Getting started with AWS IoT Core
Systems that were once manual and reactive now deliver valuable, real-time insights to the cloud. At the center of it all sit tools such as AWS IoT Core, offering an efficient way to securely connect devices and manage them across the globe. It allows developers to build new products and services at scale, while keeping data flow seamless and predictable.
In this post, we’ll go through a practical step-by-step guide on connecting a device to AWS IoT Core. We will also explore the foundational elements of AWS IoT Core, take a look at its features and benefits, and highlight standout use cases.
What is AWS IoT Core
AWS IoT Core is a fully managed cloud service that makes it easy for connected devices to securely interact with cloud applications and other devices. It acts as a central hub for all device communications, enabling real-time data collection, processing, and analysis. AWS IoT Core supports bidirectional communication and secure device communication between devices and the cloud, using protocols like MQTT and HTTP to facilitate synchronized, two-way data exchange. Device data can be published to AWS IoT Core, and AWS IoT Core can route that data to other services for storage or further processing.
With AWS IoT Core, organizations gain visibility into the health and performance of thousands—even millions—of devices across the globe. This service also provides granular controls for handling security, device authentication, and message routing. Some developers use AWS IoT Core to build large-scale fleets of sensors in the agriculture sector, while others rely on it to process and analyze high-frequency data streams in manufacturing environments. It’s a versatile cloud platform that empowers innovation.
Data from AWS IoT Core can be ingested directly into external analytics services or those within the AWS ecosystem such as Amazon Kinesis and Amazon S3, or even triggered to invoke AWS Lambda functions for on-demand processing. This ability to integrate seamlessly with the larger ecosystem is often considered one of its greatest strengths.
Features & Benefits
Secure and Scalable Device Connectivity
AWS IoT Core allows you to connect IoT devices using popular communication protocols such as MQTT, HTTPS, LoRaWAN, and WebSockets. This flexibility ensures that a wide range of sensors, embedded devices, and industrial machines can be integrated without requiring extensive reconfiguration. Its autoscaling capabilities handle everything from a handful of sensors to millions of connected devices spread across continents.
Rules Engine to Process Data in Real Time
Incoming messages can be filtered, transformed, and routed using a highly configurable rules engine. This feature enables automation of workflows and near-instant analysis of critical data. Quick data routing means developers can gain actionable insights in seconds rather than hours.
Device Shadow for Offline Synchronization
AWS IoT Core’s Device Shadow service creates a persistent, virtual representation of each device’s state. This makes it possible to read or set a device’s state even when the device itself is offline. When the device reconnects, its state is synchronized automatically, minimizing the risk of data loss or inconsistent device configurations.
Robust Security Controls
Security is a cornerstone of AWS IoT Core. Device authentication and authorization are managed using X.509 certificates and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles. Every data packet transferred can be encrypted, helping reduce exposure to malicious attacks or unauthorized access. Fine-grained permissions also limit what each device can do, providing another layer of defense. AWS IoT Device Defender further enhances security by offering features such as device authentication, authorization, and continuous monitoring to ensure adherence to device security best practices.
Seamless Integration with AWS IoT Services and Beyond
AWS IoT Core fits neatly into the broader AWS ecosystem but doesn’t stop there. Data can flow into other AWS cloud services such as Amazon S3, Amazon Kinesis, AWS Lambda, or Amazon QuickSight for storage, processing, and analytics. It can also be routed to external platforms as long as they communicate via supported protocols. By allowing developers to mix and match AWS services with third-party or on-premises systems, AWS IoT Core supports complex workflows without forcing teams to maintain multiple data pipelines.
Cost Effectiveness and Flexible Pricing
The pay-as-you-go model ensures that organizations only pay for actual usage of the service. There are no upfront costs or long-term commitments. As a result, developers have room to experiment with prototypes, run proof-of-concept projects, and then scale production workloads based on real-world demand.
Requirements
Hardware:
- A device that can be connected to the internet and that can communicate over MQTT, MQTT over WebSocket, LoRaWAN, and/or HTTPS.
- Computer.
Software:
- AWS account.
- Ubidots account.
Set up AWS account
In order to use AWS IoT Core, you first need to set up your AWS account. This can easily be done following the official documentation:
Connect Device
AWS IoT Core provides a step-by-step workflow to securely connect your device and begin streaming data in minutes. From the console sidebar, click “Connect one device.” You’ll be guided through five steps.
1. Prepare Your Device
Turn on your device and ensure it’s connected to the internet. You’ll also need command-line access. This can be done directly through a terminal on the device or remotely via SSH. To verify network access, run the following command from your device:
ping <your-iot-endpoint>.amazonaws.com
A successful ping confirms your device can reach AWS IoT Core.
