Scaleway Elements IoT Hub is a platform for exchanging messages between connected devices and give them access to cloud services.
This platform takes the hassle out of fleet communication by providing a solution that is robust, easy-to-use, and scalable. It is based at its core on an industry standard, the MQTT protocol, that connected devices use to exchange messages through a central broker. Taking this system one step further, the platform also allows connected devices to interact with cloud services using these same messages.
MQTT: MQTT is the standard protocol (see mqtt.org) used to exchange messages. It is a publisher/subscriber protocol that is very lightweight, even for the smallest micro-controllers. It works pretty much the same as a web forum: when a client publishes a message under a topic, all the clients which had subscribed to this topic get the message.
Hub: A Hub can be seen as an MQTT message broker that can be dedicated, highly-available, and scalable, and that integrates with Scaleway’s ecosystem. See IoT Hub.
Device: A Device can be seen as an MQTT client that exchanges messages with other Devices and cloud services through its Hub. It can very well be a physical device or a program. See IoT Hub Device.
Route: A Route is an integration with Scaleway’s ecosystem that provides Devices with access to cloud services. See IoT Hub Route.
Kickstart: A Kickstart is a regular Scaleway instance that has been pre-populated with an MQTT-ready application (eg a Grafana that displays MQTT stats). See IoT Hub Kickstart.
A Hub is the central piece to which Devices can connect to exchange messages, and by which they get access to cloud services.
Under the hood, a Hub acts as an MQTT broker, meaning devices use it to publish messages on topics or subscribe to them. On top of that, Hub Routes allow Devices to benefit from Scaleway’s ecosystem.
Hubs also provide usage metrics, see this page for more information.
In the IoT section of the side menu, click IoT Hub. If you do not have a Hub already created, the product presentation is displayed.
Click Create a Hub.
The creation page is displayed.
Enter a name for your Hub.
The geographical region of the Hub will be Paris, as it is the only one available at the moment.
Choose a product plan for your Hub.
Click Create a Hub or Create a Hub and Add a Device.
On the Hub details page, click Delete Hub.
Note that this will delete any Device added to the Hub.
It is also possible to delete multiple Hubs at once by selecting them in the Hub list.
On the Hub details page, click on the Enabled/Disabled toggle.
As long as a Hub is disabled it will not be billed, but its Devices cannot connect.
All IoT Hub features are available through our API, please refer to API Documentation.
There are currently 3 product plans for Hubs, each with distinctive features to fit all use-cases.
This is a cost-effective, straightforward plan. Good for proofs-of-concept or DIY projects.
Price is kept low by sharing resources between users, but for that purpose it is forbidden to use MQTT features which will require memory (no messages with QoS1, QoS2, retained or will).
This plan only supports a limited number of Devices per Hub.
This plan offers dedicated resources for the Hub, which means more predictable performances and full support of the MQTT protocol. For professionals and MQTT fans.
Not only resources are dedicated to the Hub, but they are also replicated so that the broker is highly available. This setting is ideal for workloads that require greater robustness for their Hub.
All product limitations are available here: IoT Hub limitations.
If you have further questions about Scaleway IoT Hub, refer to the FAQ or contact the technical assistance directly from your Scaleway console.