the Azure IOT service? Just curious.

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12

Hi @vandelay,

It’s worth mentioning that it’s relatively quick to build at least a basic integration with a small node app to get messages into Azure IoT hub using Webhooks. So you should be able to get up and running very quickly while a more turn-key solution is in the works.

Thanks,
David

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Those words sounds very promising :slight_smile: Thanks. Will try it as soon as you have something!

I will also hope for a more open communication from Particles part on this kind of things in the future. May i even suggest updating the partnership page with current status. As it is right now there is a risk of people getting the wrong impression reading that page. My first post on this community about the problem of using Azure IoT Hub was March 15.

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Hi @vandelay,

We strive to be as open and transparent as possible. When we negotiate partnerships with other companies though, sometimes those negotiations or conversations include NDAs, or other confidential bits. They often also involve shared ‘announcement’ type embargos, so that both sides have a chance to coordinate PR before it’s announced, etc.

We like to share as much exciting stuff and details into what’s coming as we can, but sometimes that’s not always possible.

If it makes you feel better, this conversation actually started sometime a few years ago. :slight_smile:

Thanks!
David

1 Like
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Seriously Dave? Announcement embargo? NDA?

Big words for this small missing feature (close to a bug) in your WebHook and current products to get aligned with current Azure IoT Hub instead of just Azure Event Hubs. You have known about this small thing lacking for 7+ months and it would probably be fixed in hours (SAS token handling). I assume that you are aware that most of Microsofts SDK development related to Azure including IoT Hub and all other boards is made openly at GitHib.

Your answer actually gives me answers, just not the ones you thought. I mean if this “partnership” means it can take years if Microsoft adds new IoT features Particle is just not my thing.

I love the products, just not the way you have handled this!

16

Hmm, moving this to a PM, but I wanted to follow up with:

What I’m saying is that we share as much as we can when we can, but sometimes we need to wait because reasons. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
David

1 Like
17

interesting transition, Dave.

1 Like
18

Haha, I wanted to provide a space to have a deeper personal conversation that wasn’t necessarily on topic with this thread. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
David

19

I think this will answer your questions about Microsoft current interoperability.

Hope this helps…

MichaelRose

20

I’ve implemented the Particle integration with Azure Event Hubs as described at the link below (it’s been working great):

As I’m sure everyone is aware, this tutorial details how to set everything up using the old (“classic”) Azure portal. Does any one have instructions on how to set it up on the new Azure portal? (There have been some changes regarding how namespaces and event hubs are grouped).

Alternatively, I wonder if it would just make more sense to wait for the new Particle + Azure IoT integration, as that is ultimately where I’d like to go if/when it becomes available…