2. Register and Secure Your Device
Next, register your device as a Thing in AWS IoT Core.
- Enter a unique Thing Name.
- Optionally, you can define a Thing Type, add Attributes, assign it to Thing Groups, or associate it with a Billing Group.
3. Choose Platform and SDK
In this step, specify your device’s environment:
- Operating System: Choose between Linux/macOS or Windows.
- AWS IoT Device SDK: Select from Python, Node.js, or Java.
Based on your selection, AWS will prepare a preconfigured connection kit tailored to your device and programming language.
4. Download the Connection Kit
Download the zipped connection kit to your machine. This bundle includes:
- The necessary security credentials
- Sample connection code in your chosen language
- A configuration file with your IoT endpoint and device details
Transfer the files to your device if needed.
5. Run the Connection Kit
Using a terminal, navigate to the folder containing the kit and run the sample code. This code will attempt to connect to AWS IoT Core using MQTT and publish a test message.
A successful connection means your device is now securely communicating with AWS IoT Core.
6. Testing the connection
Once your device is registered and security credentials are in place, it’s time to test the connection. A quick and effective way to do this is by using the Mosquitto MQTT client, a lightweight command-line tool that supports TLS and works seamlessly with the certificate files provided by AWS IoT Core.
This test ensures that your device can securely publish data to AWS using MQTT over TLS. While we’ll use Mosquitto for this demonstration, any MQTT client that supports TLS and certificate-based authentication will work just as well.
Make sure you have the following files in a single directory:
- device.pem.crt – your device certificate
- private.pem.key – your private key
- AmazonRootCA1.pem – the Amazon root certificate authority
You’ll also need your AWS IoT Core endpoint, which can be found under Settings in the AWS IoT Core console. It typically looks like:
a3xxxxxxxxxxxx-ats.iot.<region>.amazonaws.com
Use the following command to publish a message:
mosquitto_pub -h <your-endpoint> \
-p 8883 \
--cafile AmazonRootCA1.pem \
--cert device.pem.crt \
--key private.pem.key \
-t test/topic \
-m "Hello from Mosquitto"Replace <your-endpoint> with your actual IoT Core endpoint and adjust the topic as needed. Make sure the policy attached to your device certificate allows publishing to that topic.
To confirm the message was received, go to the MQTT test client in the AWS IoT Core console:
- Click MQTT test client in the sidebar.
- Under the Subscribe to a topic section, enter the topic used above (e.g., test/topic).
- Click Subscribe.
If the configuration is correct, the message will appear in the console, confirming that your device is successfully connected and able to communicate with AWS IoT Core. This simple validation step ensures your device is ready to begin real-world data transmission.
AWS IoT Core + Ubidots: A Better Choice for IoT App Development
When building an IoT solution, it's easy to fall into the trap of stitching together multiple services, tools, and data flows—losing precious time and budget along the way. That’s why combining AWS IoT Core and Ubidots makes strategic sense. Together, they deliver a secure, end-to-end architecture that shortens development cycles, reduces infrastructure complexity, and brings IoT products to market faster. One handles device-level communication and scalability. The other turns raw telemetry into a clean, white-labeled, customer-ready application. This synergy unlocks both technical depth and business agility.
General Architecture of AWS IoT + Ubidots
At the heart of this architecture is AWS IoT Core, securely ingesting telemetry from devices via MQTT or HTTPS. Each device uses its own certificate to connect, ensuring that even if one device is compromised, the rest of the fleet remains protected. Once authenticated, messages pass through AWS’s Rules Engine, where topic-based rules determine what happens next.
From there, AWS triggers an HTTPS action—a webhook that routes data directly to an Ubidots plugin. The AWS IoT Core Plugin in Ubidots offers a simple yet powerful way to connect your AWS-connected devices to Ubidots without writing custom integrations or managing infrastructure. Once set up, the plugin automatically handles the secure reception of data from AWS IoT Core, decodes payloads, and creates devices and variables on the fly. It processes incoming data using a customizable decoder and makes it easy to manage entire fleets and visualize metrics.
Because the plugin runs in a serverless environment, it scales instantly with your data volume—removing the need for additional services like EC2, custom databases, or manual API calls. The result is a low-friction, high-impact integration that gets your data flowing from the field to the dashboard in minutes.
Why AWS IoT + Ubidots?
For developers and system integrators, the combined value is clear: security, scale, speed, and simplicity.
AWS IoT Core ensures robust device authentication, per-device IAM policies, and seamless integration with over 200 cloud service. But such flexibility also means having to invest hundreds to thousands of engineering hours to build an entire IoT application from scratch, by integrating dozens of AWS services into a fully functioning web or mobile application; deploying EC2 instances, building dashboards on QuickSight, end-user management with Cognito, email delivery with SES, database management with RDS or DyanmoDB, just to name a few.
Ubidots fills in the application layer with low-code tools designed to accelerate deployment while matching your business logic. Create dashboards, set alerts, build user roles, and launch white-labeled portals in hours—not months. Built-in modules like Events Engine, User Management, and Organization remove the need for custom frontend development, backend logic, and permissions handling.
More importantly, the plugin integration is pre-built, tested, and available for free to all Ubidots accounts. Just a few clicks, a single decoder, and your data flows securely from the field to the cloud to your end-user's screen.
And you're not locked in. AWS IoT Core continues to route data to other AWS services, external APIs, or custom workflows. Use Ubidots where it matters most: visualization, control, and user experience.
The result: faster deployments, fewer dependencies, and a more professional product—without sacrificing flexibility or scale.
Cloud-Native Infrastructure Meets Rapid Front-End Deployment
Building an IoT solution often means juggling infrastructure, data security, and user interface design all at once. With AWS IoT Core and Ubidots working together, those responsibilities are clearly separated—without compromising speed or control.
AWS IoT Core delivers the backbone: a cloud-native, event-driven architecture that can scale from a dozen devices to millions. Its support for MQTT, HTTPS, and device certificate management ensures secure communication at every layer. Data is ingested, processed, and routed in real time using the built-in Rules Engine and AWS Lambda functions, keeping infrastructure both lean and responsive.
On the front end, Ubidots accelerates time-to-visualization. Developers and product teams can rapidly build real-time dashboards, alerts, and control interfaces using a drag-and-drop editor. No frontend frameworks or custom UI code required. With built-in user management, user-friendly layouts, and white-labeling capabilities, Ubidots transforms backend telemetry into polished, user-facing industrial IoT applications.
This division of roles—AWS for scalable connectivity and compute, Ubidots for UI and user interaction—lets teams move fast while keeping the architecture clean and future-ready.
Seamless Data Flow from Edge to Action
A well-designed IoT stack turns raw sensor data into real-time insights—and action. AWS IoT Core and Ubidots make this flow seamless, bridging the gap between edge devices and cloud-based decision-making tools.
Devices at the edge—IoT sensors, gateways, or industrial controllers—send telemetry using lightweight protocols like MQTT or HTTPS. AWS IoT Core handles the secure ingestion of this data, verifying device identity, applying rules, and triggering workflows via AWS Lambda or other AWS services.
From there, enriched or filtered data can be forwarded to Ubidots through HTTPS or MQTT. Once inside Ubidots, the data is immediately available for visualization, rule-based alerting, and historical analysis. Teams can build dashboards, set thresholds, and create event-driven workflows—without writing additional backend logic.
The result is a streamlined path from edge to cloud to actionable insight. Data flows securely, transformations happen in real time, and end users see immediate value—whether they’re monitoring soil moisture in agriculture or vibration patterns in manufacturing.
Built-in User Management and Multi-Tenancy
Managing users, roles, and access across multiple clients or business units is often a complex part of IoT application development. With AWS IoT Core and Ubidots, these challenges are handled out of the box.
Ubidots offers a fully integrated user management system, enabling role-based access control and multi-tenant environments from day one. Admins can create organizations, assign users with granular permissions, and build isolated dashboards for each client—without duplicating data sources or infrastructure.
This makes it easy to deliver tailored IoT experiences to different customers or departments. Each organization sees only the devices, dashboards, and data relevant to them. Meanwhile, internal teams retain control over global configurations, alerts, and assets.
For solution providers, OEMs, and enterprise platforms, this built-in multi-tenancy means faster deployment, less maintenance, and scalable account management—without reinventing authentication or access control systems.
Faster Time to Market for IoT Products
Speed matters in IoT development. Combining AWS IoT Core with an IoT platform such as Ubidots drastically reduces the time it takes to move from prototype to production.
AWS IoT Core handles secure device onboarding, data routing, and cloud integrations without custom server setup. Ubidots offers ready-to-use visualization tools, alert engines, and user management—no need to build a front end from scratch.
This streamlined architecture allows developers to focus on delivering value, not managing infrastructure. From MVP to scalable deployment, teams can launch faster, iterate quickly, and bring IoT products to market with confidence.
Flexible Integration with External Systems
IoT solutions rarely operate in isolation. AWS IoT Core and Ubidots offer the flexibility to connect with external platforms, cloud services, and on-premises systems.
With Ubidots’ Webhooks, Events Engine, and REST API, data can trigger actions in third-party applications—CRMs, ERP systems, or custom software. Meanwhile, AWS enables deeper integrations via Lambda, S3, or API Gateway.
This dual flexibility makes it easy to embed IoT data into existing workflows, automate processes, and extend the reach of your solution across the entire tech stack.
AWS IoT Core Use Cases
Industrial Automation
Many factories rely on AWS IoT Core to connect equipment on the production floor. Operational data from sensors and machines can be analyzed in real time, enabling predictive maintenance and reducing downtime. This leads to optimized workflows and significant savings in operational costs.
Automotive & Transportation
Fleet managers can track vehicles and cargo using AWS IoT Core. Real-time location data and performance metrics allow companies to optimize routes, monitor driver behavior, and deliver better customer experiences by conducting careful asset tracking.
Agriculture & Farming
Farmers employ sensors to monitor soil moisture, weather, and livestock health. AWS IoT Core channels this data into analytics services, helping them make informed decisions about irrigation, feeding, and scheduling.
Smart Home Devices
Connected home systems—powered by smart devices such as thermostats and door locks—use AWS IoT Core for sending alerts and receiving commands. This enables remote control via mobile apps, as well as automated routines triggered by environmental changes or user preferences.
FAQs
What is AWS IoT Core?
AWS IoT Core is a fully managed cloud service from Amazon Web Services that enables connected devices to securely interact with cloud applications and other devices. It supports popular communication protocols like MQTT, HTTPS, and LoRaWAN, making it easy to onboard and manage millions of devices at scale. With built-in features for message routing, data filtering, real-time analytics, and tight integration with other AWS services like Lambda, S3, and Kinesis, AWS IoT Core acts as the backbone for building secure, scalable IoT solutions across industries.
What is the difference between AWS IoT Core and Greengrass?
AWS IoT Core and AWS IoT Greengrass serve different but complementary roles in an IoT architecture. AWS IoT Core is a cloud-based service that connects and manages devices over the internet, enabling real-time data processing, secure communication, and integration with other AWS services. In contrast, AWS IoT Greengrass extends cloud capabilities to edge devices, allowing them to run local compute, messaging, and machine learning inference even when disconnected from the internet. While IoT Core handles centralized cloud operations, Greengrass is designed for scenarios where low latency, intermittent connectivity, or on-device processing is required.
What is the use case of IoT Core?
AWS IoT Core is used to securely connect, manage, and route data from a wide range of IoT devices to the cloud for processing and analysis. Its use cases span industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, and smart cities. For example, factories use it to monitor machine health and enable predictive maintenance, farmers deploy it to track soil conditions and optimize irrigation, and transportation companies rely on it for real-time fleet tracking. By serving as the central hub for device communication, AWS IoT Core enables real-time insights, automation, and integration with analytics, storage, and machine learning services across the AWS ecosystem.
What language is used in AWS IoT core?
AWS IoT Core itself is a managed service and does not require a specific programming language to operate. However, it supports device communication through standard protocols like MQTT, HTTPS, and LoRaWAN, which can be implemented using various languages such as Python, C, JavaScript, and Java. AWS provides IoT Device SDKs in multiple languages, including Python, C++, Java, and JavaScript (Node.js), allowing developers to integrate their devices and applications with AWS IoT Core in the language that best fits their hardware or system architecture.
What is the use of AWS in IoT?
AWS provides a comprehensive suite of cloud services that support the entire lifecycle of IoT solutions—from device connectivity and management to data storage, processing, analytics, and machine learning. Services like AWS IoT Core enable secure communication between devices and the cloud, while others like AWS Lambda, Amazon S3, Amazon Kinesis, and AWS IoT Analytics allow for real-time processing, long-term storage, and actionable insights. This ecosystem empowers organizations to build scalable, reliable, and intelligent IoT applications that can automate processes, optimize operations, and deliver new value across industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and transportation.
What does AWS stand for?
AWS stands for Amazon Web Services, which is Amazon’s cloud computing platform offering a wide range of services including compute power, storage, databases, networking, machine learning, analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities. Launched in 2006, AWS provides scalable, on-demand infrastructure and tools that enable businesses, developers, and organizations to build and deploy applications globally without the need to manage physical hardware. It is widely used across industries for everything from hosting websites and running enterprise applications to powering large-scale IoT ecosystems.
What is AWS IoT core for?
AWS IoT Core is designed to securely connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices to the cloud and enable real-time data exchange between those devices and other AWS services or applications. It provides the infrastructure needed to manage millions of devices, authenticate and authorize their connections, and route data using protocols like MQTT and HTTPS. Developers use AWS IoT Core to build scalable IoT solutions for monitoring, automation, and analytics across industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and transportation. Whether it’s sending sensor data to the cloud or triggering automated workflows, AWS IoT Core acts as the central hub for device communication and cloud integration.